Leica LTM Cracked Vulcanite

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Fausto

Fausto

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The vulcanite on my Leica II, which up to now had been beautifully intact, has developed a hairline crack from the top plate to the bottom plate on the back. Too much roughhousing I guess.

What to do? Do I send it off or would a little epoxy do the trick?
 
Only CRR (in the UK) actually replaces vulcanite, and they require you to ship the camera to them so they can replace it on-site. It costs 95 GBP, and they don't specify a turnaround time (but they are currently not accepting any cameras, for any amount of work, until September of this year due to backlog).

Otherwise, if the vulcanite persists in falling off you can replace it with a leather "skin" from Cameraleather or Aki-Asahi for much less (Aki charges around USD 20 and Cameraleather's prices depend on the quality of covering, from USD 15 to more than USD 60).
 
The rubber that is vulcanised to the the body has dried and cracked.

Get some black silicone driveway sealer and force it into the crack. Reingrave the finish to match. You can try to moisturize the rubber, but you will not have much luck. I use McGuires tire and rubber lube 2/year.

To put back to original, the camera needs to be taken down to the body casting and furnaced with new material.

Just reskin it.
 
I found the Aki-Asahi covering remarkably easy to apply on a IIIc. Luckily all traces of the old vulcanite had been removed from the body when I got it.
 
This really grinds my gears. 😡 It's just a hairline crack, almost invisible unless you look at it sideways.....

The driveway sealer is interesting but I'd probably have to buy a gallon of it....

Maybe I'll get some black duct tape & start with that.
 
Fausto, I agree with Noel. If the crack doesn't keep you from handling the camera comfortably, pay it no attention. Unless the camera is meant for display, that is.
 
CRR offer the the original style for £95 and something that looks very much like it for £40. I have just had this done to a truly battered old III and am very happy with result.

I would not have had this done except that the original vlucanite had become positively unpleasant.

Sounds like you haven't got to this stage yet so, as others suggest, fill the gap and forget!

Michael
 
I have fixed a similar but smaller problem by firstly running some crazy glue (super glue to us Ozzies) into the crack and making sure it gets under to bond the vulcanite onto the metal. Then I have used a black compund to cover the crack. In my case I bought a small pot of bituminous sealing compound from the hardware store, which I successfully used and looks exactly like vulcanite (ccolour and feel) when set hard. (Although it does take a while to become hard - I am talking days or weeks depending on temperature.) The pot will last me till aorund the next century at the present rate. I tried a number of options but never found any more high tech solution that was suitable
 
Fausto said:
This really grinds my gears. 😡 It's just a hairline crack, almost invisible unless you look at it sideways.....

The driveway sealer is interesting but I'd probably have to buy a gallon of it....

Maybe I'll get some black duct tape & start with that.
Click to expand...

I have not tried it, but I'm told that "liquid electrical tape" is a good way to repair small areas of damage to vulcanite. It's black and sets fairly hard, plus you can "tool" it while it sets to match the original graining pattern. It comes in small tubs, sometimes with a brush attached to the underside of the lid.

In the USA, I believe it is widely available for a few $$s, but it is difficult to get in the UK and can cost £10 (typical!).

Worth a try.
 
In the past when this sort of thing has happened I have flooded the underside of the vulcanite with super glue (crazy glue) through the crack. This bonds the vulcanite to the metal to reduce the risk of more of it coming away. Then as someone else suggests I have used a black mastic material to fill any gaps. This is mainly cosmetic. I have tried several alternatives including modern silicone synthetics, but have found that the best one is a bituminous gunk found in hardware stores to waterproof gutters etc. It dries to a colour and hardness quite close to the original vulcanite. BUT it takes quite a while to dry. of course if the vulcanite has given up the ghost competely you can get a replacement from one of the suppliers. All I have seen pictured on this and other sites look great and it is reputed to be technically easy to accomplish.
 
'Not an expert by any means, but I'd hate to have to eventually (try to) remove the crazy/ super glue someday. BTW--I've used quite a bit of the "bituminous gunk" and it cleans up quite well with petroleum solvents while it's still flexible.

The Leica users recommend twice a year applications of Glycerin to prevent (?) or retard cracking of the vulcanite.
 
I've found that Mars Black Acrylic Artists Paint is good for filling in cracks in vulcanite and for gluing loose pieces of vulcanite back on. By using several layers of paint, larger areas of missing vulcanite can be filled in with a matching texture. All it takes is patience and proper procedure.

Richard
 
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