Absolutely DO NOT CLICK ON THIS THREAD ... Wet Paint

It actually looks similar to the black paint found on the R2a/R3a (these cameras have a spackled paint look as well).

Anyways, looks really cool!
 
$500 to paint a camera? And then the painter MIGHT get back to you? Sometime. Lord. No wonder Leica shooters have a, well, strange reputation. You could have the thing taken apart and rechromed for less than that. But why do any of it? It would ruin the shooting aspect of it, always worrying about scuffing it instead of getting the shot. Buddha said that desire was the cause of all suffering. I am beginning to wonder if buying a camera isn't the real problem.
 
myoptic3 said:
Buddha said that desire was the cause of all suffering. I am beginning to wonder if buying a camera isn't the real problem.
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I have it on good authority that buying a black paint Leica is listed as Sin #7, chapter 31, article K in the order of the Big Seven.

Nice camera. May it serve your vision well!
 
The term for the finish is "crackle" finish and was developed for use mainly on engines to hide imperfections in castings. It is a different finish than the Hammertone, which is smoother to the touch.
I have a M4P in this finish with matching Rapidwinder. It is a bit of a stealth camera as it is pretty well non-reflective and carried against a black jacket or sweater, not very visible.
The M4P is one of my "original" ones - bought new in 1981 (i stocked up at that time - bought 4 of them initially and added some more later) and it had accumulated multiple dings and scratches over the decades, so the Crackle paint finish hides some of that.
 
Tom, on a related issue- are you aware of what type of plating was done to the M6 Titanium version- and whether this would work in practice for other models? If so, any ideas who might be up to doing it?
 
Can't afford to spend the bucks for a real black paint leica M, so I'm gonna paint a M4-p top plate black semi gloss on brass! I don't touch the original top plate, just bought a raw brass one for relatively cheap...
 
The titanium coating on the various M titanium was a form of Titanium nitride coating. It is somewhat complex process but I know for a fact that Leica did a couple of M4's with Leicavit MP's for Jim Marshal in this finish. I have no idea if they will do it for us "regular" folks though. I also suspect that it would be VERY expensive.
The Titanium finish is supposed to be a bit more scratch proof and "rub" proof. It does not change the strength of the top or base plate - and they will still "ding" or dent just as easy as a black or chrome top (speaking from experience here).
 
Kim Coxon said:
According to his website, he does strip the chrome first. I can't wait for mine to come back from CRR.

Kim
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I have an M4 that the previous owner had black enamelled by CRR. It's a work of art. The finish is superb, the detailing is flawless, and the mechanics are smoother than the MP.

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