Painting silver bits of M11 black?

[kinetic]

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I've seen a lot of very elaborate paint jobs done on cameras, and these seem to be hard to get, but I just want my camera's chrome/silver bits to all be black (like the Monochrome).

There aren't too many spots, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on guides or write-ups on how to do it, what materials to use, etc?

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[sometimesmaybe]

maybe have a think about doing a vinyl wrap? i have no personal experience, but i understand the process isnt destructive 

https://artedimano.com/87/?idx=589

[DenverSteve]

I'm confused, or maybe just don't understand but, what "not too many spots" are you referring to?  Other than the red-dot, I don't see any difference between the appearance of the two. 

[kinetic]

31 minutes ago, DenverSteve said:

I'm confused, or maybe just don't understand but, what "not too many spots" are you referring to?  Other than the red-dot, I don't see any difference between the appearance of the two. 

You can google the images for yourself if you'd like.

[DenverSteve]

No need. I own, or have used them.  They're both black with one exception.  You're asking for suggestions to paint, elaborately or not, your "bits" but different bits are made of different materials and need different treatment. There just aren't any "bit" that are different between the M11 and Mono except for one. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by DenverSteve

[adan]

1 hour ago, DenverSteve said:

They're both black with one exception.

Well, three and a half. Regular black M11 has red dot, silver shutter button, and silver lens release button. Those are all black on the Monochrom. Plus M11 Monochrom has gray rather than red engraving for the "A" setting on the shutter and ISO dials.

....................

To the OP: Make sure you know what you are getting into.

- The M11 black finish is neither paint nor blackened chrome, but an industrial finish developed or adopted by Leica (maybe powder coating? I don't know). It is applied to the parts before assembly.

- Consider what it would mean to simply apply "paint" onto the shutter and lens release buttons. Nothing like a little excess paint flowing into the seams between the button and the surrounding metal rings to literally "gum up" their operation, and possible ruin electronics (e.g. the shutter button microswitch).

- so they really should be removed from the camera for painting, and then reinstalled.

- The buttons involved are already silver-coated. So they will need to be painted with primer first, so that a black paint (especially if matte) will stick to them with any permanence.

- And there is a rather thin gap between the buttons and their sockets, so too many layers (primer plus black) may make them too "fat" to slide smoothly in their sockets. Some M users have encountered sticky or "scratchy" shutter buttons even with factory-fresh buttons, so the tolerances are quite tight.

[jaapv]

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It is indeed a powder coating. 

[chasdfg]

Just put on a black soft release which would cover the silver on the shutter button and stick tape over the red dot and lens release. I remember a few years back someone found round black dots on Amazon which stuck over the M240's silver buttons nicely. Might work for the lens release. More recently someone else found that black screw hole covers for furniture of approx 12mm could cover the red dot well. 

[pgk]

4 hours ago, adan said:

The buttons involved are already silver-coated. So they will need to be painted with primer first, so that a black paint (especially if matte) will stick to them with any permanence.

If they are indeed chrome plated then they will need to be de-chromed I would think. Some people suggest using an abrasive to do so ......

It might simply be easier to see if Leica would replace the parts.

[kinetic]

On 5/5/2023 at 3:31 PM, chasdfg said:

Just put on a black soft release which would cover the silver on the shutter button and stick tape over the red dot and lens release. I remember a few years back someone found round black dots on Amazon which stuck over the M240's silver buttons nicely. Might work for the lens release. More recently someone else found that black screw hole covers for furniture of approx 12mm could cover the red dot well. 

I got a pack of the hole covers (just used one out of like 50, lol) for the leica red dot. But you're right, I'm pretty close. I will try to find other round dot stickers for the lens release. I have a komaru black soft release already, though I actually take it off quite a bit to attach a screw in shutter release for bulb/long exposures.