i got a nekkid m3

[back alley]

and maybe not so klutzy...

i just skinned my m3, took about 35 minutes as i was moving very slowly.
the cover must have been the original, it was very brittle and seemed quite easy to remove.
i used a narrow putty knife and a jewelers screwdriver.
the putty knife helped with removing much of the dried glue also.

i will 'goo gone' next and then it will be ready for the new aki cover, if it ever gets here.

kind of a relief as i was thinking that this would be the hard part.

joe

 

[FrankS]

That was the hard part! Good for you.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

When I refinished my M3 I used a paint solvent instead. The directions from Cameraleather.com said it's a 45 minute process... My foot! I had to leave the camera slathered in solvent overnight instead. That was a pretty tough 1957 vulcanite! 🙂

Now... stripping it was a cinch! And recovering it too! 🙂 You'll do fine, Joe.

Just stay away from scissors and canned air.

 

[JoeFriday]

I had the same experience as Francisco.. it took at least two hours, and the original cover came off in about 800 pieces, none larger than a nickel.. and I stripped the black paint off the front screws with the solvent

you got the hard part done, joe.. putting the new cover on takes about 5 minutes if you take your time

 

[back alley]

and now the body is smooth as i have removed most of the old glue.

that goo gone works great.

ya know, for those who put black tape on their leicas or black dots so that people wont recognize them...this is the perfect cover...it looks like an old broken down camera now, no one would steal this!!

joe

 

[back alley]

i just sent aki an email as i checked and it's 10 days since he sent the second cover.
that's 20 days and no cover.

very frustrating...

 

[Kyle]

Thats very odd. I've placed five orders from Aki. Three for covers and twice for his scratch free kits. They always arrived very quickly.

 

[john neal]

Well done Joe!

I would not worry about Aki actually sending the covers - it's more likely a postal problem. Mine arrived one week to the day after posting.

Now, just don't try to blast the new cover on with canned air 😉

 

[laptoprob]

Aki is the best. He offered to send me another set after my questionning about the shipping, but in the meantime the bright red one had arrived.
Turns out I forgot to do the payment in the first plase, so Aki did not ship. Ofcourse.

Does he know of our site and our praise?

 

[Chico]

Thanks for the update, Joe! 🙂

 

[former member]

What's the biggest part of the Vulcanite that came off in one piece?

Don't throw it away, I might be able to use it for patching.

 

[back alley]

not any big parts but lots of small peices. it was very brittle.

and for the record, aki has been great to deal with. i imagine it's the post or customs holding things up.

joe

 

[Stu W]

I've made 5 purchases from Aki, and none took longer to arrive than 5 days, most only 4. I don't know if the East Coast of the US is much diff than Canada?

 

[CZeni]

When I stripped my M3 I used Cameraleather's instructions - the 1954 vulcanite came off in seconds after being hit with the paint stripper...I took a couple of hours with small tools to get it really clean though.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/Project-Pimp-My-M has a couple of pix.

 

[back alley]

i sent aki an email, asking to double check the address he is sending to.
it seems odd to have both orders lost.

 

[back alley]

great!
the purple snakeskin cover was in the mailbox today!!

and it's really purple! not a speck of red.
kinda looks grape. just shades of lighter & darker colour.
i like it.
i am gonna calm down first and and have something to eat and then put it on the m3.

and i didn't cut or break anything that i opened today!!!
joe

 

[FrankS]

Good Luck, Joe! And as Fransisco said, stay away from the scissors and canned air while installing this cover.

 

[Honus]

great!
the purple snakeskin cover was in the mailbox today!!

Cool. I'm anxious to see how it looks. It sure is a more affordable option than an à la carte MP 🙂

Robert

 

[back alley]

it's very cheap at 19 bucks.

i also have a black cover on hand, as back up!

joe