Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

No- the heat- actually very warm- never too hot to hold- merely made the
material flexible. Sort of like heating treacle- to the point it bends
without breaking, but not to where it 'melts'.
If the chuck missing is fairly substantial, and you are wanting to make the
camera usable, and decent looking- the a new cover might be the way to go.
Personally- If the cover on the IIIa gets damaged or breaks again I will no
doubt find one of those die-cut covers, and totally replace the vulcanite. I
might even cover it with rattlesnake skin, and get the Japanese guy to paint
it dark maroon!
Dan ( Wild Child) Post
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- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Jem Kime" <jem.kime@cwcom.net>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2000 12:21 AM
Subject: RE: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE


> Dan,
> Thanks for a comprehensive post, most of which I knew but there were a few
> ideas there. Sadly there's a fair chunk of vulcanite missing but I might
> try some repair work just in case that can be utislised with some other
> vulcanite form elsewhere. Did you notice if the heat application smoothed
> the tectured surface of the material or not?
>
> Jem
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dan Post [SMTP:dpost@triad.rr.com]
> Sent: 06 May 2000 00:30
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE
>
> Vulcanite is pretty brittle to begin with. I still have several smoking
> pipes with the Vulcanite stems, and they do oxidise after a while.
> The material is pretty much an early form of plastic that is formed with a
> rubber like gutta percha, and sulfer which is heated and molded, much as a
> tyre is molded. I have, where the cover of my IIIa split due to being
> shipped in the dead of Winter, and where it cracked from the cold,
repaired
> fairly well the seam. I found that the Vulcanite, while somewhat like a
> thermoset plastic, does soften with heat and become more flexible. In my
> case, where is split under the VF, and came loose, I heated it gently with
> a
> hair dryer, and carefully swung the vulcanite out of the way, clean the
> metal surface of loose material, and used contact cement on a Q-tip cotton
> sqab to apply a thin layer of cement on both the body, and the Vulcanite.
> I then warmed the Vulcanite again, until it became flexible, and
re-applied
> the vulcanite back to the camera, and pushed the edges together. I got it
> almost perfectly together, and when I had it all done- I wrapped several
> wide ruber bands around the body to apply pressure, and let it set
> overnight.
> I later filled in the crack with some of the black stick paint that Fargo
> sells, rubbed it in well, and let it dry. The result is a nearly invisible
> mend, cheaper than recovering, and after a couple of years- still sounds
> and
> tight. I carry this as my 'Tote Camera' so it gets its share of use, with
> no
> problems!
> Now- I am not so much a purist- the 'sharkskin' of the IIIc feels pretty
> much the same as the regular covering, and I really don't notice that the
> M6
> is all that different from the other Leicas I have or had- I suppose if it
> is so bad, that the 'collectible' value is ruined, but if you want it for
a
> display piece or user, I can see no reason not to recover. Good Luck!
> I have seen some die-cut Leica body covers advertised on eBay- but have
not
> yet bid onone. They seem an ideal solution for someone wanting a nice
> looking cover, easy to apply, and one that will probably last another
50-60
> years!
> Dan ( NASDAQ?, What NASDAQ? We don' need no steenking NASDAQ!) Post
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve LeHuray" <icommag@toad.net>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 8:37 AM
> Subject: Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE
>
>
> > I am not sure about this but I would think that there is nothing that
can
> be
> > done to maintain older vulacanite considering that it is now 35+ years
> old
> > and probably dried out and brittle. Even knowing that on my two M2's
> (both
> > with chipped vulacanite) I took a cleanser and applied it to an old
coton
> > T-shirt and gave the vulacanite a thorough cleaning, the t-shirt came
> away
> > very black. Then once a week i applied leather/vinyl preservative
> (available
> > at any grocery store or auto parts store many different brands and they
> are
> > all the same thing).I did this for a couple of months but then one day
> the
> > whole corner of one of the M2's fell off in my hand. Which leads me to
> think
> > that once vulanite dries out nothing is going to bring it back. About
> three
> > weeks ago I bought a M3 that was recovered with the M6 leatherette and I
> can
> > easily live with that, it looks pretty good, and I will eventually have
> my
> > M2's recovered with the M6 cover.
> > Steve
> > Annapolis
> >
> >
> > ----------
> > >From: Bill Satterfield <cwsat@cyberhighway.net>
> > >To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > >Subject: Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE
> > >Date: Fri, May 5, 2000, 9:48 AM
> > >
> >
> > > What should I do to maintain the vulcanite on my M5 and  M3?
> > >
> > > Jem Kime wrote:
> > >
> > >> John,
> > >> thanks for this info. I'm expecting an ex-Leitz mechanic to apply it
> so
> I
> > >> won't have to worry about that myself. I'm aware of the leatherette
> > >> available from Fargo, etc. My mechanic only recently sold on his last
> sheet
> > >> to someone else. I'm hoping someone on the LUG might have something
to
> help
> > >> out!
> > >> cheers,
> > >> Jem
> > >>
> > >> -----Original Message-----
> > >> From:   John Collier [SMTP:jbcollier@home.com]
> > >> Sent:   05 May 2000 14:04
> > >> To:     leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > >> Subject:        Re: [Leica] WTB: Vulcanite skin for early Leica
> > >>
> > >> Vulcanite is applied through a special process with "gumite"(?) and
> heat
> > >> which is only really possible at the manufacturing stage. A Leica
> repair
> > >> facility may have access to a NOS shell, expect to pay major $$$$.
> Small
> > >> spot repairs are usually done with vinyl repair materials, black
> silicone
> > >> or
> > >> other such stuff. Leatherette replacements and leatherette material
to
> make
> > >> your own replacements are available. Again try your local Leica
repair
> > >> person for parts or:
> > >>
> > >> http://www.micro-tools.com/
> > >>
> > >> Kindermann Canada does screw-mount repairs and also carries parts:
> > >>
> > >> kindrman@istar.ca or info@kindermann.com
> > >>
> > >> Leica USA has a parts email:
> > >>
> > >> leicaparts@juno.com
> > >>
> > >> Cheers
> > >>
> > >> John Collier
> > >>
> > >> > From: Jem Kime <jem.kime@cwcom.net>
> > >> >
> > >> > Having bought a beat up Leica 1, I now need to locate a vulcanite
> 'skin'
> > >> to
> > >> > replace the crazy paving that's on it at the moment.
> > >> > Can anyone offer any assistance?
> > >> >
> > >