Q about CRR Luton's vulcanite

[philipus]

Today I dropped my Leica II and, though I managed to break the fall a bit, it slammed into the pavement. Luckily the Summitar was collapsed and unharmed, but a pretty large piece of vulcanite came off. I looked for the piece but couldn't find it.

I know CRR Luton offers a modern resin 'vulcanite' and have a few questions:

1) My camera, being from 1931, has a matte, non-shiny vulcanite which I really like. Will CRR's look shiny/shinier? It is difficult to tell from the photos on their site, but they seem to show a really glossy material.

2) My camera's vulcanite feels quite "dry" to the touch. Will CRR's feel the same or will it be more plasticky or even grippy?

3) How long is the turnaround time usually?

I'd appreciate very much any insight, particularly from those of you who have replaced 1930s vulcanite with CRR's. Though I am sad about the broken vulcanite, I am not entirely sure I want to replace it unless it will look the same or at least "the sameish".

Thanks in advance
Philip

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I am sorry to see you dropped your camera.
I have a IIIa that is 1935 vintage with what I assume is original Vulcanite on it.
I recently had my M3 recovered. I believe it was with something from Camera Leather, I'm not sure.
I've posted a photo to show the difference in texture. I originally didn't want the M3 recovered, but the Vulcanite came apart when the camera was dismantled for CLA'ing.
I'm pleased with the cover material that was put on. It is close enough to original that I don't think I'd notice the difference. I can't speak for CRR's cover material, but if it's like mine, I don't think you'll be disappointed in how it looks or feels. I understand wanting to keep the original look/feel, but I'm sure Vulcanite wasn't engineered to last as long as it has in some cases when it was originally concocted.
I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I hope it helps you feel a little more at ease about having to recover your camera. As others here have said to me, it's old, give it a new coat.

 

[Dralowid]

This one:


IMG_1459 by dralowid, on Flickr

is covered with CCR's cheaper version of vulcanite, around £40.00 (maybe). It is nicely flat and not shiny. It feels dry. Peter also has a very good match to the original but it is much dearer (say nearly £100.00?). These are prices from memory only and are quite old.

How long completely depends on how busy he is. Call him, he doesn't do email.

 

[Dez]

I have a IIIc I recently recovered with the Aki-Asahi precut material.
http://aki-asahi.com/store/
It fit perfectly and was an excellent match. They also have material for the III.



Comparing it to my rather worn 1932 Leica II, I would say it is a little bit LESS shiny, and the grain may be very slightly smaller. I suspect that the rather shiny surface of my Leica II is due to wear over the years. The kit cost $US22.
I have not done a Leica with the Cameraleather material, but I did recently buy a sheet of their general purpose vinyl, which is a very good match for the Hasselblad vinyl texture, and noticeably finer grain than on the old Leicas.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Dralowid]

My advice? Leave it alone or at most put a tiny 'bead' of glue around the broken edges to stop the rest lifting.

Michael

(or even...matt black paint will hide it to most eyes, but not yours of course!)

 

[HuubL]

Sorry to hear that Philipus. Dropped your II. I could imagine doing that with my II, but yours has strap lugs and a strap! If it's only the vulcanite and nothing else got busted, I guess you're lucky after all.
Good luck with finding a nice replacement. A II is worth it!

 

[johannielscom]

Hi Philipus,

sorry to read about the drop and the missing vulcanite.

Not sure about Aki Asahi and with CRR Luton vulcanite it's not an issue, but with the GripTac I once ordered for my M3 from CameraLeather, I had one big beef: if was too narrow to cover the camera from top plate to bottom plate! I had a half millimeter gap between GripTac and top plate and it looked ugly.

In another Leica LTM thread here I very recently saw a black Leica II covered with new red CameraLeather coverings, and it had the same issue.

For me, that spoils the beautiful look of a classic camera completely.

I'd say, go with CRR, at least you can be sure stuff like this doesn't happen to your camera.

 

[LeicaTom]

I agree with Michael, leave it alone, glue down the edges and leave it......if it really disturbs you well, I'd post and see if anyone has any vulcanite scraps for such an early camera and warm them up and cut to fit, or I'd heat up some wax and cover the busted area with wax and then paint it flat black......

Tom

 

[Sparrow]

... when it comes to it I'll be sending mine to CRR ... they say it's identical on the website

 

[LeicaTom]

Ohh is there anyone here who has had CRR Luton's vulcanite actually put on a camera????

I heard from someone that the vulcanite lifted from their camera about 8 months or so after it was done???

Does anyone have experience with their vulcanite done on a camera and holding up a few years????

Tom

 

[Dralowid]

The covering he put on mine, illustrated above, is fine after 5 years at least. But it wasn't the top whack vulcanite, it was the cheaper look alike.

 

[sepiareverb]

Not a few years, but I had an M3 which had repairs made to the vulcanite by Peter. It was impossible to tell where it had been fixed. And remained invisible for the year plus I used the camera.

The current Leica vulcanite, V3, not the one from the M8.2/M9 is very much like the old. perhaps with a bit more "tack" in the hand. My M9 came back from NJ with a new suit after some diagnostics, and I vastly prefer it, was wondering if they might do all my bodies. If you can find a camera to compare this new stuff you might ask Leica if they have the new vulcanite available to be cut for the ii.

 

[Sumolux]

Vulcanite example from Luton

Vulcanite example from Luton

Hello all,

Pity about your camera dropping, I think you are very lucky because it could have been a lot worse!

Here is quick and dirty picture of a II with Peter's quality stuff. For me it looks identical to what was on there before. I have had Peter work on several of my cameras and they he always does fantastic work on them.

I know there are different attitudes to 'prettifying' old cameras, but I for one feel strongly that if something is well preserved, it has more chances of surviving far into the future. If someone is going through your stuff after you kick the bucket, I am sure the good looking camera will find a home and the worn out one will probably be ignored or worse, get chucked out...Not everyone cares about old cameras!

Anyway, this II from 1936 was in amazing original condition paint wise (even the baseplate) that I thought it a pity not to have the cracked vulcanite redone.

Hope this helps you decide!

Sumolux

 

[philipus]

Thank you so much for all your suggestions and posting your experiences, which are very helpful. Thanks also for the delicious photos - reminds me of how much I like these cameras.

I just saw on CRR's site that they won't accept new orders this year 🙁 so I'll put a bit of glue around the edges of the "wound" like Michael suggests (excellent idea, because I was worried about cracks developing).

 

[Erik van Straten]

I'll put a bit of glue around the edges of the "wound"

You can fill up the holes with "Pattex" (2 component filler) available from Praxis. After drying you can paint the filler black with a Motip Dupli-Color Touch-up pencil 0-0500, available from Halfords. With a bit of artistry the holes will become practically invisible.

Erik.

 

[Sparrow]

I've used this stuff to good effect ... the glue is to act as a primer, but you do need to dismantle the camera to cure the FIMO stuff

 

[Ade-oh]

I just saw on CRR's site that they won't accept new orders this year 🙁 so I'll put a bit of glue around the edges of the "wound" like Michael suggests (excellent idea, because I was worried about cracks developing).

It's well worth telephoning CRR rather than relying on their website or email. The website is rarely up to date and email doesn't get answered very frequently. I've had various bits of work done by Peter and there's never been a problem sending it off straight away.

 

[philipus]

Dear all

Thank you very much for the further replies to my question; I'm sorry I didn't come back earlier.

My M4 is currently in Solms for a checkup and they told me that because the vulcanite is old and brittle small pieces may break off. In that case, they will fill the holes with some form of wax. Is this something one can do oneself?

Best
Philip

 

[Erik van Straten]

Is this something one can do oneself?

Yes, it is very easy. You can use black childrens-clay too, that is about the same stuff.
For bigger holes use Pattex and black paint as I've explained above.

Erik.

 

[philipus]

Thanks very much Erik, if it's children's stuff then even I should be able to manage 🙂