Is this worthwhile or even possible??

I wouldn't mind having my camera gear insured. I'm not sure whether the added cost is worthwhile just yet. Touch wood I keep my gear close to hand anyway. Maybe I just want to see my name engraved on the bloody thing 😉
 
I'd go for both Ash. 🙂 I have all my camera stuff insured through CIS (plus 2 x 3 chip broadcast quality camcorders) and it's not all that much a month better than going through one of these specialist equipment places
 
Ash

Unless you are HCB or HMQEII then the value drops, any changes drop the value, leather, scratches, paint etc. Winograds finger prints maybe...

The invisible marking pen or the dinky identification dot technique are ok.

Noel
 
Noel, I'm not famous, and I'm not expecting the value to increase on this camera. An engraved baseplate can be replaced if needed.
 
By tea leaf or you - you are being deliberately obtuse? How much do you think a M2 baseplate is? The micro dots may get your M2 returned when the police catch the receiver...

What you may wish to think about is a spare spool or the rapid load adopter.

Noel
 
Ash, I had my M4 converted to all black after purchasing the parts off of ebay. In the end, it was probably better to give it in to a place like CRR Luton, and have it overhauled as well.
 
Ash,

If you are worried about theft, record the serial number and keep copies in safe places far from the camera. Put your name & address BEHIND the pressure plate. Nobody will know it's there but you. Having said all that, chances are good to excellant that if the camera is nicked it will turn up half way around the world and the buyer won't care who's name is on it.

Back in the 70s the police in the USA strongly advised everyone to engrave their valuables with a personal I.D. number. I very dutifully engraved my Louisiana driver's license number on my then new Canon EF body and 2 lenses. Fast forward to today. I don't even have a Louisiana driver's license anymore. What I do have is a mint Canon body and 2 lenses that are devalued because of the engravings.

Cosmetics? Bill Murray summed it up perfectly: "It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter."

Use your money for 1. Film & chemicals. 2. A nice lens. 3. A CLA as required. Those things will improve your photography.

Cheers! Enjoy the M2.
 
Hey Ash:

Congrats on your purchase.

You are receiving varied responses of course, and I cannot argue with the sensible and logical wones above, but DO IT.

Go to the *bay and do a search for leica black paint...at the bottom there are people selling m3 black paint top and bottom plates.....


It is something I would definitley do. You will have the camera forever, do what YOU want with it.

Get a CLA too. Save some $$ perhasp and send it abroad to Sherry in NY and let her do it all for you in a reasonable amount of time.

Chrome is so, well, CHROME!

Best
Paul
 
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One low-risk way to see how the paint will look and go is to find a relative or friend (usually retired) with an airbrush setup, like the kind of guy who builds model airplanes and/or deals with model locomotives. Have him paint the removed bottom plate with lacquer, you may call it nitrocellulose over there.. It's low risk, because unlike enamel, lacquer can forever be removed with little effort by just soaking the plate in lacquer thinner, even many years after it's been dry.
Lacquer is harder than enamel too. Plus most any modeler will have ample black lacquer on hand, the airbrush will do a great job as well.
The proper way is to reverse-plate the brass to get the chrome plating off, as paint is said to adhere to brass better, but for fun with reversability, may as well just clean the chrome and paint it to see what happens.
The engravings are filled with a crayon like product called lacquer pencils, sold at micro-tools.

ANother cool thing about lacquer is that touch-ups are easier than they are with enamel, because the solvent in the new lacquer applied over the old coat re-dissolves the old coat so the old and the new flow together nicely.

If you like how the bottom plate wears and looks, then get the top removed and do it too.. but getting the top off requires special nerves and tools, not something that can be done with pliers and a hammer.

Just a thought.
 
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A couple of thoughts, a good quality black enamel is better than laquer for 2 reasons. Laquer is very brittle so chips easily and the enamel can be "baked" which makes it much harder. Paint doesn't adhere all that well to brass. You need a good quality primer, preferably self etching to provide a good bond. Unless you have access to to some good spray kit, a reasonable alternative is the to the acrylic car sparays. Again I have had good results from using a self etch primer and then the satin black finish. It avoids the setting up and hassle of using an airbrush.

None of these will provide the sort of paint finish and durability that you will gett from CRR. The mil spec paint that they use is much harder but needs very careful application as the fumes are quite poisonous until the paint is dry.

Kim
 
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