Reflector flaking???

I have a 12" Photoflex white/soft gold reflector I carry with me virtually anytime I have my camera for fill on wildflowers etc. Yesterday I was using it and was horrified to find tiny silver specks on my hands and clothing, apparently from the reflector (several years old). I immediately thought what if I hadn't noticed and had been opening my camera/lens for a change, getting silver specks in the sensor chamber!

Have others experienced their reflectors shedding their coating? I don't imagine these things last forever but how long should they last....without flaking/shedding coating? Are other brands more/less prone to shedding?

Yep. You gotta buy the more expensive ones. Also don't let them get too hot--like in an attic or trunk or windowsill, the paint can soften and stick things together. Happened to me on Calumet branded stuff. Try some westcott stuff--but hey maybe even those flake too nowadays considering how everybody keeps cheapening the product.

Paul

More expensive than Photoflex???? I've probably had these in warm although not hot environs (ie principally PNW), ie I've never detected them sticking together. While a 12" reflector is economically readily replaceable, the issue is more about the susceptibility to flaking off and getting into the camera's sensor chamber via handling during field lens changes.

Russ wrote:More expensive than Photoflex???? I've probably had these in warm although not hot environs (ie principally PNW), ie I've never detected them sticking together. While a 12" reflector is economically readily replaceable, the issue is more about the susceptibility to flaking off and getting into the camera's sensor chamber via handling during field lens changes.

That was a general statement Russ for anyone reading not to buy branded or cheap reflectors. On the B&H site the Dedo light stuff is really expensive, so I would be curious as to know why?? My take is that unless you can find one where the color is weaved into the fabric they are going to be painted on. And paint is going to flake sooner or later. And maybe some manufacturers use a better paint than others. And maybe the most expensive ones have the best paint. Maybe. Not a guarantee. Don't rule out fabric from a fabric store either and making your own slip cover. I have made lots of large ground sheets and have found the various tones of whites to cast a lot of variable effects--some like the one's with a pearlescent surface are very dramatic. Don't lock your thinking into limitations that what these pre-manufactured types give you-gold, silver, white, gold-silver being all you need to consider. A casual visit to the fabric store can get you thinking.

But back to your flaking problem--what about a fixative spray?? Other than that I think you have to replace once they get a couple of years old. A flexible picture spray is what I might try--one that doesn't alter the color and surface reflection. The Moab desert varnish is one folks have claimed works this way. just a thought.

Paul