Olive Repainted Leicas on eBay: How good is the paint job?

[Rob-F]

I'm tempted by the olive color repainted Leicas that are showing up on eBay. Has anyone bought one, or know anything about the quality of the painting? They apparently paint right over the vulcanite, which seems wrong to me. And most offers don't say if the chrome was stripped first (one does). Some user comments from a couple years ago say the green paint falls off. So I'm wondering if there has been any recent experience with olive repainted Leicas. Most of them seem to be sold out of Japan, though I see one occasionally from USA sellers. On inquiry, they typically say they have little or no information as to who did the work, nor how it was done.

Here's a link to an old thread with some comments, not necessarily too encouraging: Link to earlier thread

 

[NIKON KIU]

I was about to reply to the other thread…lol
You are serious about this!
My take is most people that buy this stuff just buy for display and don’t use them much.
I just don’t think you should pay extra for a repainted camera. As for what to buy, avoid the sloppy jobs, look for one that’s been done right.

Example;



Good Job.


Lousy Job.🤮

Kiu

 

[WJJ3]

I'm tempted by the olive color repainted Leicas that are showing up on eBay. Has anyone bought one, or know anything about the quality of the painting? They apparently paint right over the vulcanite, which seems wrong to me. And most offers don't say if the chrome was stripped first (one does). Some user comments from a couple years ago say the green paint falls off. So I'm wondering if there has been any recent experience with olive repainted Leicas. Most of them seem to be sold out of Japan, though I see one occasionally from USA sellers. On inquiry, they typically say they have little or no information as to who did the work, nor how it was done.

Here's a link to an old thread with some comments, not necessarily too encouraging: Link to earlier thread

When I had Lumiere Camera in Tokyo paint my M3 olive, he told me that painting over the black vulcanite is how Leica did it.

 

[Rob-F]

When I had Lumiere Camera in Tokyo paint my M3 olive, he told me that painting over the black vulcanite is how Leica did it.

Well, that's interesting. Did he mean, that's how brand new Leicas are painted, or that Leica repaints cameras that are sent back for that purpose? I didn't know that was available.

 

[Rob-F]

I was about to reply to the other thread…lol
You are serious about this!
My take is most people that buy this stuff just buy for display and don’t use them much.
I just don’t think you should pay extra for a repainted camera. As for what to buy, avoid the sloppy jobs, look for one that’s been done right.

Example;


View attachment 4878443
Good Job.

View attachment 4878446
Lousy Job.🤮

Kiu

Yes, lousy job, that second one. At least they didn't paint the vulcanite. It seems to me that a repaint should follow Leica's example: Paint the parts that Leica originally painted; leave the other parts alone.

 

[NIKON KIU]

Apparently the technician at Lumiere thinks new ones are painted that way by Leica.
Yes, over the vulcanite.
Leica doesn’t repaint cameras!

Don’t look at me! I’m Nikon Kiu

 

[WJJ3]

Well, that's interesting. Did he mean, that's how brand new Leicas are painted, or that Leica repaints cameras that are sent back for that purpose? I didn't know that was available.

Think he meant that’s how Leica did the original military issue olive M3

 

[TenEleven]

Since this has been about the quality of paint jobs - let me add my 0.03

• Most of the ones I have seen from Japanese sellers and the two that I stupidly bought (It was my early days, I did not know better) had execrable paint jobs. Car paint or perhaps even just enamel paint over chrome. It will wear immediately with handling. It will also look ugly since it's just chrome, so the paint won't stick; chipping instead of wearing down gradually.
• Kanto and aforementioned Lumiere charge a premium for their paint-jobs, because they can. Both actually bake the paint in after they strip the chrome down. This makes the process labor intensive & time-consuming --> expensive.
• Cameras that already have slight wear on their paint job are a much safer bet for online buying, because you can - just from the pictures - evaluate how it was painted and whether it's at least a decent job.

 

[Archiver]

If I was after a repainted camera, I'd source a camera and paint tech myself, rather than buying one premade. Knowing the camera and tech would allow for better vetting and quality control.

 

[NIKON KIU]

The following two cameras are offered on eBay as authentic.


For reference, they do look like having paint on the covers.

Kiu