Re: Covering on the M2 Leica

["Peter Jon White" <pjwhite@tiac.net>]

> Pieces of the vulcanite coating on my M2 suddenly separated from the camera
> body and broke into smaller pieces. Otherwise, the M2 is in excellent condition.
> Leica service in the US offer to replace the old covering with M6 type leather
> for $130.

Greetings,

My M3 is a very early model with the glass pressure plate. The 
vulcanite began to crumble about 8 months after I bought it last 
year. Leica USA quoted me the same price to replace it and $49 to 
sell the pre-cut vulcanite to me. I opted for the cheaper option.

What they sent me was very nicely cut to fit the camera, except for 
the surround at the lens release button. That section was cut to fit 
an M2 or M4 which don't have the collar around the button. The funny 
thing is that the cut outs for the neck strap lugs were correctly 
positioned at the sides of the body, rather than angled forward, as 
in an M2. So the vulcanite was cut for a camera that never was made!

It wasn't a major hassle to enlarge the opening for the lens release 
collar. Be sure to remove every bit of the old vulcanite. I flaked 
and carved it off with the short blade on my swiss army knife. Then 
clean the surface with a solvent. Not too much on a rag. Just dampen 
it a bit.

Start at the underside of the lens mount and wrap it around. When 
you're done you'll think you have a new camera! Mine looks beautiful.

Peter Jon White