Replaceing vulcanite

<p>When I bought my M4-2 in May 2010 the vulcanite looked like new but with handling over the past year it is rapidly deteriorating, especially in the back right area. Chips are breaking off to reveal the metal underneath. Does anyone have a suggestion as to a replacement source of covering and also how hard is it to remove the vulcanite that does not volunteer to die gracefully and fall off.</p>

<p>Try <a href="http://www.cameraleather.com">www.cameraleather.com</a> . I used their patch on the rear door of my M4. The material is vinyl, but a good match for the original vulcanite. The fit was perfect. It takes a bit of work to remove all of the original vulcanite, but it does come off. Make sure you have a very clean surfface so that the replacemant will stick with no problems. While there are other similar products, those from Cameraleather are excellent</p>

<p>I recovered my Leica M3 with leatherette from Asahi-Japan, sorry I don't have an address but I believe they are on the .....bay auction site. My repair man ordered it and I had the task of stripping the crumbling vulcanite while he CLA'ed the camera.</p>

<p>I've used Cameraleather.com products very successfully. If you decide to use them, realize that the owner is really busy and takes his time to ship his products, especially if you order one of his more exotic coverings. Nevertheless, they are well worth the wait.</p>

<p>question<br>

as a non leica type of person<br>

more like a plastic camera person<br>

why does a 5 year old leica require recovering?<br>

should the most expensive camera in the world have a more durable coating?<br>

some of my 30-50 year old cameras still do not require re-covering.<br>

what is Vulcanite ? some form of hard rubber or Vinyl?</p>

 

<p>M4's were produced from the mid-1960's through the mid-1970's so there is your 30-50 years.</p>

<p>I have re-covered three cameras -- a Leica IIIc, a Zorki 1C and a Leica IIIa -- with coverings from www.aki-asahi.com. The coverings were easy to apply and delivery was prompt. The bodies of the two Leicas were clean, but removing the old covering from the Zorki was a difficult and messy job. My Leica M3 has a fine Griptac covering from Camera Leather, but it was installed by Don Goldberg.</p>

<p>Walter, my M4-2 was made in 1978 according to the serial number. That would make it 33 years old. My oldest 35mm camera is an Olympus Pen, the early VF model and it was made in July, 1960. It's covering is indeed original and in good shape. An Olympus OM-1 (non MD) I have was made in 1972 and its covering has shrunk and is lifting at the edges. So covering longevity is all over the map, some good and some bad. Thanks to all for the response, think I'll go with the Griptec from Cameraleather. I think this M4-2 sat unused for a long time before coming to me. The covering seemed fine for the first few months but then suddenly began to fall apart at a rapid rate.</p>

<p>as I said "not a leica guy" all I recall is thet the m39<br>

cameras were old and the M series was newer.<br>

So I didn't realize how old the camera was.<br>

enjoy shooting with these fine cameras<br>

Please don't put on green snakeskin, etc.</p>

 

<p>as I said "not a leica guy" all I recall is thet the m39<br>

cameras were old and the M series was newer.<br>

So I didn't realize how old the camera was.<br>

enjoy shooting with these fine cameras<br>

Please don't put on green snakeskin, etc.</p>

 

Another vote for aki-asahi.com. Fast and cheap, and I managed to reskin my IIIa without problems.

 

Soeren

<p>And another vote for <a href="http://www.cameraleather.com/">CameraLeather</a>. He's very helpful and the quality is good.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>And I'll add my voice to the chorus praising CameraLeather. Very good stuff. And Mr. Spsrks is a very good man.</p>

<p>+1 for cameraleather.com.<br>

The Griptac material is amazing! It's like the camera is glued to your hand. Allows a gentler grip and reduces fatigue.</p>

 

<p>I put cameraleather.com coverings on both of my M3's about 10 years ago. I am quite satisfied with the results.</p>

<p>Mark J.</p>

<p>If you want real (yes, real!) vulcanite, the send it to Peter Grisalfi at CRR Luton in the UK. He is one of the best Leica techs in the world and looks after our Queen's Leicas. He will recover with real vulcanite.<br>

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/</p>

<p>I used Cameraleather's black lizard to recover my Dad's DS M3 - a 57 year old camera - Sherry did a CLA on the M3 and the Summicron 7 element Rigid - It's now its a working jewel that will out do my M6 and Summicron 4.</p>

<p>This is an old thread, but I was interested in how the griptec from cameraleather.com turned out. I want to recover a Leica III ( the vulcanite had a patch missing, then the rest literally fell off when I started to see how well it was on; made it for 77 years at least) and want it mostly to look original which is leatherette I guess or similar from aki-asahi. But Morgan at cameraleather told me in a email that the griptec works well and looks good on the ltm Leicas.<br>

Anybody tried the griptec covering recently?</p>

<p>thanks Mike</p>