Vulcanite Replacement Problem

[giganova]

Hi all --

I am trying to replace the crumbling vulcanite on my M4, but I can't get the vulcanite off the body. It is like concrete and near impossible to scrape it off. I am trying paint stripper now, but it doesn't penetrate the vulcanite and only make the surface like mud.

Stripping off the corner (below) took me three hours!

Any ideas what I should do?

 

[ferider]

On older Leicas it has always been a pain when I did it.

I found no other way than using a sharp knife, and take it off piece by piece, and then clean with paint thinner afterwards. Be careful not to scratch the rest of the body.

 

[benmacphoto]

I've used a very small flat screw driver to chip off the old vulcanite.
And just as ferider said, clean the body afterwards and be careful not to scratch the body.

 

[giganova]

OK, will do. I am using a scalpel now which works a bit better. What a pain!

 

[giganova]

That was much more work than I anticipated, but the result is great:

Now on to my other M4, which will be covered in "tan" 😀

 

[johannielscom]

Next time: take the body shell off and put it in hot water for 30minutes. It will dissolve the glue and soften the vulcanite to an extent where you can just peel it off as a sheet. That's also the way it was put on there, with hot glue and hot vulcanite.

 

[giganova]

Great idea! Just need to figure out how to take the body off 😕

 

[mkvrnn]

This is the first interesting thread I've read on here in ages. And well done Giganova, your results look good.

I've been putting off recovering my iiig for a couple of years for the same reason. It seems like a hot air gun would be the best solution, but presumably the shutter curtains are the most vulnerable parts? How warm can they get without risk of damage? Are other parts at risk? Or is it easier to remove the bodyshell and what exactly is involved?

Come on Leica owners, there must be lots of you who have done this job. Please share your experience.

 

[splitimageview]

I stick the camera in the oven at about 230 degrees F for about five minutes.

Vulcanite peels right off .

 

[Huss]

Looks great!

I have used this product on the 4 Leicas that I have removed the vulcanite from:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-gal-Strip-X-Stripper-GSX6/100117034

It is a thick gel, coat it on, then wait a few hours. The vulcanite bubbles and blisters off, and it can then be peeled off.
Super toxic of course...

I actually think film Leicas look really good raw, in the metal, w/o any covering. But maybe a tad cold to the touch in certain conditons.

 

[giganova]

Hey Huss --

I have used this product on the 4 Leicas that I have removed the vulcanite from...

I used the same paint stripper but only waited 10 min because the hardware store guy told me so. It only made the surface soft. Next time I'll leave it on longer!

I actually think film Leicas look really good raw, in the metal, w/o any covering.

When I had it all stripped and cleaned I had the same thought -- absolutely gorgeous!

 

[giganova]

I stick the camera in the oven at about 230 degrees F for about five minutes.

😱 😱 😱

 

[Huss]

Hey Huss --

I used the same paint stripper but only waited 10 min because the hardware store guy told me so. It only made the surface soft. Next time I'll leave it on longer!

Doooood! No wonder you were struggling with it. 10 minutes is about 110 minutes too soon!

 

[giganova]

Tip: put some Purell hand sanitizer (without moisturizer!) on the sticky side of the new cover. This will allow you to make adjustments for around 20 min until it evaporates and the glue bonds.

 

[maddoc]

I used a gel-like paint stripper made by Holst for my M4-P

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80624

... and the oven method (after removing the body shell) for my M4-2:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116080

 

[______]

I stick the camera in the oven at about 230 degrees F for about five minutes. Vulcanite peels right off.

Five and a half minutes if you want a little more contrast.

 

[splitimageview]

Yes and don't forget fixer

Not kidding about the oven. Super easy, just use a blade to peel off the cover

Have done this to maybe 50 Leicas over the years...

 

[johannielscom]

Great idea! Just need to figure out how to take the body off 😕

Start with the top cover, see a YouTube vid here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqYi_sP1WNs

Buy these tools to get it done:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DSLR-Leica-...498324?hash=item41ae5238d4:g:FQkAAOSwzLlXg026

People prefer brass tools but these are hard to find and more expensive. I used cigarette paper between tools and camera and grip careful: never a mar on the camera.

Work on a towel, to make sure parts don't bounce off, never to be seen again.

To get the body shell off, you need to remove the lens mount too. Lay out the parts in such a way that you can reverse your steps without any doubt.
The lens mount isn't shimmed (unless a repairman did it) so no worries there. Watch out for the metal parts on the inside that come away when you take the screws out the lens mount.
Also remove self timer and preview lever with small spanners. Warning: the self timer lever is lefty-tighty!!! Not sure on the preview lever, somebody else can supply this info I presume.
Now take the screws out of the body and you can just slide the whole camera assembly upwards out of the shell, make sure the rangefinder cam doesn't snag on the body shell.

That's it.

It's similar on the screwmount Barnacks.

 

[splitimageview]

Remove the engine to wax the car? 😉

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I used a hot air gun to heat up the body shell and this softened the glue enough to strip the old vulcanite properly on this IIf/IIIf body. Then I used white gas / naphtha to wash the glue residue off the body.