Marckyokay Posted March 2, 2020 Share #1 Posted March 2, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) Time and time again I read about the secret trick, that an eraser can remove unwanted abrasions on the surface on a Chrom Leica. Well, I tried exactly that with my M10-D and now I wish I wouldn't have done it... Maybe it was fine for those trying it on the M10 but den D and P seem to be TOO matte and now I can't get rid of this unwanted polishing I caused. I had a TINY scratch and remembered reading about this, so I used a soft white eraser to rub it away and viola, the scratch really became much less visible. After going outside in the sun, to my shock, I realized I seemed to have polished the surface and the black chrome now looks really dirty/unevenly polished ... I would have never thought a soft eraser could do this... and I can’t seem to be able to clean it / rub it away. Fingers, alcohol wipe (getting rare because of corona) wet tissue... Maybe someone has been in a similar situation... Any idea how I can clean the black chrome surface of an M10-P / -D / -M to get rid of this unwanted polish shine cause by the eraser? 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/307006-m10-p-d-chrome-finish-and-the-unwanted-polishing-through-an-eraser/?do=findComment&comment=3923111'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 2, 2020 Posted March 2, 2020 Hi Marckyokay, Take a look here M10-P / -D Chrome finish and the unwanted polishing through an eraser.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jdlaing Posted March 2, 2020 Share #2 Posted March 2, 2020 Chrome and black chrome are two different things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicci78 Posted March 2, 2020 Share #3 Posted March 2, 2020 Silver chrome is the best. I hate how black chrome aged. Please bring us back lacquered Leica. They aged beautifully with those golden chrome accent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymac Posted March 2, 2020 Share #4 Posted March 2, 2020 I cannot believe that a soft rubber can cause any signifikant hurt to the black surface. I’d suppose, that the daily use & „natural“ grease, which covers the surface, has gone. Have you tried to „regrease“ it with a little bit of lipstick on your fingers? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maarten Posted March 2, 2020 Share #5 Posted March 2, 2020 "Thumb grease" would be my solution too! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marckyokay Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted March 3, 2020 3 hours ago, happymac said: I cannot believe that a soft rubber can cause any signifikant hurt to the black surface. I’d suppose, that the daily use & „natural“ grease, which covers the surface, has gone. Have you tried to „regrease“ it with a little bit of lipstick on your fingers? 3 hours ago, Maarten said: "Thumb grease" would be my solution too! Yeah I couldn't believe it myself... It wasn't one of those harsh red/blue ones, a soft white eraser. Probably the eraser had still some plastic particles in it? It wasn't one of those kneadable artist erasers, that trick I read too late... those seem much more easy on the surface. Wich I read it before. I can clearly trace where I moved the eraser along... I used some leather "grease" treatment that I also used on the leather grip (since the D has real leather) but didn't change. "Thumb grease" would probably be applied automatically with me rubbing over it with my thumb over and over again. But no, didn't help. 10 hours ago, jdlaing said: Chrome and black chrome are two different things. Well we can be more specific about black chrome (chrom in Leica terms) or silver chrome... I left the black part out in the title, my mistake. Surely the black and silver are different beasts. 4 hours ago, nicci78 said: Silver chrome is the best. I hate how black chrome aged. Please bring us back lacquered Leica. They aged beautifully with those golden chrome accent. Well, I didn't like the dark marks and lines/scratches appearing on the silver chrome cameras. I quite liked how the black chrome M6 aged, with brighter shine around the edges, totally different from brassing but also nice. I just really don't like just HOW matte the M10-P D M turn out... just too dull and matte. And would not really want the shine to appear as spots next to the Leica branding just how it seems happened to mine... caused by my stupidity and not something the camera collected on a journey or shoot... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunil Posted March 3, 2020 Share #7 Posted March 3, 2020 Advertisement (gone after registration) 20 hours ago, Marckyokay said: Time and time again I read about the secret trick, that an eraser can remove unwanted abrasions on the surface on a Chrom Leica. Well, I tried exactly that with my M10-D and now I wish I wouldn't have done it... Maybe it was fine for those trying it on the M10 but den D and P seem to be TOO matte and now I can't get rid of this unwanted polishing I caused. I had a TINY scratch and remembered reading about this, so I used a soft white eraser to rub it away and viola, the scratch really became much less visible. After going outside in the sun, to my shock, I realized I seemed to have polished the surface and the black chrome now looks really dirty/unevenly polished ... I would have never thought a soft eraser could do this... and I can’t seem to be able to clean it / rub it away. Fingers, alcohol wipe (getting rare because of corona) wet tissue... Maybe someone has been in a similar situation... Any idea how I can clean the black chrome surface of an M10-P / -D / -M to get rid of this unwanted polish shine cause by the eraser? 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! Use a tiny bit of black shoe polish and buff it off. Works for me every time. Make sure you don't get it on the white lettering. Use a Q-tip to get the polish on and buff with a micro fiber cloth. It'll be just fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 3, 2020 Share #8 Posted March 3, 2020 "Nose grease" works best (no, not a joke). The grease from the fold beside your nose, rub it on with your finger. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marckyokay Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, jaapv said: "Nose grease" works best (no, not a joke). The grease from the fold beside your nose, rub it on with your finger. Well all bodily greases unfortunately don’t help 😜 And I start to think a soft white rubber really can leave marks on this super delicate matte black finish ... 3 hours ago, sunil said: Use a tiny bit of black shoe polish and buff it off. Works for me every time. Make sure you don't get it on the white lettering. Use a Q-tip to get the polish on and buff with a micro fiber cloth. It'll be just fine. What brand of shoe grease exactly does work out for you? Or what special kind... And for M10 or the more matte P/D/M? I don’t want to repeat the mistake of the rubber eraser... Edited March 3, 2020 by Marckyokay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 3, 2020 Share #10 Posted March 3, 2020 Chrome is not really a delicate finish, in fact, it is quite hard. Is it not possible that instead of damaging the surface, you smeared rubber into the surface porosities of the chrome, making it look dull? In that case cleaning the spot with some Isopropyl alcohol might work. Shoe polish seems to me to be pretty hopeless, it will only smear wax with black pigment all over. A temporary cure at best, in the unlikely case that it helps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marckyokay Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share #11 Posted March 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, jaapv said: Chrome is not really a delicate finish, in fact, it is quite hard. Is it not possible that instead of damaging the surface, you smeared rubber into the surface porosities of the chrome, making it look dull? In that case cleaning the spot might help. It’s my first chrome M so I didn’t have any right judging the durability of the finish. And that’s exactly what I was thinking, but I can’t think of any humane way to clean it, that I didn’t already try... hence this threat to get advice what exactly to do. Rubbing with the fingers, clean fingers, greasy fingers, fingers with some cleansing alcohol on them, a cleaning cloth, alcohol wipe (people will kill me here in Japan when they find out I’m wasting them on my camera )... nothing changes those spots. Your suggestions with then surface porosities is quite valid, but how to clean them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted March 3, 2020 Share #12 Posted March 3, 2020 If it is a rubber smear and alcohol or white spirit (Waschbenzin) does not work, it may well just disappear over time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreasG Posted March 3, 2020 Share #13 Posted March 3, 2020 I think, if a mat surface of a black chrome camera body once got somehow "polished" by mechanical processes with fingers, wipes etc., it remains polished, there is unfortunately no reasonable method to turn this back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marckyokay Posted March 4, 2020 Author Share #14 Posted March 4, 2020 16 hours ago, AndreasG said: I think, if a mat surface of a black chrome camera body once got somehow "polished" by mechanical processes with fingers, wipes etc., it remains polished, there is unfortunately no reasonable method to turn this back. Absolutely right it seems... Might be a little excessive but since I currently don’t live far I’ve been to Kanto Camera who should be the expert regarding camera paints, chromes and so on. They disappeared with the camera for a while and confirmed the eraser polished the surface. Clean it looks even worse and finger or nose grease acts like makeup and hides it just a liiiiiiiittle bit. But yeah, that’s how the camera stays. Just a warning to everyone who read about that trick with the eraser. Live and learn. So either I learn to live with my stupidity or it’s a new top when I’m back in Germany. Thanks for the advice! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreasG Posted March 4, 2020 Share #15 Posted March 4, 2020 Best, forget this little cosmetic disaster as lessons learned an enjoy the camera! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now