I sent my M4 to be repainted...

[flip]

Looks very nice. Congratulations. I have to admit that I was curious as to if the counter was painted as in the auctions. I guess that was wishful thinking.... With a CLA, a great deal.

 

[rsosa]

mmhh tempting... but the chromes are still nice on mine

 

[david.elliott]

Looks awesome!

 

[wjlapier]

I'd like to see a photograph of the camera itself...

BTW, HERE is the link to the site I mentioned above. It's "Restoration35/leica" and they offer the same kind of job for $450 (a partial restoration or "pandification" for $350). It's not a flat fee: a CLA will cost $95 and a number of small parts and pieces that may need replacement have their own price tag, from $5 to $75. But there's no need to send your camera abroad, as they work in Austin TX.

At times I've played with the idea of buying a Leica M3 and have it painted black by these people... but then, I first have to find the M3 🙂 !

If Robert is painting again I'd jump on it asap. He did my M3 in the anti-panda style. The paint job was done very well, and is extremely tough. My MP I owned for a while brassed quickly, but this M3 doesn't show any wear at all--I do use it too.

The Masa paint job looks excellent! The documentation is an added bonus I wouldn't expect. I think Masa will be getting busy soon and those turn around times longer!

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Seems to me that Masa is going to get a backlog soon enough! 🙂 That is a NICE job!

 

[RFluhver]

Can I have a confirmation on something please? When this ages, will there be a nice yellowish sheen?

Also, I'm a bit worried that this is so quick. Sometimes, quick and fast service doesn't always mean good work. Is Masa's painting method similar to others, then? Is that paint going to stick or will it flake?

The other thing that I thought strange is that the OP is in Japan. Right? There are so many black M4's in Japan, why not just buy one of those? Or is the cost still lower if you get a chrome one painted?

Tnx.

 

[Frontman]

Can I have a confirmation on something please? When this ages, will there be a nice yellowish sheen?

Also, I'm a bit worried that this is so quick. Sometimes, quick and fast service doesn't always mean good work. Is Masa's painting method similar to others, then? Is that paint going to stick or will it flake?

The other thing that I thought strange is that the OP is in Japan. Right? There are so many black M4's in Japan, why not just buy one of those? Or is the cost still lower if you get a chrome one painted?

Tnx.

Masa's painting process is pretty good. The camera and small parts have the chrome removed, the parts are then polished, prepped, primed, and painted. Original black paint Leicas were not painted with any particular care, just simple black enamel over brass, which is why they get so beautifully brassy over the years. Most repaints done nowadays with more modern paints are more durable. But, the paint will eventually wear, and the camera will become brassy. My M4 was brassy before, it had been used so much that the chrome had been worn away in the corners and around the winding lever, it was time to get it re-chromed, or repainted.

There are many original black paint M4 cameras in Japan, but these are highly prized, and highly priced. A typical black M4 will start in price around $3000 and go up from there.

From all that I can tell, Masa is a reputable profressional, with a modern shop. He speaks very good English, and he communicates regularly to let you know of any problems or to inform you of his progress, he wrote to me 4 times while he had my camera. It's been only 6 days since I shipped my camera to him, I'm still amazed that I have it already, and I can't wait to take it out and use it this weekend.

 

[maddoc]

There are many original black paint M4 cameras in Japan, but these are highly prized, and highly priced. A typical black M4 will start in price around $3000 and go up from there.

There are also many repainted - black - M Leicas for sale in Japan, in Sapporo was an M2 for sale @ 98.000JPY and just yesterday I spotted an M4 black repaint at MAP Camera for 140.000JPY. Both cameras looked optically very good.

For the "purists" ... the repaint finish done by Masa is more matte or semi-gloss while Shintaro`s paint job resembles quite exactly the original Leitz black paint finish. Also Shintaro uses a paint that is enameled at elevated temperatures while Masa uses a different type of paint (without baking the parts, form what I have heard)

 

[mgd711]

It looks very nice. I’ll post some pictures of my Shintaro painted M2 when I get it.

 

[leicamshooter]

Will be sending Masa a IIIG

Will be sending Masa a IIIG

I've been in communication with Masa and he has been very responsive and informative. I will be sending him a IIIG & collapsible summicron very soon. I will post pics when I get it.

Robert has done a M2 for me in the past and his work is top notch. However, I know he may be taking a break because of medical related issues with his hands.

In our communications Masa sent me pics of a IIIG that he painted for another customer... He stated that his paint has a 30% gloss to it.

Now if I can just get cameraleather.com to respond to my email about ordering a black Lizard skin for my IIIG?

Regards,
Gonzalo

 

[RFluhver]

Here... it say's "Leica repainting service" in English, ¥48,000.

Just now it's around ¥83 to the $1 so that’s $578.

I paid Shintaro $600 to do my M2.

And this was the point of my question about getting just a straight original BP body. With that sort of cost, a repaint seems to actually approach the cost of an original BP M4 anyway. And that's also why I was asking questions about the repaint quality and brassing: with cost at near parity, maybe it's best to go pure.

 

[Frontman]

And this was the point of my question about getting just a straight original BP body. With that sort of cost, a repaint seems to actually approach the cost of an original BP M4 anyway. And that's also why I was asking questions about the repaint quality and brassing: with cost at near parity, maybe it's best to go pure.

My M4 was a beater, and I bought it for cheap. When I add what I paid for the camera with what I paid Masa for the repaint, CLA, shutter replacement, and new vulcanite, it still works out to about half the cost of an original black-paint M4. Odds are that even if you find and original black M4, you may need to invest some money into it to get it running properly.

I am not really a purist or a collector, I am a simple photographer. I have several "collectable" cameras but they are users. This M4 has always been my main workhorse, and I love how it has been renewed. I'll continue to use it as I always have, which is every day.

 

[mgd711]

Nor am I a purist or a collector but if I’d bought an original Black Paint M4 it would be about double the cost off a user M4 and a paint job.

 

[leicamshooter]

I agree... it seems like you would have a very hard time finding and original Black paint M camera for the price of a used chrome one + paint job.

 

[johannielscom]

I'm going to stack up on non-repainted M4's. they might become collectors items one day 😛

 

[splitimageview]

From the photos, this work looks excellent!

Robert has done a M2 for me in the past and his work is top notch. However, I know he may be taking a break because of medical related issues with his hands.

Thanks Gonzalo. Yes, I took a break this year. Pinched nerve caused a lot of pain, it was difficult even sitting down at the bench, let alone working on cameras. It's much better now, but I still don't have all the feeling in my fingers.

Sometimes when shooting, the shutter doesn't fire, only then do I realize my finger isn't even on the button...

If Robert is painting again I'd jump on it asap. He did my M3 in the anti-panda style. The paint job was done very well, and is extremely tough. My MP I owned for a while brassed quickly, but this M3 doesn't show any wear at all--I do use it too.

Thanks Bill.

Here is Bill's M3 anti-panda.

 

[Mister E]

I've had interesting dealings with Masa. I personally wouldn't send him anything to be repaired or painted.

 

[RFluhver]

Err...you can't just go around dropping innuendos without even a hint of detail or evidence. That's totally inappropriate on both a legal and ethical level. So what's your story?

 

[Frontman]

I've had interesting dealings with Masa. I personally wouldn't send him anything to be repaired or painted.

I can't complain about his service. The job was done very well, very quickly, and for what I thought was a great price.

Of course everyone has their moments. I sell a lot of cameras in my eBay store, and in nearly every case my buyers are happy. But occasionally there is a problem, I've made a mistake or two in the past (which I have corrected) which has caused problems.

As the old saying goes, you can do it exactly right 99 out of 100 times, but it's that one time you made a mistake which people will most remember.

In my case, I won't hesitate to do business with Masa in the future. I'll be sending him one or more of my old lenses to be overhauled and repainted in the future.

 

[Mister E]

All of his cameras also come with a 6 month warranty. He's a nice enough guy and all, I just don't think he really knows what he's doing. He tried to paint my S2 3 times before I finally just gave up on it and took a big loss selling it to someone who is not as picky as I am. I bought an M2 which he painted. His paint is tough for sure, tougher than the Leica Paint on the MP. Now that it is starting to wear I can see that several parts were not de-chromed. The base plate, accessory/flash shoe, etc are still chrome underneath from the looks of things. He also goes hog-wild sometimes and paints things that were never black in the originals. The leather he uses is crap. I've never been happy with it. After sending my M2 to him twice for different issues I finally sent it to Sherry for a proper CLA which cost me $400 on top of what the camera cost with paint and his half-ass CLA.

It felt a million times better after Sherry went through it. That being said the guy leaves more track marks on a camera he works on than most heroin addicts do in their arms. The camera looked great until I asked him to square a few things away on it and then it was all kinds of scratched up. Either way, it looks like he might be getting better with the painting. Maddoc's M2 was so so looking, mine was a bit better and your M4 looks great. There's also much less fine detail to paint on the M4 vs an M2, which makes it easier for him.

Oh and after his OH and two trips back for repairs my shutter was still capping and still had a few issues. I'll probably keep it forever since I just don't feel like taking a big loss selling it.