Is the "M7" on the front of the M7 painted white ? (IE is it black underneath ?)

[adamwarmington]

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Hey guys, very happy to have just acquired an M7. Part of the 'M' is black... I understand the previous owner taped parts of it. I tried cleaning it with alcohol but it made it a bit blacker (I THINK). Question is... is it black under the white (if you rub it does the white come off). OR is it native white, so if I clean it more the black will go away and reveal more white. Thank you. See pics. Adam

IMG_4796.HEIC

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[jaapv]

Black engraved filled with white paint  Filled with black paint on silver cameras. 

[adamwarmington]

Ah, gotcha... so in trying to clean it, i've rubbed more off. Is there a place that specializes in re-touching up that kind of thing ?

Adam

[jaapv]

Most of us do it ourselves if needed. There are special filling paints but in my experience about any thick matte paint will do. Paint over the engraving and wipe off the surplus. 

[250swb]

For larger text like the M7 engraving I'd use Tamiya Gloss White and a small brush, and allow it to flow into the engraving. Do as Jaap says and wipe off any excess. This may leave a smear around the lettering but leave it to dry and finally remove any thin paint with an alcohol wipe. If you get it wrong start again.

[Huss]

I think there are even videos online showing the paint being applied to the engraving in the Leica factory. And what they do is as what is described here - just fill in the paint and wipe off any excess.

[lincoln_m]

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Personally I prefer it without the white paint. I found the same thing when I tried to clean the black pen I'd put on the white M7 some years ago. I'd seen a photo of a well used M7 in the "I Love my M7" thread many years ago and loved the more stealthy look of no white paint. For me the next to go would be the orange paint but I've not done that, or maybe paint the Red Dot Black like the Rolling Stones song. The black chrome gets a nice patina after some years of use.

 

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[Anbaric]

For a mere 249 euros (plus postage) you can buy a Leica black dot sticker. Bargain!

[MarkP]

18 hours ago, lincoln_m said:

Personally I prefer it without the white paint. I found the same thing when I tried to clean the black pen I'd put on the white M7 some years ago. I'd seen a photo of a well used M7 in the "I Love my M7" thread many years ago and loved the more stealthy look of no white paint. For me the next to go would be the orange paint but I've not done that, or maybe paint the Red Dot Black like the Rolling Stones song. The black chrome gets a nice patina after some years of use.

 

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Ditto

I removed the white paint from mine with a wooden toothpick. Much prefer how it looks.

Edited April 13, 2023 by MarkP

[Huss]

If you do remove the white paint make sure to save it in case you need to put it back later.  Some people like all the original bits if you try to sell the camera.

[lincoln_m]

I know what you’re saying but my M7 now only works on the 1/60, 1/125 manual shutter speeds. The Auto setting doesn’t release the first curtain. The exposure metering is fine so it must be the electronic shutter release. It went back to Wetzlar in 2017 and then immediately back on warranty because they didn’t fix the shutter speed issue at 1/1000. I used for 2 films in 2018 but found it had stopped working in 2021 when I was thinking of selling. I really don’t want to spend the €1000 to send it back as I’m not sure they have the M7 electronics available anymore.

the manual shutter priority does work if I have slow film and use f8,f11, f16 as needed. If the shutter was all manual like M6TTL or new M6 that would be great. 

[newtoleica]

If mine died I would just get another. I like the AE Auto, the bigger shutter speed dial and the consistent exposures with the stepless electronic shutter.... A proper modern film M, rather than some retro throwback (ducks...)