black paint SP

[richardHaw]

one more note about sanding. some parts are already thin and sanding it will make it thinner. be careful, you don't want to go this route 😱😱😱

 

[F6Roger]

Black Paint SP

Black Paint SP

Can't seem to find a black paint SP anywhere in UK, so thinking of painting a chrome one, I've repainted leicas in the past and have boxes of Nikon F black paint parts for any of the dials etc. Has anyone repainted one?
I read somewhere the back has quite thick chrome that is hard to remove?

Thanks Fraser.

Grays Of Westminster have a 'NEW' Black Paint SP in stock, but get your wallet ready . . . just a mere £5000 🙁

 

[jonmanjiro]

One other thing I found interesting concerned the black paint back I obtained relative to the original SP body I was starting with. Am fairly certain at this point that the N.O.S. black paint back I had was from a 2005 SP, and not an original SP. Why? The paint on the back was both a different color black than the black paint (there is some on the frame) on my original chrome body, and was of much higher quality. The black paint on the original was thicker, and glossier, than the paint on what I am now sure was from the re-issue. Also, the paint on the re-issue is perfect, and the paint job Nikon did on the bodies originally had a lot of orange peel, relatively speaking, though you might not notice it unless you were faced with sticking the new back on an original frame, as I was.

Interesting reading, Larry!

Your BP back is a bit of a mystery as I'm sure its not a 2002/2005 reissue S3/P back. You can easily confirm that by the ASA dial on the base with red and white indicator arrows. The reissue backs have an ISO dial and only one white indicator arrow. The metal of your back also feels thicker than metal used on the reissue backs. Maybe its a back from an S3 Olympic?!

Regarding the frames counter cover, something to note if doing all this is that the counter cover on an original SP is different from the counter cover they used on the SP 2005 (though the fit is interchangeable). For whatever reason, when Nikon did the SP re-creation, they used the style of cover from the F, not the SP.

There's minor differences between earlier and later SPs during the original production run, and the frame counter is one of them. The six concentric circles frame counter cover was used on later SPs during the original production run from about the time the Nikon F was released.

 

[Fraser]

Grays Of Westminster have a 'NEW' Black Paint SP in stock, but get your wallet ready . . . just a mere £5000 🙁

yes did see that i'm thinking maybe not!🙂

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Interesting reading, Larry!

Your BP back is a bit of a mystery as I'm sure its not a 2002/2005 reissue S3/P back. You can easily confirm that by the ASA dial on the base with red and white indicator arrows. The reissue backs have an ISO dial and only one white indicator arrow. The metal of your back also feels thicker than metal used on the reissue backs. Maybe its a back from an S3 Olympic?!



There's minor differences between earlier and later SPs during the original production run, and the frame counter is one of them. The six concentric circles frame counter cover was used on later SPs during the original production run from about the time the Nikon F was released.

Thanks for the clarification, Jon. That makes sense, of course, production run variations being more common then than what one would see today. The difference here in the paint was just so striking that I assumed incorrectly that the back must have been from a more automated era. I appreciate the correction.

 

[Highway 61]

It's not only the rivets, it's the leather on the back. There isn't a close aftermarket match to the leather, and stripping the chrome and nickel is extremely difficult to do properly without having the chemicals touch the leather.

The "leather" on the back of the S2/SP/S3/S4 isn't leather, it's vinyle, which is quite thick and strong so that it can be easily removed without any damage and glued back once the paint job is done.

On the Nikon M and S it's some thin genuine leather, which would be very difficult to remove without destroying it indeed.

Thanks to Larry for all the information provided here about how his black SP job went on.

 

[Alpsman]

I would'nt do it.

Leicashop will have em too
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage_de/nikon/35mm-viewfinder-cameras.html

 

[Fraser]

I would'nt do it.

Leicashop will have em too
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage_de/nikon/35mm-viewfinder-cameras.html

One of the Sps they are selling is a repaint, over £4000 for an original black one a chrome one can be had for £400 chrome ones are not rare or collectable.
Seems the sensible thing to do if you want a user balck paint SP.

 

[splitimageview]

The "leather" on the back of the S2/SP/S3/S4 isn't leather, it's vinyle, which is quite thick and strong so that it can be easily removed without any damage and glued back once the paint job is done.

This depends on what experiences and conditions said SP has had to endure during its lifetime. It's not nearly as simple/easy as you describe! Take it from one who knows first-hand... 😉

 

[richardHaw]

The "leather" on the back of the S2/SP/S3/S4 isn't leather, it's vinyle, which is quite thick and strong so that it can be easily removed without any damage and glued back once the paint job is done.

On the Nikon M and S it's some thin genuine leather, which would be very difficult to remove without destroying it indeed.

Thanks to Larry for all the information provided here about how his black SP job went on.

I can confirm this with the Nikon S 😱😱😱

a call to mr Asahi Aki took care of that. I will do an interview of him soon by phone for my blog 🙄

When removing the leatherette, try isopropyl alcohol, benzene and acetone in that order and see how well it reacts to each of these. I found that Nikon uses several kinds of adhesives that react differently to solvents or it can be a repairer's work. there is contact cement and there is another one that smelled like epoxy but it isn't. Me and Jon saw it being demonstrated to us in Kiitos. That's the thing that reacts to acetone.

another reason for the change in adhesives maybe internal regulation or supply. we have a factory as a family business and believe me that the supply can get problematic when a supplier experiences problems and we had to improvise by looking for an equivalent adhesive.

 

[enasniearth]

The problem with removing the vinyl leatherette from the back is that the metal is thin and easily distorted or bent , removing leatherette from body castings goes easier as they are thick and rigid

 

[enasniearth]

Your best bet for removing the covering is to have the back installed / locked in to a camera when working
Still the painted part with the covering is aluminum alloy which will melt in the chemicals to strip chrome
If you drill the rivets out , you still have to deal with the two different rivets with the three with the spacer for the dual back lock , it’s more complicated then it appears