Releathered black chrome M7 photos please?

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Just got an M7 and it looks great--except for the peeling leatherette. I am thinking about griptac or pebble emboss, but I can't really picture how these things will look. I'd be interested in seeing photos of your black chrome M7's that you have recovered. Thanks!

Also, it is easy to get the leatherette off? It seems like it would only take five minutes, but I have done a two-hour vulcanite job as well and am wary...

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Surely somebody has a pic? A black chrome MP would be fine too. And your releathering story, if you will.

 

[sepiareverb]

Sorry, I've got an M5 with Paradise Snakeskin from Cameraleather.

 

[bob338]

here is my M7 with griptac. i love it, it is much easier to hold onto than regular leatherette. i bought the camera from Robert J. already griptac'ed. so i have no idea how difficult it is to do. i've heard it's pretty easy though...

bob

 

[splitimageview]

Griptac is the best. 🙂

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Yes, I am probably going for griptac! Bob, your camera looks good with it, and the semi-gloss paint is not dissimilar from black chrome...Robert, how hard is it to get the leatherette off the M7? From the peeling corners, it appears easy--I releathered my Pentax LX in about five minutes. I'm hoping it's easy like that.

First day out with the M7 today and it's pretty damn sweet.

 

[splitimageview]

John, it's a piece of cake. 🙂

 

[bob338]

Yes, I am probably going for griptac! Bob, your camera looks good with it, and the semi-gloss paint is not dissimilar from black chrome...Robert, how hard is it to get the leatherette off the M7? From the peeling corners, it appears easy--I releathered my Pentax LX in about five minutes. I'm hoping it's easy like that.

First day out with the M7 today and it's pretty damn sweet.

that's black chrome, it wasn't painted. i used a sharpie to fill in the red dot and the M7 logo though. it looks pretty bad, but the camera was heavily used when i got it, so i'm not too concerned about the cosmetics of this one.

bob

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

John, it's a piece of cake. 🙂

Excellent, I'll order some from Morgan, and maybe I'll eventually even receive it in the mail...😉

 

[sepiareverb]

I've never had anything but fantastic dealings with Morgan. He recovered my M5 while he was in the midst of a bunch of family stuff that was taking him out of town over and over again- and the camera came back before he had originally said it would perfect in every way. Just sent him an MP to recover on Tuesday.

 

[35mmdelux]

The covering on my M7 is still too nice to have changed just yet. The sharkskin on my MP I just dont like. May replace with Vulcanette (whatever its called).

I black out the red dot with a sharpie.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

The covering on my M7 is still too nice to have changed just yet. The sharkskin on my MP I just dont like. May replace with Vulcanette (whatever its called).

I black out the red dot with a sharpie.

Do you black out the M7 legend? I'm kind of tempted to do this to mine but probably won't. I've already got a black dot.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Well, Morgan surprised me by sending the covering very quickly. The leatherette came off very easily, and only on the back door was the residue remotely difficult to clean off...the whole project took half an hour and actually looks much handsomer than I expected. And it feels fantastic of course.

Posted this pic in the show your M thread too of course! Thanks for the advice, all...

 

[wjlapier]

That looks great! I want to re-cover my MP. Interestingly, Leica NJ quoted me $250 and ship the body to NJ for Vulcanite or whatever it is these days. Yikes!

So, how was it getting around the preview lever? Any other tricky spots?

 

[thomasw_]

Black griptac is what should be the MP/M7 default covering....the MP default sharkskin covering in particular is begging to be changed. Ever since I saw Peter's I knew what I was going to do. The look and tactile feel of my MP is such that I love to use it more than even when I first got it. To those M7/MP users who are still wearing the default coverings take heed; there is nothing like a griptac covered M!

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

That looks great! I want to re-cover my MP. Interestingly, Leica NJ quoted me $250 and ship the body to NJ for Vulcanite or whatever it is these days. Yikes!

So, how was it getting around the preview lever? Any other tricky spots?

It was no problem...I just coated the sticky side with isopropyl alcohol, and it kept it from sticking for about five minutes, more than long enough to get it all in place.

Total cost was like $25!

 

[wjlapier]

Black griptac is what should be the MP/M7 default covering....the MP default sharkskin covering in particular is begging to be changed. Ever since I saw Peter's I knew what I was going to do. The look and tactile feel of my MP is such that I love to use it more than even when I first got it. To those M7/MP users who are still wearing the default coverings take heed; there is nothing like a griptac covered M!

Great--rub it in...:bang:

 

[wjlapier]

It was no problem...I just coated the sticky side with isopropyl alcohol, and it kept it from sticking for about five minutes, more than long enough to get it all in place.

Total cost was like $25!

Another question if you don't mind. How did you remove the adhesive from the old skin that was on the body? I'm about convinced to buy the Griptac skin and re-do my MP.

 

[peter_n]

Cracking job there mabelsound! 🙂

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Another question if you don't mind. How did you remove the adhesive from the old skin that was on the body? I'm about convinced to buy the Griptac skin and re-do my MP.

If you peel up the old skin slowly enough, almost all of the adhesive will come up with it. What's left, I just patiently rubbed it away with a rag dipped in rubbing alcohol. It takes a while but you will eventually get it all. Like I said, the back door was the hard part--a lot of glue was left behind and it took ten minutes or so to get it all off.

Also, I made myself a little tool to help pry it up, since not every corner was peeling...I took a plastic spork and sanded the handle end into a little chisel...it's soft enough not to hurt the black chrome.

Thanks, Peter!