Also in black?

fidget

fidget

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Hi, I've got a rather sad FED3a which could be a good subject for a paint job. I've seen some truly amazing jobs in these threads, and the mention of alternative coatings (powder). So, as a wannabe owner/refinisher how can I get a nice durable finish on my FED? I've seen the beautiful jobs on Jim Blazik's site, and recognise the effort he put into stripping the chrome off before painting. Is there any coating that can be applied over the chrome? I heard of something called "etching" primer which is used in the auto industry, sounds permanent doesn't it? If all fails, how do you get the chrome off?
..David.
 
the primer you are refering to is zinc chromate and can be either green or yellow. It is used in the auto industry to paint plated surfaces. IE a light dusting coat is applied prior to standard primer and or paint. I use it for window trim or mouldings and where painted highlights are needed such as manufactures names in hubcaps ect.
 
If you don't mind textured paint, hammertone or hammerite finish is durable. In the USA its sold as Rustoleum. Just sand the chrome to get rid of rust and roughen the surface a bit then spray. I've done it to a Zorki 6 and Fed 2 in grey. Here's a Fed 2 in black/charcoal grey.

Joseph
 
Joseph, my congrats on your Fed-2! I think that my father's Zorki-6 would look wonderful in such a livery, with his J-12 and the lens hood :) I'm even curious of how a Kiev would look in such a way. Of course, I'd try to get a Kiev just for the purpose. My 2A would stay as it looks now. Congrats again!

max
 
Take the parts to a plating shop....they will strip them fairly cheaply. They did mine for 10 bucks.
 
DaveP said:
Take the parts to a plating shop....they will strip them fairly cheaply. They did mine for 10 bucks.
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What is a "plating shop" ?

Thanks,
Ruben
 
Thanks for your ideas.

flashover said:
the primer you are refering to is zinc chromate and can be either green or yellow. It is used in the auto industry to paint plated surfaces. IE a light dusting coat is applied prior to standard primer and or paint. I use it for window trim or mouldings and where painted highlights are needed such as manufactures names in hubcaps ect.
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This is interesting, plated surfaces as in, say, satin chrome?
 
A plating shop is where they rechrome bumpers , headlight trim, auto stuff,,,,look under automotive in the phone book.
 
darkkavenger said:
Joseph, my congrats on your Fed-2! I think that my father's Zorki-6 would look wonderful in such a livery, with his J-12 and the lens hood :) I'm even curious of how a Kiev would look in such a way. Of course, I'd try to get a Kiev just for the purpose. My 2A would stay as it looks now. Congrats again!

max
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Thanks!

Joseph
 
I've only painted one camera......a Zorki 6 in olive drab. Idealy it's best to remove all the chrome like DaveP mentioned. If you can't, just sand the surface very well. I think I used 120 grit. Becareful not to sand too hard. You can end up bending the metal covers by gripping the covers too hard. When you're sanding you're not trying to remove the chrome, just rough up the surface so the etching primer a better surface to bite on to.

Is this method durable? I've been told by several people that they've painted chromed parts this way and has lasted for years. Is this ture? I dunno. I take everything with a grain of salt. ;)

Good luck on your project. I'm gonna be painting my FED 2b and 3a when the weather gets warmer. By the way, how are you liking the 3a? I think I like it better than my 2b. :eek:
 
I looked on the web and it looks like Rustoleum is a spray paint enamel. So would it be okay to paint with any kind of enamel spray that i can get at a hobby shop?
 
lubitel said:
I looked on the web and it looks like Rustoleum is a spray paint enamel. So would it be okay to paint with any kind of enamel spray that i can get at a hobby shop?
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I guess it would except that if you use a smooth finish it might show surface blemishes if you don't sand blast the chrome. I used textured paint to avoid this problem.

Joseph
 
If surface blemishes is the issue there's a simple fix. After you've sanded the surface, apply several thin coats of etching primer, sand with 400 grit, and now spray some "filler primer" only on the areas with blemishes. Filler primer is thick and can fill blemishes fast. If your not careful you can fill the engravings on the top cover. Then simply sand and "fill prime" until the blemishes are gone.
 
w3rk5 said:
Good luck on your project. I'm gonna be painting my FED 2b and 3a when the weather gets warmer. By the way, how are you liking the 3a? I think I like it better than my 2b. :eek:
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w3rk5, my (ex)working 3a has developed a fault. This paint job is for my 2nd 3a which was a bad buy and mechanically sound but cosmetically poor, although it's the knobs which are the problem. How can these be treated? Anyway I found that the 3a is a nice user, I would find it difficult to choose between it and my Fed2. Instead of fixing the 3a quickly, I spent a weekend with my Kiev4a and a couple of lenses, which has not made me hurry to fix the 3a, in fact, the Kiev has turned out to be a bit of a gem in an angular, knobbly sort of way.
When I can get my head round the 3a fault I wiil be using it again.
 
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