Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dennis- Good point! As I pointed out, the 'vulcanite' on an old FED appeared to have the greenish-brown oxidation that vulcanite pipe stems often show with age- any pipe smokers out there know what I mean! Since it is a form of vulcanized rubber, it has, one a high sulfur content, and no real artificial 'rubberisers' to make it flexible. I think that Leica's point was to use something that did not contain a high concentration of petroleum solvents- we all know what oil and petroleum distillates a can do to rubber- like tyres- with are a form of vulcanized rubber. Most of the suggestions seem to revolve around keeping it clean- I use Citra-solve, the cleaner/air freshener made from theoil of citrus fruit peels- biodegradable, mild, and it smells nice! It is great for removing 'nose' oil and general crud. On top of that, the only real protection that the rubber needs is to protect it from oxidation which will break down the surface, and allow it to harden.... To restore the FED I pointed out that I used Edge Dressing from Kiwi- and to reaffirm its use, I went and scrubbed and rubbed, and it did not rub off, and it seems to be still good on the IIIc on which I used it. The IIIc was a painted user, so I figured if the Vulcanite fell off, I'd just replace it with the FARGo stuff, but so far, NO PROBLEMS! I have used a light coate of paste wax to brighten both vulcanite and leather- so far, not problems with what is really 'natural' ingredients- I recently gave my son a pair of shoes that I had had for over thrity years. They were dress shoes that never really felt right, and so I wore them very little, but did keep them polished and dusted over the years. They looked as good as new when I gave them to him. He was tickled to have a pair of shoes that were ten years older then he was!! I thik that protecting vulcanite from oxygen is important- especially if you have a collectible that you want to preserve, any natural protectant should be fine. IF you use the camera- then if the cover falls off- it means you are actually using the damnned thing, and if you want to keep using it- have it recovered. Hopefully, you will do this three or four times while you have the camera! The greatest chanllenge is to actually wear a leica completely out! Dan - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis Painter" <dwp@deltanet.com> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Friday, March 16, 2001 1:34 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: care for vulcanite & leatherette > > > > <, Leica, NJ recommends Lexol. This is used on leather saddles. Most hardware > > stores have it. Leathers by Mary Terry recommends Leather Armor or something > > that sounds like that. I have used Lexol on my M3. M5, M6 and Rollei TLR. I > > hope > > Leica is right because they all look LN. Hopes this helps.>> > > -- > > Well, vulcanite is not leather, it's not leatherette (whatever that is) it's hard > rubber. I expect that Leica NJ is recommending Lexol for use on the M6s which do > not have vulcanite on the body shell. > > As has been pointed out, there is a lot of chatter in the archives about > treatments for vulcanite. > > Dennis > >