Scratched and chipped paint on a Leica M lens - who repaints in 2022?

[Al Brown]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I have come across a M lens that looks like this. The seller says it is a possible manufacture error. The paint looks similarly chipped on the top side as well but has been retouched somehow. The lens is (according to the seller) flawless and mint on the "inside", apparently never opened. I would most probably exclude a fall. I remember a post somewhere that some M lenses had bad anodized paint on them but cannot find it. Any ideas?

I would also like to know who currently (in 2022) repaints lenses (apart from Kanto) and does black paint, the latest entries here at the forum are from 2011 and 2014.

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!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Chimichurri]

2 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

The lens is (according to the seller) flawless and mint on the "inside", apparently never opened.

Yea. Run for the hills. 

[Ecar]

28 minutes ago, Chimichurri said:

Yea. Run for the hills. 

What he says.

But if you persist, you could try getting in touch with Camerakote in the UK. 

[shirubadanieru]

Shueido are great too!

[Guest]

Give these guys a call … not used them myself but their work looks good.

 

[84bravo]

If the price were right, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. The cosmetics do effect value so it may be an opportunity to to get a good user at an excellent price. That you're even considering it seems to me that you're probably not a collector.

[250swb]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

An obvious restoration is going to devalue it as much as outright surface damage, people will still think 'what's going on here, it's only a lens, there must be more going on'. If it's cheap buy it and use a Magic Marker if it's so awful. I think it's probably been scuffed in the camera bag against something else, but imagine the focus ring at the other end of it's range and all the marks will probably line up.

Edited November 10, 2022 by 250swb

[derleicaman]

The bad anodizing you are referring to was on some lenses from Leitz Canada. Some of them passed through my hands when I was a dealer, back in the 80’s. They were used lenses, probably made in the 70’s. I don’t have any images handy, but the lenses, which should have been black, had a brown cast to them. It was certainly not paint.

This lens appears to be paint, and it looks like something was eating away at the finish.

[pgk]

Hmmmm. The surface damage in the second photo looks very much like corrosion of the aluminium due to the anodisation having been compromised. I used to see this on underwater housings when they were suffering from electrloytic corrosion due to disimilar metals used in their construction and the effects of saltwater and perhaps some abrasion damage. If the lens is ok otherwise and appropriately priced it might be worth buying but I wouldn't try to restore an anodised aluminium lens because it is almost certainly very difficult to do so and will cost accordingly.