Vulcanite repair?

[jaapv]

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My early M3 suddenly started shedding its (until now) pristine Vulcanite

:mad:

Actually a piece of 1.5 cm x5 cm simply fell off. It looks like corrosion took hold under the covering.

I am in doubt: strip it off altogether and replace by Cameraleather or have it repaired/replaced.

 

Originality is not an issue, as it is a repaint anyway.

 

Which repairperson in the EU is a Vulcanite specialist?

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[AbbeyFoto]

Jaap

 

While I can not give a direct reference I can suggest, if all else fails, you contact Jem at Real Camera (The Real Camera Company - Manchester Camera Retailer). A few years back I bought a D/S M3 from Jem which had been totally rebuilt by a Leica repair person Jem highly rates. I understand that the rebuild involved use of original vulcanite material and I can report that that M3 is in excellent condition.

[doubice]

Jaap,

 

There is somebody in the UK who supposedly does real Vulcanite recovering. The name escapes me but, I am sure that one the resident Brits will pipe in with the name.

 

My personal recommendation would be recovering as that way you know exactly what the final finish will be and you can do it yourself. Cameraleather is of course one option, Aki Asahi in Japan is another. I bought a '4008' kit from him for a battered M2 a few years back and the fit and finish was impeccable. The 4008 material is, as far as I am concerned, the closest to the original Vulcanite.

 

Here is a link:

 

http://www.aki-asahi.com/store/html/M3_round-ear/pebble/index.php

 

Cheers,

 

Jan

[earleygallery]

Hi Jaap,

 

CRR Luton offer a Vulcanite replacement - look at their website and they explain all. It's not exactly the same but a close match apparently (I have not used it or seen it myself).

[jaapv]

Thanks, friends. I’ll give Will van Manen a call for advice after Easter as well.

[luigi bertolotti]

My early M3 suddenly started shedding its (until now) pristine Vulcanite

:mad:

Actually a piece of 1.5 cm x5 cm simply fell off. It looks like corrosion took hold under the covering.

I am in doubt: strip it off altogether and replace by Cameraleather or have it repaired/replaced.

 

Originality is not an issue, as it is a repaint anyway.

 

Which repairperson in the EU is a Vulcanite specialist?

 

A good opportunity to finally have one like this....

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[jaapv]

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Hmmmm...Not convinced..

[roydonian]

When the vulcanite band on my 90mm f2.8 Elmarit stared crumbling, I had it replaced by Ottmar Michaely, the well-known Leica restorer. When I spoke to him in Wetzlar before giving him the job (he has excellent English), he told me that the only vulcanite that he cannot replace is the poor-quality wartime version.

 

He did a superb job, but it took a long time. But to be fair, since I have several other lenses of this focal length, I did not bother to make a follow-up phone call to try to speed things up.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

[250swb]

Not suitable for you Jaap, but anybody with a bit of vulcanite that has shed this stuff

 

The Epoxy Putty With A Thousand Uses

 

is good for localised repairs.

 

It is a two part putty that you simply pinch off the amount needed and roll together. Press it into the body where the vulcanite has shed and level it, then with a damp cocktail stick (well you are a Leica user so you should have some ) press in a vulcanite pattern to match the rest. To make a neat edge where it butts against the top or bottom plate run a sharp knife blade along to separate it. It takes a few hours to dry so you have plenty of time to get it right. The black Milliput dries a touch lighter than real vulcanite, but it does dry hard and feels the same.

 

Steve

[jaapv]

I’ve decided to do something utterly disgusting. Just watch this forum in a few weeks

[StephenPatterson]

Uh oh...Jaap is scarring me. He sounds like that famous American expression, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this".

[Falstaff]

Uh oh...Jaap is scarring me. He sounds like that famous American expression, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this".

 

Sounds as if he'll be holding his beer at the same time

 

Falstaff

[gyoung]

He's going to buy a camera with evf.......

:-)

 

Gerry

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Everybody,

 

Perhaps instead of Vulcanite he will use Friesian Clove.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited April 8, 2012 by Michael Geschlecht

[barrybed]

Another thing that works for patching is the acrylic paint used by artists(the thick kind like oil paint.) More than 10 years ago I mixed some black with a touch of yellow and it matched perfectly with the gray of the vulcanite on my M3. I put a think coat on and when it was almost dry I pressed in the marks with my fingernail. It is still there and shows no sign of falling off, and I handle my camera alot...Robbie

 

http://robbiebedell.photoshelter.com

[jaques]

Apparently there is a way of replacing small broken chips of vulcanite- with more small broken chips of vulcanite. My camera repair man was telling me about it. He said never to throw away the old vulcanite - that he can make seamless repairs if the chip is small... I will ask him more about it when I next see him.

[sensibilita]

Thanks to Doubice for posting the Japanese link!

 

Nakamura-san is very fast and (as one would expect) very professional! This is what makes dealing with such issues as vulcanite a sheer joy!

 

http://www.aki-asahi.com/store/html/...bble/index.php

 

There's a link again, for those who are not into experimentation! And it's all amazingly cheap!!

 

Cheers, Walter

[jerzy]

Hi,

if it started to peel off it will go like this. It is not a corrosion, it is old glue.From my own experience - remove old Vulcanite (you need to warm it up to make it elastic), clean the body from old glue, and reglue. I did not use epoxy, I used a wood glue for it. When reglueing Vulcanite need to be warmed again, otherwise it will break into pieces. You might look for repair shop if they have Vulcanite pieces with similar structure and try to fit it.

But if you do not care about original Vulcanite, Cameralether and Aki are both good, I used both of them (for screw Leicas). And if you have luck you will get it within a week, but sometimes it takes months. Both are self adhesive, pretty strightforward to do it on your own.

CRR Luton advertizes "original Vulcanite" but he does not accept any repairs since ,more than 1 year.

Jaapv, it is pretty simple to do it, however you might need special tools, you need to disassembly the body cover.

jerzy

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Hallo,

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[brooksveriwide]

On 4/6/2012 at 7:32 AM, 250swb said:

Not suitable for you Jaap, but anybody with a bit of vulcanite that has shed this stuff

 

The Epoxy Putty With A Thousand Uses

 

is good for localised repairs.

 

It is a two part putty that you simply pinch off the amount needed and roll together. Press it into the body where the vulcanite has shed and level it, then with a damp cocktail stick (well you are a Leica user so you should have some

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

) press in a vulcanite pattern to match the rest. To make a neat edge where it butts against the top or bottom plate run a sharp knife blade along to separate it. It takes a few hours to dry so you have plenty of time to get it right. The black Milliput dries a touch lighter than real vulcanite, but it does dry hard and feels the same.

 

Steve

I have used this product to great effect on an M2. I had walked into my local hobby shop, showed him the job to be done and he sold me this tout suite!