Removing scratch mark on M8 top plate, how?

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pizzahut88

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As the title said, I have a few faint scratch marks on the top plate of a black M8.

Is there anyway I could remove them?
What about the use of a air brush, some matte black hobby model paint, would that do?

Any tips guys?

Thanks in advance.

I just acquired an M8 2nd hand.

I have not posted here for a long time since I sold my silver chrome M8, but I could simply could not resist coming back now that Leica had finally succeeded in making the M9.

So yes, eventually, I will upgrade to the M9 as the supplies become more abundant.
 
If you want to do anything, it should be a full paint job by CRR, which will not be cheap.
 
I would leave it well alone. Partial paint will not work well. It likely wont match, adhere properly, wear properly etc. It takes the same pics and as someone said earlier, at least you wont wince with its next scratch.
 
Is it completely on the top plate? If it is, someone makes a black die-cut protective sticker for M6 top plates - it might work for the M8.

I suspect looking at the scratches is driving you nuts, maybe a simple cover-up would suffice.
 
Roger Hicks said:
As far as I recall, all black M8s are black chrome: there were no black paint cameras until the M8.2.

Cheers,

R.
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That is correct Roger. But CRR and Shintaro will strip the chrome off an M camera and paint them. The M8 might lend itself well to such treatment. Otherwise a spare top cover can be fitted.
 
I know how you feel--maybe your first scratch, but absolutely leave it alone. You cannot repair the scratch satisfactorily or refinish just the top plate. If you do the latter, then it will likely not match the rest of the camera. Fill the scratch w/ a Sharpie pen (or other indelible marker) marker as earlier suggested, if you must. Scratches and dents are a natural result of use of a camera, watch, shoes, car, etc.
 
The best way is to order a new top plate, and then remove the scratched one and replace.

Ultimately you will need to keep that scratch free top plate camera locked up behind glass, or it will get scratched again.

Or: have a new one made out of Titanium. That would be scratch proof, just check out the poor old Contax G models: unscratchable!

Cheap Leica bodies will scratch, no doubt, no real cure. Sorry
 
with the exception of the 100 pieces of the M8 Panda. I have one. I bought it because I liked the paint finish better than the chrome.

Another way to make that scratch disappear is to buy an M9. Anyway, the scratch shows that you enjoy taking pictures more than you enjoy fetishizing your gear.

jaapv said:
That is correct Roger. But CRR and Shintaro will strip the chrome off an M camera and paint them. The M8 might lend itself well to such treatment. Otherwise a spare top cover can be fitted.
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You scratched it, it's even more yours than before. The second scratch will bother you less, and by the time you scratch it the third time you'll just shrug your shoulders.

BTW, I like my M4-2 because it's very slightly brassed in the corners. :)
 
Having painted an M8 before, it's not for the faint of heart. It's essentially disassembling a laptop computer, not a camera. Even just removing the top plate and replacing it with another is something I would highly recommend avoiding altogether or having Leica do. There is a flex circuit board underneath the top plate, it's actually directly soldered to the hot shoe. One needs to be a trained soldering tech to do it right. Not to mention the switches which have to be disassembled completely, try not to lose the super tiny detent ball bearings. :)

Just live with the scratches. :)
 
The scratch is like a character mark. Create a story around it. Tell people you got it from falling off your elephant in an elephant-polo match. Or running from rebel troops who wouldn't believe you weren't a spy. Or when a jealous husband came at you with a knife.
 
Whatever you do do not try to remove the scratch. I lent my black chrome M8 to a friend and they scratched the top plate, they then tried to remove the scratch by rubbing with a "cleaning" cloth. It turned out the cloth was midly abrasive. End result a large area of the black chrome turned a shiny yellowish color and in some parts metallic gray - a real mess.

I would also warn against using a brass blackener such as that offered by Birchwood Casey (Brass Black Metal Finish), it replaces the brass with a coating of selenium which is soft and not hard wearing. It's also acidic and can leave etch pits in the underlying metal - don't try it!

In the end I left the camera as it was - it's been back to Solms since - goodness knows what they thought had happened to it. It's very expensive to have the top replaced, a complication is the serial number also has to be transferred and as others have said there are components soldered to the hot shoe connections.

Bob.
 
Get electrical tape and cover the camera. This is how I have kept mine mint for years. The thicker the shell you build up, the better. Good for street photography in that it makes your camera look ugly.

Mine is for shooting, not for beauty contests.
 
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