Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Michael- The fellow who does a fairly decent job is Youxin Ye - at wye7@yahoo.com I bought a IIIc from him- it was one that he had had the crome and nickel plating stripped chemically from the top and bottom plate and repainted. We had many discussions about the type of paint, since he used a paint from Fargo that was ostensibly made in France, but which was quite 'soft' and tended to flake somewhat with heavy use. We did some experimentations- I had suggested an automotive type enamel since this typoe of paint is heavy with pigment, and is designed to stay in the weather for years, I figured that properly applied, it would make an excellent paint for a camera. I actually took the top and bottom plates off the IIIc, and redid them a several times trying different combinations, and found that by cleaning the brass, and then doping it with what is called "brass black", that there was a good 'tooth' to hold the paint, though I still get some brassing, but not as bad. I had wanted to try what the paint people call an 'etching primer' but so far, it is a commercial product, and I'd have to get a five gallon size, minimum, at about $80 to just try it, and have put that idea on the back burner until I can find an automotive shop willing to let me buy a small bit to use for testing. Youxin informed me that he had tried the black automotive primer, then coating with the enamel- theis makes a very fine finish, and if you want the glass like shine the Japanese favour, then this automotive finish can be polished with the 3M Finish Restorer and Polish. I re did the lettering with the stick enamel that Fargo sells, and so far, even though I am getting some brassing where the camera rubs against my clothong, and where I wind the film, - shich doesn't look all that bad, actually!- the finish is one that I am not at all ashamed to show! This particular IIIc had had a flash synch added to the rear of the top, and this was convered with solder, and polished down with 1500 grit sand paper before finishing, and is nearly invisible. I mention this as someone indicated that they had a bottom plate that had a hole in it made for some attachment or flash sycnh. This is a very easy repair! You can either close the hole with solder, or if you want to maintain the chrome finish as much as possible, the do the work from the inside. You first can use a paint stripper, like Sovagran's Stype-eze, to take the flat paint finish off the inside of the bottom plate. You then take a fine sandpaper, 320 or 400 grit to make the inside of the hole as smooth as possible, and to remove any oxidation around the hole for a radius of about 1 cm. You can then take a small piece of shim brass- available at most hardware stores, and cuttable with a pair of fingernail scissors, to make a 'patch' about 2mm larger than the hole, then use an electronic solder available at Radio Shack to solder the patch to the inside of the hole. Now, I recommend the electronic solder since the flux is resin based, and easy to remove later. If you use plumbing or industrial solder, it can have an 'acid' core flux made from tin chloride, and can be hard to remove, and late make corrode the metal. A good stout soldering gun will supply enough heat, thoguh I have done it with a soldering iron withonly a 50w rating. Once the patch is in place, you can either fill the reverse side with solder to raise the level of the plate to that of the rest or leave it. I would suggest sanding smooth the inside of the patch to make it neat, and then repaint the inside of the baseplate with a flat black paint- I have gotten some of the flat and glossing paints from FARGO, but to be honest, the Testors model enamels seemed as durable when I used them, and they can be obtained at any Wal-Mart or hobby store. Thin the flat enamel so it flows smoothly, and with out brushmarks and it will level and dry flat- two or three light coates are better than a thick coat- and when it is done, the light leak should be permanently and neatly taken care of!! Now- I need to get back to trying to put new curtains into the FED! I have the CLA done, and have applied Clock grease and clock oil to the required areas, and need to use my little tiny elf fingers to get in there and replace the shutter curtains! I'll keep you posted! The LTM III and IIIa should be a piece of cake after the FED! Simple mechanism, but the fed has aluminum where the Leica uses brass, so you have to be careful not to strip out thread holes, and be careful about bending stuff! Dan ( No wonder they charge so much to do this!) Post - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael E. Bérubé" <MEB@goodphotos.com> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2001 7:42 PM Subject: [Leica] the desecrated IIIc > Well, in the interim of having my 'new' IIIc stripped and painted black > someday (who does that again?) I have used some Chrome touch up enamel on > the worst part of the scratched surface (over the lovely script "Leica" on > the top plate.) I have also taken a black permanent marker and traced over > what was left of the original brand. If you glance at it quickly, it now > look just a tad better than the worst Russian knock off you've ever seen, > but still better than it did all desecrated as it was. The 51 yo insides > seem to be functioning fairly well however. (Which is why I like it anyhow > of course.) > > I hope to use some image from this second test roll for this weeks PAW. > > CL, > MeBé > >