How to (re) paint an M2 ?

<p>Hi all, <br>

I plan to buy an M2 but it has some scrtches and dents.<br>

I know that I can buy a new leather at cameraleather.com but what about the paint ? <br>

It's too expensive to make it done by someone. So, could I do it alone ? and how ? </p>

<p>To go through the process : <br>

<strong>1. De assemble </strong><br>

Where can I buy cheap Leica clamps ?<br>

<strong>2. Removal the existing paint</strong><br>

Wich Removal ? <br>

<strong>3. Repaint </strong><br>

Which paint should I use ? How to cover the viewfinder, etc.<br>

How to paint the letters ?</p>

<p>Many thanks,<br>

Harold</p>

 

<p>1. The bay. There are cheaper Chinese made ones. For really cheap, you should make your own from sheet aluminium.</p>

<p>2. I assume you have a chrome M2. Or rather, you had better not have a black paint M2 and try to repaint it ;)<br /> To repaint you need to strip the chrome plating off the parts. You do this either by reverse electrolysis or some nasty chemicals. With both you end up with toxic waste which you need to dispose of properly (chrome is nasty stuff to have floating around in your water). Then you need to strip the nickel plate off. This is best done with more nasty chemicals. A search for chrome/nickel stripper should bring some results.</p>

<p>3. Repaint with some bakeable enamel or some epoxy paint. You really need to get the bakeable paint for this otherwise you will wear through the paint in no time and it might even flake/chip off. The viewfinders will be removed by soaking the top plate in warm water. The glue will come loose and you can remove the windows. You need to do this before you strip the paint obviously. The letters are painted in with something called a paint stick. You can buy them at microtools.com. They are sticks of semi-solid paint that you rub into the letters. The paint stays in the letter grooves and the rest wipes off. Some lettering is hard to repaint and get it to stay (the serial number for example). This also depends on how thickly you applied the base paint. You could try with a steady hand and a fine brush though...</p>

<p>If you haven't already realised, this is not an easy thing to do for someone without the proper equipment. You really need to think about the environmental hazards this presents and I would recommend you don't repaint unless you are 100% confident that you can do it safely.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>this is not an easy thing to do for someone without the proper equipment</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I realized that. That's why I'm asking. My question was : "What is the proper equipment I really need to do this".</p>

<p>Well apart from the tools, you need proper chemical disposal facilities. Either you can dispose of the toxic waste yourself or your local government or waste disposal place will do it for you. It is most likely illegal if you dump it down the drain. You could take it to a plating shop and get them to do it as well. I am not sure where you live but in the US, there is a multitude of products to strip chrome and nickel. There are none in Japan here.<br /> Then you need an oven for the paint. Any oven will do. But you might not like paint fumes in your next dinner, or a chicken or beef flavoured camera. You will need some spray equipment too obviously. Other than that you don't need anything special.</p>

<p>If you don't have any of this stuff, it might actually be cheaper for you to pick up an original black paint M2 or send it off to get painted professionally. I know it would be cheaper for me to probably buy a proper black M2 here in Japan.</p>

<p>Harold,</p>

<p>If your M2 is a chrome one, then this is a pretty hard task, as Chuk described, it requires lots of investment and skills. If it is black painted, then consider the value of your rare camera.</p>

<p>CRR in Luton/UK does a great job in enamel coating old Leica cameras. Their prices start at £375. I am considering buying a beater M3 and getting it finished in olive green. Even though I am DIY guy, I'd rather get this done by someone professional. I couldn't achieve good results from my paint touch-up project on a black Summicron.</p>

<p>You can reach them here: <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/">http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/</a></p>

<p>And their re-enamelling service page: <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page3.html">http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/page3.html</a></p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>K.</p>

<p>Harold, if you have to ask how to do a complicated task don't do it. Let someone who is an expert do it for you. You will be happier in the long run. </p>

<p>First, if you buy a vintage M2 with original black paint, don't repaint it. It will lose its value. I assume that is not what you are buying. Original black paints cost $$$$$$$$$$. Leave those to the collectors.<br>

Second, ask yourself if you really want a black paint M2. If you want an M2 in Excellent to Mint condition in chrome spend the extra money to get it. It is cheaper and less of a pain than having your Leica painted<br>

Third, if you really want a black paint Leica M2 find someone who paints Leicas. Shintaro in Tokyo is excellent. But he has a lot of orders so you'll have a long wait. There is an outfit in England, but they are heavily back ordered. There are some folks in Texas who seem to do a good job. DAG will do it for you, I think. Google "Leica, black paint" and see what you get.</p>

<p>Fourth, if you are not an expert camera repainter look at what I said in the opening paragraph and do not even think about doing the job yourself.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you ever see the TV show, <em>Antiques Roadshow</em> in either the British original or the American version, you will possibly remember the 17th c chair that had that awful dark finish on it and the new owners "stripped" it and refinished it?<br>

As it was originally, it was worth $30,000, but after the refinish, it was worth $3,000. Listen to what they are telling you about original finish. Repainting is no more a good idea in classic cameras than it is in classic furniture.</p>

<p>If you can afford a classic M2, don't go DIY on refinishing. Save your money for a better one, or accept the camera as it is.</p>

 

<p>"Do not even think about doing the job yourself." - Welcome to kindergarten again. There is a post on Shintaro's website, according to what even he himself once repainted his Leica for the first time. Unbelivabe, but some people are not born experts, they use their lifetime for learning.<br>

Obviously,the most difficult task is getting the chrome off and I''m afraid the fact that not all chromed parts are made of brass makes et even more complicated. If you decide to leave the small parts as they are, you can use these instructions: <a href="http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/painting%20instructions%20final.htm">http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/painting%20instructions%20final.htm</a> <br>

And yes, practice first on a cheaper camera, if possible.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>If you decide to leave the small parts as they are, you can use these instructions: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/painting%20instructions%20final.htm" target="_blank">http://www3.telus.net/public/rpnchbck/painting%20instructions%20final.htm</a> <br /> And yes, practice first on a cheaper camera, if possible.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>WOW, thanks for this link. That FED 2 looks awesome. I should do it! :-)</p>

<p>K.</p>

<p>Cool, Coray!<br>

Harold, here's how to open up an m2: <a href="http://jumboprawn.net/jesse/cams/gear-profiles/leica-m2-overhaul/leica-m2-overhaul.html">http://jumboprawn.net/jesse/cams/gear-profiles/leica-m2-overhaul/leica-m2-overhaul.html</a></p>

<p>Let me give you a little inside insight. Shintaro is a mechanically gifted genius. I do not use these words lightly. If you are good at taking things apart and putting them back together and are artistically inclined then go paint your Leica. Fortunately, most chrome M2 are not like 18th century chairs. </p>

<p>Here is my black M2. Bought at Lemon Camera, Tokyo. Not original paint.</p>

<p>Here is my black M2. Bought at Lemon Camera, Tokyo. Not original paint.</p><div></div>

<p>Beautiful camera, Alex.<br>

Harold, regarding the small parts I can share my own little experiment. The chrome screws that hold the selftimer and frame preview levers were ugly and scratched. As they are apparantly made of steel I decided to try "bluing" them. I first removed the chrome by sanding, while the screw was held spinning in the drill. After that i heated it until dark red glow and then dropped into a small cup of vegetable oil. Rinsed with lighter fluid and done! Today, half a year later, they look like this (Note that I was sloppy and left some chrome on the screw on the right):</p><div></div>

<p>This is my M2 which obviously has never been re-painted, but the leatherette has been re-placed as the old stuff fell apart. The camera has been though several rebuilds, the last by Don Goldberg (DAG) and it should last for many more years. Best not to repaint an origianal Leica enamal paint job, even if it wasn't the best to begin with.</p>

<p>Hopefully, here it now is...</p><div></div>

<p>It isn't important whether the paint is original, it's important that the wear is original...</p>

<p>And Robbie, your photography looks absolutely as good as your camera!</p>

<p>Given the fact that you don't have any spare money at all, what about film/dev. costs/chemicals/paper - and lenses, travel money?<br>

I cannot help thinking that your concept/project to buy a badly treated M2 off of Ebay is ill-conceived. First off you will surely need a x00$ overhaul/CLA with the 'option' of a new shutter tarp as the original one may have holes (+200$)!<br>

Take this: Even Shintaro's first attempts, with SLRs, as far as I recall, looked real bad, he said. So even this Genius didn't succeed at first. Enamel painting things is a _skill_! Just like pottery, fly fishing, motorcycle racing etc. Just buying the gear doesn't get you anywhere. Especially not far enough to end up with a _usable camera_! You have a great chance of ruining your M2 beyond reasonable repair in your DIY attempt.<br>

Rethink it!<br>

Best<br>

Pete</p>

 

<p>Thank You Tonu! </p>

<p>Hi guys, <br>

Thank you for all your answers.<br>

I do think like some of you that we are not born experts and that we have to try... always... and maybe f**k things sometimes... <br>

I'm going to buy a pretty M2 within next weeks. A grey one (I'm not that dumb... repaint a black ! What an idea !). And I saw some results of repainting that was very good, so... Why not try ? <br>

I'm used to manual staff, I'm just afraid to not have all the right tools or the right method. <br>

Thank for all the links, they are not easy to find over the web.</p>

<p>Harold, your question was a good reason to procrastinate, so here are some results on stripping chrome and nickel. :-)</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finishing.com/120/44.shtml">Hydrochloric acid to strip chrome coating.</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.finishing.com/349/73.shtml">Stripping nickel and copper</a></p>

<p>Finishingdotcom looks like a nice forum with lots of friendly guys. You might want to ask your question about stripping chrome and nickel there.</p>

<p>Good luck and please keep us posted (photograph your processes) so that we can all learn another thing.</p>

<p>K.</p>

<p>If you absolutely are determined to do this, since you clearly are not a conservationist in spirit, and it's true that older Leicas are more in demand, than actually rare,....</p>

<p><em>but</em> if you <em>have</em> to do it -- then buy a nice, cheap Zorkii camera from the former Soviet Union, and repaint etc it first. Not only will mistakes be less painful as you learn, but if it works out right, you'll also have a nice backup body for LTM lenses. If it's a total failure, you'll still have your Leica.</p>

<p>I am sure somewill will correct me on this. But why remove the chrome before painting a camera black, unless someone wants the patina of brass as the paint wears through? I once bought a beautiful black enamaled M3 from a very reputable dealer (traded a black M4 plus money) and after using it a while saw that it was chrome beneath the paint. This was more than 20 years ago and I got the bad end of the deal on that. I should have known my serial numbers. With new hard paints today I would just skip the electrolysis of the removal of the chrome...If I were going to do it myself, which I would never do...</p>

<p>Because paint (or anything for that matter) doesn't like to stick to chrome and you will get a flaky camera.</p>