Re: [Leica] Shintaro

[Joseph Yao <joseph@yao.com>]

Friends,

I have been following this thread and let me offer what I know:

I have known Shintaro as well as his work for a number of years.  He has
painted over forty of my cameras.  And Javier, please read this carefully:
CHROME IS REMOVED FROM THE BRASS BEFORE PAINT IS APPLIED.  On one of my
visits to Tokyo I asked him to paint an M2 for me.  He asked if I had a few
hours to spare and he did my camera while I waited - I witnessed every step
in the process, and I would say it loud and clear again, ' the chrome is
removed from the brass.....'.

As for the jpeg on his website, looking at the M3 on my Apple LCD monitor,
there is BRASS underneath the black paint on the top cover as well as the
external controls.  As for the back door, there are silver patches showing
because the back door is NOT made of brass.  If you have a user M2/3/4 with
painting peeling off the back door you will see what I mean.

I have also handled this very M3 on his website - and yes, there is brass
underneath black paint and no, there is no chrome between the black paint
and brass.  As for the amount of brassing, I understand some were
deliberate, like the edges of the viewfinder and rangefinder windows.

Is his paint durable?  Sure it is.  Very much so.  My daily user is a M6
classic with a painted M4 top cover and various M2/3/4 external controls.
After three years of constant use, only the rewind knob and shutter speed
dial have brassed.  The former was scratched by the buckle on the leather
neck strap and the latter was marred by the M3 advance lever.

I have compared his painting against an unused original black paint M4 as
well as the current black paint M cameras such as the Millennium and LHSA.
Shintaro's paint is thicker and harder.  The Millennium and LHSA feature a
thinner layer of paint, and in the case of the former, polishing marks are
visible.  The black paint M4 has started bubbling at various places, but
since this camera is over thirty years old I will give it the benefit of
doubt.  I am not an expert to judge whose paint is 'better', but I would say
without a moment of hesitation I prefer Shintaro's work over that of Leitz
and Leica.

In addition to Shintaro, I have also had some of my cameras painted by Mr.
Takahashi.

http://onelovepeace.tripod.com/Teru.inc.html

He charges three to four times more and his work is even more refined.
However, his painting is more delicate and I would say it is less suitable
for regular use.  IMHO, if you wish to USE a black paint M3, you send your
camera to Shintaro.  If you want your M3 to LOOK great in black paint, you
send it to Mr. Takahashi.

And thanks to Shintaro, we Leica users now have an extra choice for the
finish of our cameras.  I had wanted a black paint M6J for sometime and he
has made my dream come true.  Now with the M7 featuring paintable brass top
cover, things will get very interesting indeed.  I wonder what finish the
LHSA M7 will have.

Javier, I would like to remind you again, Shintaro does remove the chrome
from brass before he paints.

Bests,

Joseph


on 1/5/02 11:59 pm, Javier Perez at summarex@yahoo.com wrote:

> Now that's a pretty stupid thing to say.
> Am I supposed to trust him because people who feel the
> need to have their cameras repainted like him.
> Do I know this guy! I don't assume anything about him
> except for what I've observed on his site and from
> user's commenmts. Considering the reaction of some of
> those users to my doubts I must discounts their
> comments about the quality of the paint job.
> 
> 
> I am questioning the quality of a product seen on the
> web. I don't give a dam who makes it nor do I care if
> you happen to like him. If you can't handle that too
> bad. but don't resort to conducting personal attacks
> against me. 
> 
> In the olden day this thread would have led to a
> discussion about different types of paint. prepaint
> metal treatment processes, different kinds of baking
> scenarios, difficult applications such paint retention
> on a knurled lands and all sorts of interesting stuff.
> But now thanks to a few people
> discourse is stifled and it all turns into crap.
> 
> 
> This all goes to a larger issue. I've been on this
> list for years and it has become impossible to hold
> serious discussions on products and services because a
> small group turns to mud slinging. It's happened to me
> and to several other people before. Normally I'de be
> willing to stop responding in the name of peace and
> traquility but it's gone too far. I will keep this up
> until something gives.
> 
> Javier

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