analoguser Posted March 30, 2012 Share #1 Posted March 30, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Years ago I had a chance to buy a black chrome M3 which wasn't a Leitz issue. It was done by a Isaac Maizenberg who lived in Chicago. He used to gold plate Leicas and advertise them in Shutterbug Ads when it was still the yellow newspaper. He did occasionally rechrome Leicas. I didn't buy the M3. I wish now I had not because it would be some great "collector's piece" but because it would have been a very desirable "user". I did buy a black chromed M4 from him which is one of my favorite Leicas. When I got it back from him it was one of the smoothest Leicas I've ever used. He was trained "old school" by Leitz in europe before the war before he emigrated here. He really knew how to tune up an M. Sadly now he is long deceased. But I wonder is anybody doing this now? Does anybody reliably rechrome Leicas today? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 Hi analoguser, Take a look here black chrome M3. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
luigi bertolotti Posted March 31, 2012 Share #2 Posted March 31, 2012 I remember that some years ago there used to be a Japanese shop (Shintaro, iirc) specialized in such jobs, with good feedbacks from customers: but I also remember that some of us had to wait incredibly long times to have the camera back, with difficulties in communication which even made to fear for disappearing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted March 31, 2012 Share #3 Posted March 31, 2012 These "refinished" cameras are not important as collectibles, moreover it is a very expensive job. A rechromed camera will be never indistinguishable from the original, the original finish is very very difficult to obtain. My advice: it's best to look for a better specimen ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted March 31, 2012 Share #4 Posted March 31, 2012 I knew some one in france doing the (re) chroming, I do not know if he is always active must check for where I stored his datas ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoguser Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted April 1, 2012 The point was not to have a camera that would fool anyone into thinking it was an original but to have a nicely acceptable user with a black finish that wouldn't chip or come away like the paint versions. Anyway ... It looks like it is useless to pursue this idea. Thank you gentlemen for your comments. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 2, 2012 Share #6 Posted April 2, 2012 Hello analoguser, Welcome to the Forum. Nice idea. Sometimes in life things are not impossible. They just haven't been figured out or done yet. Very often people don't fail until after they give up. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suilvenman Posted April 2, 2012 Share #7 Posted April 2, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) After some research, I came across a Swiss company that does black re-chroming BUT it seems you would have to arrange for a specialist to dismantle the specific body parts required, send them to be re-chromed and then re-assemble them again after treatment. Not an inexpensive solution, I'd imagine. Ken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ron (Netherlands) Posted April 11, 2012 Share #8 Posted April 11, 2012 Some like them white and pay a nice price for them: Leica M3 SS Single Stroke "White Paint Edition" M2 M4 M6 M7 M8 M9 | eBay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabears Posted April 11, 2012 Share #9 Posted April 11, 2012 Vatican edition? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M9reno Posted April 11, 2012 Share #10 Posted April 11, 2012 But, seriously, the seller (and painter) of the white camera might be a good person for the OP to contact. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
normclarke Posted April 11, 2012 Share #11 Posted April 11, 2012 The first M4-2 I bought had a chrome base that I had re black chromed by a company in the west country (UK). It was a very high class job and matched the rest of the camera perfectly. This was about 10yrs ago, I believe they are still trading but as it has been stated it would need the complete strip down before being sent for this work. Best, normclarke. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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