Does the silver M have the same brassing effect?

[TG14]

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I quite like the brassing effect of the black m. Does the silver m have the same effect? What does it look like?

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[hteasley]

I quite like the brassing effect of the black m. Does the silver m have the same effect? What does it look like?

It doesn't brass as easily. The chrome is a lot more durable than the paint, but yes, it can be worn down to show brass.

 

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[sdw]

Same effect? Sure. As easy to brass? Not by a long shot. Since the brass is plated rather than painted, it doesn't wear down as readily. But my old M240 was seriously brassed (it did survive a motorcycle crash though) - it was unfortunately stolen. If you ever see it, please let me know! 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by sdw

[magixaxeman]

 Did you mean chrome plated rather than brass?

 

Same effect? Sure. As easy to brass? Not by a long shot. Since the brass is plated rather than painted, it doesn't wear down as readily. But my old M240 was seriously brassed (it did survive a motorcycle crash though) - it was unfortunately stolen. If you ever see it, please let me know! 

 

[sdw]

The brass is underneath the chrome, so the body is plated brass. Sorry if that didn't come across clearly. 

[jaapv]

I quite like the brassing effect of the black m. Does the silver m have the same effect? What does it look like?

There are two types of black M cameras. there is the black paint/coating one, which looks quite nice with the yellow brass easily coming through as it wears, there is the black chrome one, which is far more durable, but "silvers" with long use, the brass only showing through very rarely. And there is the silver chrome one, which will only show brass with damage or extreme wear.

[Whitford]

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There is brass under there, it will just take years (or direct damage) to show through. My black M10 fell onto concrete and where it impacted I can see a bit of brass now. Otherwise I already have a fair amount of slivering patina from use-especially by the lugs.

[Simon]

They should make a white paint option!  Now that would be worth considering over black.

[jaapv]

They should make a white paint option!  Now that would be worth considering over black.

They did:

 

https://leicarumors.com/2016/01/27/this-beautiful-leica-m9-p-white-limited-edition-camera-set-is-now-available-in-the-us-for-50k.aspx/

[Simon]

They did:

 

https://leicarumors.com/2016/01/27/this-beautiful-leica-m9-p-white-limited-edition-camera-set-is-now-available-in-the-us-for-50k.aspx/

 

 

No I'm talking about white paint on the brass.  That's a silver chrome with white leather trim.

[jdlaing]

1

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[Simon]

Yeah that, Lol!  He needs to brass it up a bit, or maybe he's just happy posing!  

 

Would've preferred a non-black trim though, and a matching leather protector case.  

Edited July 14, 2018 by Simon

[albertknappmd]

Same effect? Sure. As easy to brass? Not by a long shot. Since the brass is plated rather than painted, it doesn't wear down as readily. But my old M240 was seriously brassed (it did survive a motorcycle crash though) - it was unfortunately stolen. If you ever see it, please let me know! 

 

 

Certainly distinctive brassing!

Can't miss that one!

Albert

[earleygallery]

They should make a white paint option! Now that would be worth considering over black.

There was a white paint white cover limited edition M8. I don’t think many were bought to be used however. It’d be interesting to see how a well used one looks now though! Pretty ugly I’m guessing!!

[adan]

It should be noted that matte chrome plating, whether silver or black, usually has an underplating of nickel (silver) for better adhesion. Two layers on top of the brass (or whatever the structural metal is).

 

Thus, when silver chrome "rubs" and wear a bit - it reveals silver nickel. Very hard to see the difference. Only with severe long-term wear, or major damage, is the yellow brass revealed.

 

When black chrome wears a bit, it reveals silver nickel - first as a gray "dusting" and then as clearer silver lines along the folds or edges of the plated object. And only after a lot of wear or damage, the actual brass.

 

Matte black chrome became the "standard" black Leitz/Leica finish for cameras with the introduction of the M5 (1971) and CL. A handful of late original M4s were black-chromed instead of painted, and also Leicaflex SLs made after ~1971. After that, black paint was only used for a few commemoratives, until the MP and M9.

 

At the end of the M4-P run and transitioning to the M6, the top plates became zinc instead of brass. They never "brass" - they just get grayer and grayer (like me ).

 

(NB: the M6 battery compartment cap and rim on the front may "brass - they were not made of zinc.)

[Jeff S]

There was a white paint white cover limited edition M8. I don’t think many were bought to be used however. It’d be interesting to see how a well used one looks now though! Pretty ugly I’m guessing!!

http://dfarkas.blogspot.com/2009/07/leica-m8-white-edition-set.html?m=1

 

I’m guessing these were bought by folks who didn’t subject them to much, or any, use.

 

Jeff

[pico]

The silver finish is successful in its design objective to be durable, tough and it is that. I have not found a silver Leica silver body worn through. Somebody will certainly show evidence of such wear. It is still rare.

 

I do not believe Leica began with a marketing angle for their black chrome, black enamel or black paint.  The coating wear has been by real world heavy using veterans, for better or worse, and once by Leica in their Lenny Kravitz edition.

Edited July 20, 2018 by pico

[colint544]

My M Monochrom mk1 will be six years old next month. I use it a lot, and I wouldn't swap it for anything. When it came back from its sensor swap in 2016, someone at the factory had written "Strong traces of using" in the comments box of the form. Which seemed wonderfully Germanic to me.

 

But it just won't brass. There's something about black chrome (and silver chrome too) where the nickel layer - it shows through on edges eventually - really protects the brass underneath.

 

I daresay the M10-P will be out soon, and I'm guessing that might be black paint over brass, which looks far nicer when it wears.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Simon]

The most German thing I've seen recently was on a German watch company's website.  Instead of explaining the meaning of the unit of pressure bar in simple terms like: 'depth resistance increases by approximately 10 metres per bar'; or '1 bar ≈ 10 m'; they gave the following comprehensive explanation (my favourite bits highlighted):

 

Physical unit of pressure, i.e. force per surface area.

1 bar = 100 kPa = 0,1 MPa

One bar corresponds roughly to the average atmospheric air pressure at sea level. Water (hydrostatic) pressure increases by approx. one bar for every 10 m of water depth. A watch is therefore subjected to one additional bar for every 10 m of diving depth (quod vide pressure resistance and water-resistance). 
1 bar corresponds roughly to the weight of 1 kg per cm² (1 bar = 10 N/cm²). The precise value depends on the location on Earth. The gravitational acceleration varies between 9.78 and 9.83 m/s² Taking the mean value (9.81) as the basis, 1 bar corresponds to a weight of 1019.4 g per cm² .

 

Needless to say, I'll be sure to account for that variation in gravitational acceleration from now on.     

Edited August 1, 2018 by Simon