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Touching up satin black finish on non-brass top covers


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A number of my Leicas have diecast zinc/zamac top covers/plates. Whereas the paint on my brass cover Leicas seems to "brass" and wear nicely, the paint (or black chrome) finish on other cameras e.g. R9 and M7, with diecast zinc alloy top covers, wear much less attractively. The coating seems to chip more easily than on the brass and where it wears, it shows the somewhat unattractive whitish grey  underlying metal. Over the years I have tried various methods of touching this up, with little long term success. 

However finally I have come across a product with applicator, which makes the process very easy and leaves an almost undetectable repair. It is a product called Hycote, arriving in a 12.5ml container with two built-in applicators. It has a fine brush for larger areas, that I have not as yet had to use and an 0.8mm diameter applicator tube for very small areas. I have found the best way is to apply the coating and if you notice that slightly too much has gone on, dab it very gently with cotton wool before the coating dries. Any cotton wool marks smooth out as it dries. My R9 which had ugly white wear lines along every corner and moulding edge of the top cover, now looks much better. The repair has lasted all through my trip to India, with the R9 being hustled in and out of my Overboard sealable/dust proof nylon bag. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hycote-Satin-Black-12-5ml-Colour-Brush-Touch-Up-Paint-Stick-XCPB306/182327135648?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Wilson

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Edited by wlaidlaw
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2 hours ago, AndreasG said:

Could you please show some photos, best, before/after? I need such a solution for my worn 1986 M6.

Before is too late until I get my M7 back from repair. I can take some pictures of my R9 tomorrow. 

Wilson

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1 hour ago, pico said:

My M7 has a brass top plate.

Jac, 

I think they changed backwards and forwards on the M7 for various batches, between brass and zinc, depending on the coating paint, enamel, black or silver chrome. Mine looks a bit like powder coating but the underlying metal is greyish. 

Wilson

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38 minutes ago, wlaidlaw said:

Jac, 

I think they changed backwards and forwards on the M7 for various batches, between brass and zinc, depending on the coating paint, enamel, black or silver chrome. Mine looks a bit like powder coating but the underlying metal is greyish. 

Wilson

I hate it when they do that.

 

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You could perhaps investigate also Birchwood Casey 'Perma Gun Blue' for cold plating the area back to black. I haven't used it but have read good reports from people who've used it to touch up zinc. You'd need to read through the instructions and see if touching in the edges is practical regarding application and removal.

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25 minutes ago, 250swb said:

Birchwood Casey 'Perma Gun Blue' ..... zinc.

Gun Blue is intended for use on steel (zinc would be a bad material to make a gun out of;)) so I'd be wary of using it without knowing whether its designed to chemically bond to the metal (which I think gun blue usually is) and if so what it does to the metal.

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51 minutes ago, 250swb said:

You could perhaps investigate also Birchwood Casey 'Perma Gun Blue' for cold plating the area back to black. I haven't used it but have read good reports from people who've used it to touch up zinc. You'd need to read through the instructions and see if touching in the edges is practical regarding application and removal.

Steve, 

I tried that some time ago. It does not seem to last well and does not fill in chips at all. I assume that the zinc compound that is formed with gun blue (I was using Purdey blue from their gun restoration kit left over from when I used to restore vintage sporting rifles) is water soluble as it comes off if your hands are damp or sweaty. It then stains your hands like a tattoo. 

Wilson

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  • 1 month later...

When I got my R9 earlier this year, although in good mechanical and electronic condition, it had obviously had had a long, busy and interesting life. Every edge on the top of the camera and even on the prism housing had white line running round it. Here is it now after retouching. It needs re-doing in places after sitting in my dry/dust proof sack for three weeks round India, but the re-touching has stood up better than I feared. 

Wilson

 

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On your suggestion I found this product on ebay and got a tube. It really does a fantastic job! I used it to touch-up a bunch of different cameras and even works great filling in the black engraved scripts/marking on cameras that have lost that. Thanks again for sharing :)

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