splitimageview
Administrator
Yes for sure, tastes change over time. Black paint Leicas were once old and worn out looking and nobody wanted those at the time either. 😀
Would any one help me trace who repainted my black M3 — Serial #1025775
- Thread starter PharaohArs
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Duofold RF
Well-known
Duofold RF
Well-known
PharaohArs
Newbie
I've had an M2 with no self-timer, factory-sealed from 10 years ago since I was a teenager. I’ve put hundreds of rolls through it and never had any problems. When recently getting a CLA, the technician told me no one had ever been in there. This is surprising, given the lubricant dries out after years, yet the mechanism is still working perfectly. I beat up this camera, yet it's never failed me once.
PharaohArs
Newbie
I sent my M2 to the first guy . will comeback sometime later. see how the job is done.
its more than 300ish $.
yossi
Well-known
Oh great. Actually I am tempted to send mine to him too, but hesitant about the long-distance flight for my M3.
Please share your result when done. TIA.
PharaohArs
Newbie
Paint job is around 650$ . to get you noted
He's in Shanghai so I just handled my in person.
dude got no background. lone wolf style workshop it seems. prob just another enthusiastic turn to profit kind of story. don't know.
If the result is good I am happy to help him wire up black paint / CLA request on RF forum,
don't seem to have a present on the internet outside of RDP.
I assume you speak mandarin so you can talk to him.
I might even be able to bring your camera to you when I traveled to Singapore......
Duofold RF
Well-known
If the price is for CLA and paint, not bad at all
splitimageview
Administrator
Pricing really depends on how you want things finished, how many dings/dents/engravings (if any), if you want new multicoated viewfinder glass, etc.
There was no definitive 'black paint Leica.' Some for example had black strap lugs; some had black bottom plate latches. Some had shutter button collars that were black. Most did not have these.
Other options are to paint the frame counter (M3s, M4s) black with white numerals. There is an all-white M6 in the queue at the moment.
Or even customization via laser. The camera on this page with the "Leica" script revealing the brass, originally looked like when we received it:
Restoration35.com for a US-based painter. (me.)
There was no definitive 'black paint Leica.' Some for example had black strap lugs; some had black bottom plate latches. Some had shutter button collars that were black. Most did not have these.
Other options are to paint the frame counter (M3s, M4s) black with white numerals. There is an all-white M6 in the queue at the moment.
Or even customization via laser. The camera on this page with the "Leica" script revealing the brass, originally looked like when we received it:
Restoration35.com for a US-based painter. (me.)
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Duofold RF
Well-known
I like a scarred camera, it tells a story
splitimageview
Administrator
I remove the stories. 😅
38Deardorff
Well-known
I'm not sure 'nobody wanted those' is correct. Today they're the darlings of those with the collector DNA. Back just 20 yrs or so....they were used cameras and sold at used camera prices. I prefer black paint cameras....but i use mine and at the same time, I have no interest in buying at nosebleed prices for a glass case display.
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splitimageview
Administrator
Forgive me for my insufficient wording. It was more a matter of the working pro brassed M2 being simply a worn tool, not necessarily desirable, back in the day (speaking of when they were contemporary.)
Black paint became 'a thing' in the 90s. Prior to that, it could accurately be argued they were less desirable than a pristine chrome model. Prices reflected that.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, skilled artisans like Shintaro popularized refinishing with black paint, with icons like Tom A. helping create the allure.
Black paint became 'a thing' in the 90s. Prior to that, it could accurately be argued they were less desirable than a pristine chrome model. Prices reflected that.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, skilled artisans like Shintaro popularized refinishing with black paint, with icons like Tom A. helping create the allure.
38Deardorff
Well-known
At the same time, there have always been those who admired the patina of worn tools for just what they were/are..... rather than the value added $$ view.
PharaohArs
Newbie
the lobster effect
Archiver
Veteran
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. All those moments will be lost in time, like black paint in the rain.
Freakscene
Obscure member
The collector whose Leicas I inherited started buying black paint Leicas in the 1940s. There was a time when they were less in demand (and I bought one of my black paint M2s in the 1990s for $US650) but they were always in some demand.
Duofold RF
Well-known
In the ’90s, an unused M3 was around $1,000, and a black‑paint body in rough condition often cost less than a mint chrome M2 or M3. Times have certainly changed. Back then, I bought many poor‑condition Leica M bodies, restoring them and bringing them back to top working order. I also wanted to paint a Leica M black and use it long enough to create my own patina—my own wear pattern shaped by my life, not someone else’s history.
I practiced first on many fixed‑lens rangefinders; here’s an Olympus 35SP from that period. I don’t do repairs or painting my cameras anymore. With family and work, that phase of I have to have it has passed. I’ve sold most of my collection and kept only the cameras I actually use. Life is simpler now—family comes first, and stock investments have turned out to be more rewarding than collecting cameras.
I practiced first on many fixed‑lens rangefinders; here’s an Olympus 35SP from that period. I don’t do repairs or painting my cameras anymore. With family and work, that phase of I have to have it has passed. I’ve sold most of my collection and kept only the cameras I actually use. Life is simpler now—family comes first, and stock investments have turned out to be more rewarding than collecting cameras.
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splitimageview
Administrator
Being Leicas, after all…
Ororaro
Well-known
Yes… but there’s at least two coats applied. The first is “paint” and the second coat, or even just an extra stroke, is the “repaint”.
