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The rubber grip is peeling away from my D700, just near the autofocus mode selection switch. That whole (tiny) section of the grib is pretty much coming away. How can I do a DIY repair? What glues should I avoid using? If I need to replace the grip itself (there's another that's a little bit loose) where can I get them?
I'd like the grips to look, after the repair, quite a lot like they did before there was a problem. It's OK if they're not entirely identical, but very similar would be good.
If you want to replace the whole grip, sugru is one of the best custom grip/almost anything DIY putty that you can get. It will definitely be able to replace a small grip on a camera
Replacement sets are not expensive. As low as $15. I wld never use Gorilla glue in a situation like this. It is an expanding urethane adhesive and might expand through small openings (of which there are a number) into the interior of the camera. A thin layer of rubber cement on the grips and (carefully) on the body seems to work okay.
The rubber on the back of my Nikon D810 recently came off and whilst waiting to get the replacement part I tried some repositionable glue. It's that stuff that holds paper to other objects that can be peeled away fairly easily. I bought the E6000 "extremely tacky" (they make some that is not quite that tacky, too) glue at an art store and it works perfectly! You just apply a couple of small beads of the glue on the back of the rubber piece and let it sit overnight before placing onto your camera. I may just trim the old piece (it swelled slightly in addition to coming loose from the camera) and continue to use it indefinitely.
The rubber zoom grip on my Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens stretched out for some reason and would slide around while I was trying to adjust the lens. It became very annoying and I wanted it to stop sliding. I tried using tape under the rubber to prevent slippage, but that was a short term fix. I finally came up with a solution that works great. I cut 2 slices of an old bicycle inner tube 10" x 1/2" and wrapped them around the lens then replaced the rubber grip over the rubber pieces. Now the rubber grip is tight on the lens does not slip anymore.
I recommend Loctite Plastics Bonding system for these kind of 'rubbery' plastics. I have not used it specifically on a Nikon grip, but it works very well in similar applications.
The problem with regular "5 min" epoxy and Gorilla Glue is they are stiff and non-flexible, so for rubber items, the glue can not bond. Gorilla Glue has an added issue in that it is for porous surfaces, requires activation with water, (not in plastics), and it expands when curing, so it likely won't look original if you use Gorilla Glue.
What is different about this stuff is that it has some give to it, so in applications where you need something that isn't stiff like regular epoxy, this is what to get:
http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/sg_plstc/overview/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System.htm
Nikon service center should be the right place. Contact their Service and Repair section with their official parts number. See a sample list of official D700 parts in here. This shouldn't be a costly repair and can also be done at home once you have the right grip purchased. In that case follow the instruction posted at the end of this post in here.
If you're looking for a good camera grip replacement material, you can try Adhesive-backed neoprene. I put it right over the old sticky grip on my Olympus E10. Very easy to work with, enough for 4 grips or more per package. I found this product under archery supplies of all places. Works great for me, and it's cheap!
Gel type super glue is what you need to use..
