[Leica] M3 door recovering

[Rolfe Tessem <rolfe@ldp.com>]

Well, it was bound to happen some day. My M3 developed Vulcanite disease 
on the door recently, starting as one chip and going downhill quickly 
from there.

After discussing the possibilities with Sherry, the best option she 
could offer was also the cheapest -- a replacement rear door covering 
from the M6 material. She said these are available from Leica for, get 
this, $10.00. If so, it has to be the cheapest Leica replacement part 
I've ever heard of :).

Unfortunately, the M6 leatherette isn't a great match for Vulcanite, so 
this didn't seem too appealing. If the chipping had been bad enough to 
justify recovering the whole camera, I would've gone that route though, 
as there just aren't a whole lot of other viable options.

Then I remembered that Micro-Tools sells a replacement leatherette that 
is supposed to be a better match for Vulcanite and I decided to at least 
order a sheet and assess it before going further. It turns out that the 
Micro-Tools 4040 leatherette is a near perfect match. I cut some pieces 
to match the door size and then set about trying to get an acceptable 
circle cut out of the middle for the film reminder. It took three tries, 
but I finally did succeed with a steady hand and an Exacto knife. The 
material has a backing which peels off to reveal the adhesive, so you 
don't even have to mess with glue -- you just press it on.

I can recommend this material whole heartedly to anyone in the same 
situation. Fortunately, the Vulcanite on the rest of my M3 body seems 
solid.

Here's the Micro-Tools link:

http://www.micro-tools.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MT&Product_Code=4040


- -- 
Rolfe Tessem      |     Lucky Duck Productions, Inc.
rolfe@ldp.coom    |     96 Morton Street
(212) 463-0029    |     New York, Ny 10014

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