Mark J
Member
I had this problem 20 years ago. I stripped the vulcanite off and recovered it with a covering from Cameraleather.com. The leather is still good 20 years later. Good luck.
I remember when Amour-All first came out it was said to increase cracking of dashboards, I don't if that is right or an urban myth.
Nope! It's the nature of the beast. But there are re-coverings that look so good you can't really tell it's replacement leatherette unless under close inspection.... I was just wondering if there was a way to prevent it from cracking to begin with
Real vulcanite can not be redone.
The key of a long vulcanite life is the same as a long bike tyre life : very low daylight amount, constant mid-low temperature and constant low humidity level (but humidity nonetheless). You don't grease nor wax vulcanized rubber, it ain't goat leather nor chestnut tree wood. Vulcanite won't last forever, this is just not possible. Want to own an old Leica but don't want to have to deal with vulcanite replacement issues ? Think of fondling something else. Want to never die ? Think of living somewhere else. 😀Maybe finger grease is the magic ingrediens for a long vulcanite life?
The key of a long vulcanite life is the same as a long bike tyre life : very low daylight amount, constant mid-low temperature and constant low humidity level (but humidity nonetheless). You don't grease nor wax vulcanized rubber, it ain't goat leather nor chestnut tree wood. Vulcanite won't last forever, this is just not possible. Want to own an old Leica but don't want to have to deal with vulcanite replacement issues ? Think of fondling something else. Want to never die ? Think of living somewhere else. 😀
😉Cracked vulcanite joins death and taxes. 😀
😉
Will a mask made of cracked vulcanite be efficient against mutant viruses ? 😀
The last Leicas to be covered with vulcanite were the M4-2 and M4-P. Most of them now exhibit a somehow cracked vulcanite already. I have seen some with huge areas of cracked and missing covering, and some with only the typical spot of missing vulcanite around the baseplate hook, the rest of the covering remaining in perfect shape. It all depends on how that vulcanized rubber material molecules behaved over time, and this happens accordingly to the long run camera storage conditions, this is easy to understand when you look at the oldest models : I had a IIIf with a 100% perfect vulcanite, and a IIIa with a totally brittle, cracked and debonded one.I'm willing to try on my M.
Is there a service to replace the covers (if I ever needed it)? I would not want to do this myself. Rick Oleson did a great job on my Olympus 35RC, and I think I would want some else to place it.
Are there good treatments for vulcanite to keep it soft, or it's just 70+ year old plastic that will crack? I see plenty of pre war cameras with vulcanite that's just fine