atelier7
Well-known
After a month of secret lab work... i'm ready to reveal my kiev 4AM from Oleg which i painted black and re-skinned with an Aki Ashahi covering.
Pherdinand
the snow must go on
Misterious like a secret agent. Like the men in black.
Evgeny S
KMZ rules!
Atelier! Could you please tell how did you repaint the Kiev's body? I mean the whole process. How did you remove the chrome cover? What paint (akryl, synthetic, automotive) did you use?
atelier7
Well-known
To disassemble, I followed the excellent instructions from this site:
http://www.host.fptoday.com/melek/zeiss/repair/start.html
be careful with the tiny screws. they're not very tough and can split easily! make sure your screwdriver is the right size! i don't know if the screws were originally supposed to be the same size or if it was just poor quality control but keep track of where each screw came from and put it back exactly where it you found it. Otherwise, u could have a real headache trying to reassemble everything. some screws just refuse to fit!
I got the spray paints from the hardware store. first applied an etch primer "for aluminuim, steel and galvanised steel" it says on the can. Be careful not to let it build up too thick.
After it dried, i applied a topcoat gloss enamel paint, specifically 'Dulux Quit Rust Spraypak Enamel' in Gloss Black. better to spray thinly and evenly, let it dry before spraying another coat.
I have to say the paint is quite tough so far and the enamel looks quite original. The picture above doesnt really do it justice. against my Bessa R, the kiev looks like a much more expensive camera (if not for the imperfect leather front. see below for what i'm talking about)!
I re-skinned the camera with leather from Aki Asahi. I have done it before for the zorki 4k which was really easy, but the Kiev 4 is much trickier. No matter what I tried, I wouldn't get the surface to be smooth for the front on the side of the self timer. there's the little bump where the screw is hidden under. Anyhow, it looks much better than when I first got it from Oleg. As for whether it takes better photos in black? I'm still waiting for my first roll to come back. good luck!
http://www.host.fptoday.com/melek/zeiss/repair/start.html
be careful with the tiny screws. they're not very tough and can split easily! make sure your screwdriver is the right size! i don't know if the screws were originally supposed to be the same size or if it was just poor quality control but keep track of where each screw came from and put it back exactly where it you found it. Otherwise, u could have a real headache trying to reassemble everything. some screws just refuse to fit!
I got the spray paints from the hardware store. first applied an etch primer "for aluminuim, steel and galvanised steel" it says on the can. Be careful not to let it build up too thick.
After it dried, i applied a topcoat gloss enamel paint, specifically 'Dulux Quit Rust Spraypak Enamel' in Gloss Black. better to spray thinly and evenly, let it dry before spraying another coat.
I have to say the paint is quite tough so far and the enamel looks quite original. The picture above doesnt really do it justice. against my Bessa R, the kiev looks like a much more expensive camera (if not for the imperfect leather front. see below for what i'm talking about)!
I re-skinned the camera with leather from Aki Asahi. I have done it before for the zorki 4k which was really easy, but the Kiev 4 is much trickier. No matter what I tried, I wouldn't get the surface to be smooth for the front on the side of the self timer. there's the little bump where the screw is hidden under. Anyhow, it looks much better than when I first got it from Oleg. As for whether it takes better photos in black? I'm still waiting for my first roll to come back. good luck!
sockeyed
Well-known
Some other great painting tips here:
http://www.geocities.com/fzorkis/black.html
http://www.geocities.com/fzorkis/black.html
Evgeny S
KMZ rules!
Very nice explanation, thank you, Atelier7! I think I should try to repaint some of my cameras. I have Zorki-6 and Kiev-4A with VERY unattractive appearance.