First off, let me say what a joy it is to look down the chimney of a Graflex. Allthough it confounds me as to why they made the lid hinge on the back instead of the front. My nose hurts from bumping into it. I havent yet taken any shots yet but I plan to use some 120 film next week. I'll be looking forward to a bag mag soon.

Anyway, mine came with a 190mm f5.6 Ektar in the auto aperture mount. Even though mine has some surface scratches, the image is crisp and colorful on the gg. I may look for a replacement since mine is scratched up though. Is the 190mm Ektar a tessar type like its f4.7 brothers? How does it compare in quality to the Xenars and Raptars?

Also, my camera has squares of felt or cloth on the corners of the ground glass. is this normal?

The camera is in nice shape, but its been sitting around for quite some time. The chrome parts have some nasty film on them and some spots of corrosion. What can I use to clean this?

The leather on the outside is slightly worn. I can see the brown coming through. Can I use shoe polish to bring it back to black?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

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The camera is in nice shape, but its been sitting around for quite some time. The chrome parts have some nasty film on them and some spots of corrosion. What can I use to clean this?

Mothers' Mag and Aluminum polish. http://www.mothers.com

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The leather on the outside is slightly worn. I can see the brown coming through. Can I use shoe polish to bring it back to black?

Yes. Afterwards treat with Lemon Pledge or other leather conditioner/preservative.

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On 2006-09-24 15:10, DarinWC wrote: Also, my camera has squares of felt or cloth on the corners of the ground glass. is this normal?

It is normal for the corners of the GG to be masked. Assuming we have an RB machine, recall that the active area is a horizontal rectangle when the back is in horizontal orientation, and a vertical rectangle when that back is in vertical orientation. The "union" of those is the symmetrical cross-shaped "clear" area of the GG. The parts that would never be part of the frame (the little squares in the corners) are blanked (to help you visualize the narrow dimension of the active area for your orientation situation). I think different media were used to blank these squares in different models.