Refinished – but not a fake!

[Philip Whiteman]

My rangefinder photography started with a Zorki, but really got going in 1973 when I was fifteen and my father presented me with a 1950 Leica IIIC. Sadly, time took its toll on the camera – which was suffering the dread spotty chrome when I got it – and eventually the shutter sprang a light leak.

Earlier this year, I decided to have it fixed. I knew repair was going to border on being uneconomical – not least, because the camera had been further devalued by the previous owner having a flash sync socket fitted in the top plate – but with Dad now long gone, sentiment took over…

CR&R could do – and did – all the repair work, including new shutter blinds and replacement of the failing rangefinder beam-splitter, but not rechroming. Instead, I went for the option of a full de-chrome and refinishing in black, MoD-spec enamel. The brief was to match the finish of the black-paint Swedish air force IIIG shown in the Rogliatti book. This was purely for the aesthetics, and I think it worked. CR&R's Peter Grisaffi did a fantastic job in plugging the hole left by the flash sync – there's not the faintest trace of it ever being there.

Lovely to have the mechanical side all sorted and running like new too. Now to get on and use the thing…

 

[Mr_Flibble]

The new black paint looks very fetching, very modern with the red and white inlaid markings. Yes, off with you and use the thing! 🙂

 

[Spider67]

Looks great! I have a IIIc with similar problems: weak prism and flaky chrome.....You saved a user for generations to come.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

It's actually quite an old-fashioned finish/colour scheme. Here are a couple more detail shots:

 

[John Shriver]

That's dashing looking -- very stealth. Sure was a homely camera with zits and a ghastly flash sync hole before. Looks like a superb paint job.

You've left almost no chrome, that's no "Panda" camera. The paint may wear really fast on the knobs.

 

[leivo311]

Wow !!! A real beauty.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

I'll give a report on paint wear when I've used the thing for a bit – it only arrived in the post last week. CR&R tell me the finish is done to a British Ministry of Defence specification and is 'very hard wearing'. They can also do grey and olive green, to order.

 

[momus1]

Ask them if putting a coat of wax or matte clear coating would be a good idea. Anything you can do to protect the finish would be wise.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Including the cost of service and parts – including a pair of shutter curtains, release button and body lugs – the whole thing finished up just south of £400/$640. CR&R discounted cost of chrome strip and refinishing (normally £350/$560) because much of the strip-down and rebuild effort was duplicated in the service. I think this was especially generous, as they had to turn up and braise in place a plug to fill the flash sync hole – and it can have been no easy task to make this an invisible repair.

 

[LeicaTom]

Very Good Looking Camera!

I wonder if CRR`s Grey paint is spot dead on with the RLM 75? I still don`t know if the last camera I bought is mostly original paint, I`ll know more when it`s back from Youxin Ye.

If CRR could get the Luftwaffen RLM paint just right and treat and paint over the ORIGINAL vulcanite, I might consider doing this to my "user" IIIC K ~ I wonder if CRR can fill engravings with woodsmetal, or if they just use paint????

Where`s John Neal at??? He was just talking to them about one of his "Stepper" IIIC`s.

Tom

 

[cmdrzed]

That is an excellent looking camera! Makes me want to send mine in now. Is there a URL for more info & paint examples?

 

[crawdiddy]

It's gorgeous.

 

[Nikon Bob]

Lovely looking camera you have there.

Bob

 

[Philip Whiteman]

Thank you for all the kind thoughts. Links to some of CR&R's past restorations – including a IIIC 'stepper' – are to be found at:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/

 

[LeicaTom]

Thank you for all the kind thoughts. Links to some of CR&R's past restorations – including a IIIC 'stepper' – are to be found at:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/

The black paint`s lovely 😀 ~ you gave that camera a second lease on life and the Swedish Army look is sooo kool!!!!!! 😉

The Luftwaffen camera looks almost a bit too much blue, but the sheen looks to be pretty darn near original, while it was a Nitro-lack semi-gloss/satin matt bake paint originally used, and that modern Army paint looks like it`s pretty much acting and looking the same way.

Humm tempted, wish I could find a camera with less than 25% original paint then I would`nt feel bad getting it done 😉 ~ that 45' I have is maybe 80% real paint so, a repaint at a collectors point of view is`nt a good idea, but if she turns out to be a really good user, I`ll have honest "patina" on it in no time......

Will be kool to see how Philip comes along too with his camera and when using it see how the CRR paint holds up to a normal use 🙂

Tom

 

[Rhodes]

Nice! My IIIc is also a flaky chrome, possibly someday It will be nicely clad, but I think I will retain the bad chrome...ehehhehe

 

[Philip Whiteman]

I had no qualms about having the top plate refinished, but the base plate was a new replacement bought from Leitz GB in the late 1970s (£15 then – as a teenage schoolboy I ducked out on a further £45 for a new top plate, which would have had to be engraved with the serial number at extra cost).

Peter of CR&R agreed that it would be a shame to de-chrome the base plate, and I was happy for him to source a good substitute but transfer the minty latch key – so one day somebody will receive from him a repaired III with a shiny, almost new base plate.

I did agonize over having all those beautiful knurled knobs done in black. In the end it was a well executed personal 'Swedish air force-style' IIIC I wanted, and not a camera done almost – but not quite – in the style of prewar black-paint IIIs.

It is also wonderful having bright, clear viewfinder and rangefinder, the latter with perfect alignment and infinity focus, and ideal image contrast. The shutter now makes a lovely muffled 'schluck' sound (hope that's not something rude in German) rather than the loud 'schlack' it used to emit.

 

[dave y]

Your camera looks great!
I was thinking of having the same done to my IIIC but i wasn't very happy about the small viewfinders on the screw mount Leicas. So i decided to trade it in for a Canon 7 with a 50mm F1.2 instead.
Remember not to tape it up though!

 

[Seele]

Jim "Fzorki" Blazik did a lot of painting and rebuilding of FSU rangefinders - and a few Leicas too - but of course the finish would not be up to MOD standard, of course. Now try duplicating Leica's "black chrome" finish! 😀

Seriously, if I were to do such an exercise, I would ask the people doing the job to sign and date the camera in an inconspicuous spot, just to be sure that, in case the camera goes back on the market again it would not be used for deceiving others.

Come to think of it, the camera modders in eastern Europe could have done better by getting the old Feds properly fixed up mechanically and get them refinished tastefully like that. I would rather buy one like that, than to be given one with mirror-finished brass with mock Leica markings and a few swastikas thrown in.

 

[Philip Whiteman]

I see what you mean, Seele. However, the paint job is based on a IIIG and I don't think the Swedish air force (or was it the Swedish army) bought IIICs, so there ought not to be any chance of 'passing off' with my camera. In any event, I have three sons to hand the thing down to – so it had every prospect of staying in the same family for many years to come.