Repainting a Nikon

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olleorama

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I'm thinking of repainting a Nikon FM2. And it probably needs a CLA too.

I need some suggestions for stripper, primer and paint, available in Europe. I've got some ordinary paint stripper at home, but I think it's not gonna be strong enough for enamel paint? I've read it's an aluminium (or aluminum for the colonials) alloy in the cases and I've read that zinc chromate primers are supposed to be the best. However, they're also quite toxic? Could zinc phosphate be used instead?

As said I'm also looking for an enamel paint that I can bake at reasonably low temps so I don't warp the parts. Or should I use two part epoxy? Or some stuff?

What is that yellowish metal colours that shows at points of so called 'brassing'?

I've read a lot about painting leicas cause that's what usually comes up in google, so I hope someone here knows a bit or two.
 
All you need is Krylon brand spray enamel. No baking necessary, and a whole rainbow of colors available. Great for graffiti and painting cameras. Don't know if you have Krylon over there in Europe.
 
Pablito said:
All you need is Krylon brand spray enamel. No baking necessary, and a whole rainbow of colors available. Great for graffiti and painting cameras. Don't know if you have Krylon over there in Europe.
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I used krylon with fat caps as a kid. However, my 'can control' is not good enough for a camera, I can do murals, but not the small stuff. I'm borrowing an airbrush for this project.
 
Just ordered two different funky colours, flattener, reducer and zinc phosphate from lauer custom weaponry. Should be fun.
 
Nix the air brush. It's all about careful taping/masking. Art supply stores have something called Liquid Mask (maybe I'm making the name up, but you get the idea). Slop it on, then carefully cut around it w/ an Xacto knife and peel back. Then, slop your paint on. Let it all dry, pull the masking medium/tape off, and presto! Da Mona Lisa of cameras.
 
You can use automotive paint stripper to remove the paint (available at auto parts stores). Spray or brush it on, let it sit until the paint blisters, and then scrape it off carefully. You may need to reapply stripper to any places where paint is still sticking. Once the paint is removed, clean with fine steel wool, then clean carefully with pain thinner and let dry.

Do not bother with primer, it is not necessary. Epoxy paint is the strongest, followed by enamel, and then lacquer. The quality of the final finish will depend on how carefully you apply the paint. Canned spray paint is perfectly fine. Lacquer paint is the easiest to apply, and dries the most quickly. It will also give the glossiest finish. But it is easy to scratch. Enamel paint is easy to apply, but dries more slowly, and takes more time to harden than lacquer. Epoxy takes the longest to dry, but is by far the most durable. But the finish is generally not as nice as enamel or lacquer. Of the three, I would recommend enamel.
 
Frontman said:
You can use automotive paint stripper to remove the paint (available at auto parts stores). Spray or brush it on, let it sit until the paint blisters, and then scrape it off carefully. You may need to reapply stripper to any places where paint is still sticking. Once the paint is removed, clean with fine steel wool, then clean carefully with pain thinner and let dry.

Do not bother with primer, it is not necessary. Epoxy paint is the strongest, followed by enamel, and then lacquer. The quality of the final finish will depend on how carefully you apply the paint. Canned spray paint is perfectly fine. Lacquer paint is the easiest to apply, and dries the most quickly. It will also give the glossiest finish. But it is easy to scratch. Enamel paint is easy to apply, but dries more slowly, and takes more time to harden than lacquer. Epoxy takes the longest to dry, but is by far the most durable. But the finish is generally not as nice as enamel or lacquer. Of the three, I would recommend enamel.
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Thank you for the very concrete advice. I did go with the ordinary duracoat paint, which is epoxy I beleive, but I did contemplate over the durabake enamel paint. However, it is said on the lauer custom weaponry site that ordinary duracoat can be baked in an oven too. I want a semi-flat paint so I think epoxy paint with flattener will fit the bill. I'm lucky as I have a motor drive to practice on first.

I'm a bit stumbled about the no primer necessary. I thought all aluminium needed it? Well, it can't hurt, can it?

And frankly if it's battle tested on rifles and combat gear I think it will do for a camera.
 
damnit, the shipping for the paint turned out to be 110 usd. Not really worth it. Might order from germany or norway.
 
Engraved lettering can be done with "paintstick" Microtools peddles it.
Once your paint is dry, the stick is rubbed across the lettering you want to color and after a bit the excess is wiped away.

One stick will last about 16 2/3 lifetimes
 
On black bodies I always tape over the brand lettering. I don't get paid endorsing anything so why should I? What purpose does the lettering fill? My plan is actually to use some kind of metal putty to fill the lettering. Only the brand and modell though, serials and other stuff will be painted with paint stick. I have sent the shutter speed ring top (the one that states what shutter speed is selected) to a engraver guy, and he's gonna make a copy but instead of black back drop it's going to be olive. Like the body.
 
I fully understand the desire to convert a chrome S3 or SP to black just because they are so rare and expensive, and so usually beyond the reach of the average user who'd like one, but unless your particular project is being undertaken "for fun" just to see if you can do it, I don't know why you'd bother when you could get a black FM2 or FM2n from KEH for $150.00.
The various chemicals and paints necessary to do the job, as well as your time will go far beyond what just buying a black one will cost. and the learning curve to master infilling the engraved lettering for instance will also increase your labour time.
 
rbsinto said:
I fully understand the desire to convert a chrome S3 or SP to black just because they are so rare and expensive, and so usually beyond the reach of the average user who'd like one, but unless your particular project is being undertaken "for fun" just to see if you can do it, I don't know why you'd bother when you could get a black FM2 or FM2n from KEH for $150.00.
The various chemicals and paints necessary to do the job, as well as your time will go far beyond what just buying a black one will cost. and the learning curve to master infilling the engraved lettering for instance will also increase your labour time.
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Nowhere did I state that I wanted a black camera. I want it matt olive or maybe coyote brown.
 
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