Painting a camera

[mike_j]

I have a ex spares bin Spotmatic which is now in working order but the satin chrome pentaprism is badly scarred by rubbing against some accessory and other areas are in poor condition. It won't polish out but the metal work is undented so I thought it might be interesting to give it a flashy paint job - the camera value is negligible so there isn't much to lose.

Any tips on preparation, paint types etc please?

 

[Vickko]

Lots of references on the inability to paint on chrome. The fanatics strip the chrome and nickel underplating off, and the prime and paint. Even painting on brass is not easy.

Look on Google. Google Shintaro.

Good luck.

I've painted a number of Leica's (beaten up M's, removed chrome by sanding) and a few Nikon RF's (painted on chrome, didn't like the look of chrome but no way to afford authentic black).

Vick,

 

[Kim Coxon]

I will have a look but I might have a spare top. Which model Spot is it?

Kim

I have a ex spares bin Spotmatic which is now in working order but the satin chrome pentaprism is badly scarred by rubbing against some accessory and other areas are in poor condition. It won't polish out but the metal work is undented so I thought it might be interesting to give it a flashy paint job - the camera value is negligible so there isn't much to lose.

Any tips on preparation, paint types etc please?

 

[mike_j]

Kim,

Thank you, I haven't done anything with it since repairing it (CLA).

It is a basic SP, S/N 1033104, I really bought it for the 50/f1.4 lens and that was a problem in itself but now fixed and in regular use on my Olympus e510 digital.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I have a ex spares bin Spotmatic which is now in working order but the satin chrome pentaprism is badly scarred by rubbing against some accessory and other areas are in poor condition. It won't polish out but the metal work is undented so I thought it might be interesting to give it a flashy paint job - the camera value is negligible so there isn't much to lose.

Any tips on preparation, paint types etc please?

The chrome will come off with either an acid wash (look for a product sold in marine hardware stores called Alumabrite -- 50/50 mix of hydrochloric and sulphuric acids), or with extra fine sandpaper. You can either go for a brass finish (finish by sanding with 600-grit sandpaper and a coat of clear lacquer), or you can prime and paint. If you paint, use automotive grade enamel, thinned to 50% and applied with an air brush. Once it has dried, put the painted parts into a box with a couple of 100-watt lightbulbs for 24 hours, to bake and harden the paint. Go to the Micro Tools website for paint sticks, used to fill in lettering: http://www.micro-tools.com/

 

[LeicaTom]

The chrome will come off with either an acid wash (look for a product sold in marine hardware stores called Alumabrite -- 50/50 mix of hydrochloric and sulphuric acids), or with extra fine sandpaper. You can either go for a brass finish (finish by sanding with 600-grit sandpaper and a coat of clear lacquer), or you can prime and paint. If you paint, use automotive grade enamel, thinned to 50% and applied with an air brush. Once it has dried, put the painted parts into a box with a couple of 100-watt lightbulbs for 24 hours, to bake and harden the paint. Go to the Micro Tools website for paint sticks, used to fill in lettering: http://www.micro-tools.com/

Here`s an original 1943 Leica IIIC Grey Paint camera - that`s received an early 1950`s factory upgrade conversion to IIIFBD
(this is NOT my camera the photo is just for a paint reference for anyone who`s never seen one of these cameras before)



I think soon I`ll be painting a Leica Grey Paint camera "clone"
from a 1945 "stepper" rewind Leica IIIC to a IIIFBD conversion camera I just found on evilbay - paint to WW2 RLM German Military paint chip code
(I will be matching the paint from a real IIIC K Grey for this)
- so I can have a Grey Paint IIIC that looks just like the real thing, but a camera I don`t have to worry about getting damaged and or losing it`s historical value and the IIIC to IIIF conversion will work almost as smoothly
as a real IIIC K does, without the $2,000+ investment....and Grey paint looks really good on a Leica IIIC

It`s all simply for personal satisfaction that I do this, I want to use a camera till all the paint wears off and gets it`s own classic "patina" - purists turn your head please 😉

I`ll have maybe $400 or so invested in it by the time it`s all done, an amount that I think I can live with for a "personal" touch Leica - I`ll post photos of it and one`s taken by it here at RFF sometime

Tom

 

[FallisPhoto]

I think soon I`ll be painting a Leica Grey Paint camera "clone"
from a 1945 "stepper" rewind Leica IIIC to a IIIFBD conversion camera I just found on evilbay - paint to WW2 RLM German Military paint chip code
(I will be matching the paint from a real IIIC K Grey for this)
- so I can have a Grey Paint IIIC that looks just like the real thing, but a camera I don`t have to worry about getting damaged and or losing it`s historical value and the IIIC to IIIF conversion will work almost as smoothly
as a real IIIC K does, without the $2,000+ investment....and Grey paint looks really good on a Leica IIIC

It`s all simply for personal satisfaction that I do this, I want to use a camera till all the paint wears off and gets it`s own classic "patina" - purists turn your head please 😉

I`ll have maybe $400 or so invested in it by the time it`s all done, an amount that I think I can live with for a "personal" touch Leica - I`ll post photos of it and one`s taken by it here at RFF sometime

Tom

This thread suddenly got very interesting. How are you planning to do this (acid or sanding prep)? Are you planning to take photos of the process? My next paint job is probably going to be a Welta Perle.

 

[drewbarb]

There have been plenty of DIY camera painting threads posted in various places on the web which are worth reading, if that interests you. It strikes me as a good idea to read as much as you care to about what others have done before you try it yourself. Check this thread out, for instance: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BY5U

Good luck, and let us know what you come up with!

 

[FallisPhoto]

There have been plenty of DIY camera painting threads posted in various places on the web which are worth reading, if that interests you. It strikes me as a good idea to read as much as you care to about what others have done before you try it yourself. Check this thread out, for instance: http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00BY5U

Good luck, and let us know what you come up with!

I'm not sure which of us you aimed this post at. I've done it myself, several times, but everyone has his/her own technique. I'm interested in his, and in seeing whether he gets as good (or better) results as I do.

 

[drewbarb]

I'm not sure which of us you aimed this post at. I've done it myself, several times, but everyone has his/her own technique. I'm interested in his, and in seeing whether he gets as good (or better) results as I do.

Yep. I just posted that link as a resource, incase anyone found it useful. The more information/ideas the better. I'm interested to see what Mike does, too.

 

[LeicaTom]

Hello Folks!

Well, I want to go about this in the acid dip way, full chrome strip, so as it ages it gets all brassy looking as the originals

I have to watch as my IIIC/IIIFBD conversion has some dent/nick issues, which I have to attend to as I receive the camera
(I just won it over the evilbay)

The largest problem will be the prep and also finding a modern paint that will look/react like the old fashioned German RLM military paint that Leitz used on the original WW2 era Grey paint cameras

Also curing of paint doesn`t happen overnight either so this will be a long process - I`m more of a historian then "hands on" repair/restore person, so more than likely this will be carried out by someone other than myself, we will see......just will take some planning and lot`s of thinking through to get the proper look with the camera

In one of my old issues of Leica Photography there was a man in Scotland who was world reknowned for his Leica paint restorations in the 1960`s, but even then he had problems with the Grey paint cameras and ceased restoring them while he had issues with getting the right paint/finish results

I never read anything else about him and the Grey paint to see if he had ever fixed the issues at his restoration shop?

Tom

PS; I think with this paint I`m going to refer to original WW2 era German military style paints that aircraft modelers would use, getting a close match there as I hope to get a more technical paint chip match from using an original Grey paint camera as reference

 

[cosmonot]

I have been debating doing this to a QL17 I have. It's jammed up pretty good, so I've got to do something to it... Not sure what the top covers are made of though, might be brass, might not.

 

[Rik]

I'm in the process of repainting an old Leica M2.
I hav first taken off the chrome and nickel plating with hydrochloric acid. A 30% solution can be bought here in the Netherlands in good hardware stores. Just drop the parts in there, leave them for a while and a light sanding does the rest. Gets down to the brass. Be careful with that stuff though.
After that i have degreased the parts with Hammerite Metal degreaser. And then i have bought a matt black spray can of the stuff that is also used for exhaust pipes. Spray it on, leave to dry for an hour and then put it in the oven for 2 hours or so at 160 degrees celcius.
I have just done the top plate and bottom plate and in my opinion it looks really neat. Its really a matt black. I will post some picture when i have put the thing together again.
As i'm based in the Netherlands, some stuff i have used may not be available everywhere.

 

[FallisPhoto]

Tom

PS; I think with this paint I`m going to refer to original WW2 era German military style paints that aircraft modelers would use, getting a close match there as I hope to get a more technical paint chip match from using an original Grey paint camera as reference

A word of warning: DO NOT use a modeling paint, like Testors. It will never harden, no matter how long you bake it. I learned this the hard way, on my first repainting job. If you use modelling paint, you'll regret it. It does a fine job of sticking to plastic models, where it doesn't have to be very durable, but it sucks for cameras. Use an automotive grade paint. I don't know how well you will be able to match it (I kind of doubt they will have a WWII German gray at Advance Auto Parts), and you may have to mix your own. Once you have the appropriate shade of gray, thin it to 50% and apply with an air brush. Put the parts, once dried, into a box with a pair of 100-watt lightbulbs for at least 24 hours, to cure and harden the paint.

 

[FallisPhoto]

I'm in the process of repainting an old Leica M2.
I hav first taken off the chrome and nickel plating with hydrochloric acid. A 30% solution can be bought here in the Netherlands in good hardware stores. Just drop the parts in there, leave them for a while and a light sanding does the rest. Gets down to the brass. Be careful with that stuff though.
After that i have degreased the parts with Hammerite Metal degreaser. And then i have bought a matt black spray can of the stuff that is also used for exhaust pipes. Spray it on, leave to dry for an hour and then put it in the oven for 2 hours or so at 160 degrees celcius.
I have just done the top plate and bottom plate and in my opinion it looks really neat. Its really a matt black. I will post some picture when i have put the thing together again.
As i'm based in the Netherlands, some stuff i have used may not be available everywhere.

You might want to put it back in the oven for a while Rik. It takes about 24 hours to properly cure enamel.

 

[Rik]

You might want to put it back in the oven for a while Rik. It takes about 24 hours to properly cure enamel.

Is this enamel? It just says on the can that it should be heated for some time, does not specify how long that is. So I figured 2 hours it some time.

But if needed i can put it back for more heat. It already looks and feels quite hard now to be honest.

 

[splitimageview]

Not true...remove the chrome and the nickel, and then use a proper primer on the brass. There are special primers made specific for brass. Or just send it to me. 🙂

And forget sanding. It takes forever and you'll never get into all the nooks and crannies. Bead blasting is the only way to go. You'll never get all these parts cleaned up without it, there will be residues and all sorts of nasty stuff that will mess up the paint work.

That's how I do my paint jobs.

 

[Rik]

I have found that sanding AFTER hydrocholic acid works quite well. I have not used bead blasting, but still have a very clean result. I have only done the top and bottom plate, not the various levers and knobs.

 

[nobbylon]

Rik, hi, is the stuff sold over here a particular brand or just a mix the hardware stores do? thanks j

 

[splitimageview]

Yes, not to say that sanding doesn't work. It does limit the painting options.

I have found that sanding AFTER hydrocholic acid works quite well. I have not used bead blasting, but still have a very clean result. I have only done the top and bottom plate, not the various levers and knobs.