Brass confession

[dee]

I bought a local [ i.e. cheapish ] Leica copy in brass with naff skin covering , which I have stripped ...
I confess that I love the brass finish and am contemplating a brass Zorki S [ not Leica fake ] ... it's kinda reminiscent of really old cameras and lenses ...
i can't help thinking how a brass Leica III c would look ... i have the ''Brasso '' polish wadding now ...

dee-mented

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

You don't need Brasso polish, you need valve bedding compound from an automotive supplies store.

It's way more abrasive.

 

[dee]

That's a thought - could remove the faux German makings on the pretender !
But Brasso works fine on it at pesent - it's an older camera , so has a nice patina .
dee

 

[ZorkiKat]

If you wish to strip to brass, electrochemical methods (reverse electroplating) will do it faster and cleaner. It takes only a few minutes to strip the chrome and nickel (albeit separate baths/steps). And unlike abrasive methods, you don't risk thinning the metal plate as well from too much rubbing and scraping.
Electrochemical stripping also allows easy removal of chroming in the small nooks and crannies which an abrasive tool cannot easily reach.

Once removed, the brass won't stay shiny long. It will darken gradually, and take on a rather dull greyish brown patina (overall) soon.

Jay

 

[zhang xk]

If you wish to strip to brass, electrochemical methods (reverse electroplating) will do it faster and cleaner. It takes only a few minutes to strip the chrome and nickel (albeit separate baths/steps). And unlike abrasive methods, you don't risk thinning the metal plate as well from too much rubbing and scraping.
Electrochemical stripping also allows easy removal of chroming in the small nooks and crannies which an abrasive tool cannot easily reach.

Once removed, the brass won't stay shiny long. It will darken gradually, and take on a rather dull greyish brown patina (overall) soon.

Jay

Hi Comrade Jay,

Could you show us an image of such a camera? It sounds real antique and precious. Wouldn't it be even nicer to paint it again in black, and rub off the edges to show its classical age?😛

Cheers,

Zhang

 

[dee]

My ''Leica '' has already been stripped - typical Russian seller stuff , probably from cameramate , but some time ago .
I bought it cheap out of curiosity - I was uncertain how such a camera would apper in the hand - or f it would be a bit OTT , but it isn't - it's smart , though the German Eagle etc is not so nice ! That's why I am contemplating a genuine Zorki S in strpped brass finish - moscowphoto advertises them .

I can't do stuff , 'cos of dee'spraxia , so taking a camera to bits etc is beyond me !

A much brassed black camera would also look neat - my Leica IIs are much nicer than that ! ... but perhaps a black Russian ''Leica '' to gently remove much of the black might be nice - but , then again it might be chrome underneath !

But what do you think of a brass camera ? Naff or nice ?

Can't do pics cable to digicamera lost !

dee

 

[ZorkiKat]

Hi Comrade Jay,

Could you show us an image of such a camera? It sounds real antique and precious. Wouldn't it be even nicer to paint it again in black, and rub off the edges to show its classical age?😛

Cheers,

Zhang

Comrade Zhang,

I posted here a few months ago (with pictures) a detailed method of electrochemical stripping, with pictures of a FED-1 treated this way. Removed the post since the links got corrupted. I'm enclosing a couple of pics, one showing the completely stripped plates, and the painted black FED-1.

I would like to have some of the black rub of and let some of the red brass show underneath. I'm waiting for another Zorki-1 with a bad chrome skin and plan to paint it grey or drab green.

After the chrome and nickel layers are removed electrochemically, this is how the plates would look:

The black FED:

 

[zhang xk]

Hi Comrade Jay,

Thanks for the pictures. The black Fed 1 is just beautiful.🙂 I will borrow the iamge , and post it on a Chinese site.😛

I wonder how it will look in Chinese red, or pink colour? Young ladies may like them. I may try this one day to a worn Zorki or Fed. A Fed 2 may look great in a right dress.

Cheers,

Zhang

Is the de-chrome a complex process?

Comrade Zhang,

I posted here a few months ago (with pictures) a detailed method of electrochemical stripping, with pictures of a FED-1 treated this way. Removed the post since the links got corrupted. I'm enclosing a couple of pics, one showing the completely stripped plates, and the painted black FED-1.

I would like to have some of the black rub of and let some of the red brass show underneath. I'm waiting for another Zorki-1 with a bad chrome skin and plan to paint it grey or drab green.

After the chrome and nickel layers are removed electrochemically, this is how the plates would look:

The black FED:

 

[dee]

Lovely Fed - and fascinating brass - but why not a brass Fed ?
dee

 

[LeicaTom]

Looks nice.............but why don`t people paint their body screws like they used to do in the old daze?
(it would look even nicer)

Tom

 

[dmr]

You don't need Brasso polish, you need valve bedding compound from an automotive supplies store.

It's way more abrasive.

There is a quite abrasive metal polish sold over here in the States called Simichrome. It's great for a rough polish, and does leave a very high luster, but I wouldn't want to use it for regular polishing on something I didn't want to wear down. Some hobby shops that feature jewelry making will have it, but I actually get it at a motorcycle supply shop, of all places! (I swear I mentioned this stuff here once, but a search for it comes up empty. It's kind of like a pink toothpaste in consistency.)

However it sounds like you might get your particular job done better with a jeweler's wheel and a tripoli stick, or even a carborundum stick. Large hobby shops will usually have this stuff. (Watch out, a little carborundum goes a LONG way!)

Oh, and one of the coolest looks for a camera, in my not so humble opinion, is the black finish with the brassing just starting to show through. 🙂

 

[ZorkiKat]

Lovely Fed - and fascinating brass - but why not a brass Fed ?
dee

I've had my share of brass cameras. I had one, sold as a 'gold' Leica (actually a stripped and relabelled Zorki) which turned brownish grey in less than two weeks in tropical Philippine climate.

 

[ZorkiKat]

Before treatment...

Before treatment...

Hi Comrade Jay,

Thanks for the pictures. The black Fed 1 is just beautiful.🙂 I will borrow the iamge , and post it on a Chinese site.😛

I wonder how it will look in Chinese red, or pink colour? Young ladies may like them. I may try this one day to a worn Zorki or Fed. A Fed 2 may look great in a right dress.

Cheers,

Zhang

Is the de-chrome a complex process?

Comrade Zhang

thanks! Please PM me the address of that Chinese site.

Chinese Red and Hot Pink would be great too. One of my friends wanted her Japanese RF in purple.

Electrochemical chrome removal isn't difficult. It's powered by a car battery. Two chemicals needed- ordinary lye solution for one bath and car battery acid solution for the other bath. The baths would remove chrome and nickel plating in under 10 minutes.

This was how the black paint FED looked like before treatment:

Jay

 

[dee]

I have two black Leica II circa 1932/3 with some minor brassing and i love the patina - my brass camera is a stripped early Fed ,but it polishes up nicely - but no comparison with the Leicas . I have two black Fed Leicas , but they do not brass nicely - the paint is thin and they just look like scratches - but I have painted the screws etc !
dee