Zinc pest on silver M6 - technical problem or not

[Huss]

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33 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

The OP’s big concern was the price. Every beat up Leica that’s been done to death can be restored very beautifully. You buy the bubbly thing and later repaint it and fix it if you like. For shooting pictures the cosmetic condition is absolutely irrelevant (if it does not interfere with the process).

Price is too high.  Get the most trashed M6 you can find for the cheapest price that is still working if the concern is the pictures.

or pay a couple hundred more and get a nice one that needs nothing and you don’t have that nagging feeling about the corrosion.  And a couple hundred more is way cheaper than sending a camera out to get restored.

of course if all you really care about is taking pictures, you have much more pragmatic options for a fraction of the price of being concerned about a zitty Leica.

Just the fact that this thread was started and the question was posed makes the answer “No”.  Because if the OP didn’t care, he wouldn’t have asked.  When you have to ask complete strangers if the price is low enough to make the condition acceptable, you know deep down you want a better one.  

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[dpitt]

22 hours ago, Huss said:

Price is too high.  Get the most trashed M6 you can find for the cheapest price that is still working if the concern is the pictures.

or pay a couple hundred more and get a nice one that needs nothing and you don’t have that nagging feeling about the corrosion.  And a couple hundred more is way cheaper than sending a camera out to get restored.

of course if all you really care about is taking pictures, you have much more pragmatic options for a fraction of the price of being concerned about a zitty Leica.

Just the fact that this thread was started and the question was posed makes the answer “No”.  Because if the OP didn’t care, he wouldn’t have asked.  When you have to ask complete strangers if the price is low enough to make the condition acceptable, you know deep down you want a better one.  

Getting the most thrashed up camera is a bit extreme. Large dents and such are an indication of drops or bumps that might have misaligned the RF or bent other things. If a CLA with good report can be proven that does not matter much, but without it, I would look for one that has been treated with more respect.

The cosmetic issue of the OP has nothing to do with the use of the camera, so it is not relevant for its functioning, and it makes an otherwise near mint camera more desirable to me than a beaten up one.

[Bronco McBeast]

On 9/30/2023 at 10:26 AM, Al Brown said:

The OP’s big concern was the price. Every beat up Leica that’s been done to death can be restored very beautifully. You buy the bubbly thing and later repaint it and fix it if you like. For shooting pictures the cosmetic condition is absolutely irrelevant (if it does not interfere with the process).

Repainting zinc? Not so sure. How well does it accept paint?

Besides, a repainted Leica is  huge no-no to me.  Well used chrome leicas are a thing of beauty.

 

[Huss]

2 hours ago, dpitt said:

Getting the most thrashed up camera is a bit extreme. Large dents and such are an indication of drops or bumps that might have misaligned the RF or bent other things. If a CLA with good report can be proven that does not matter much, but without it, I would look for one that has been treated with more respect.

The cosmetic issue of the OP has nothing to do with the use of the camera, so it is not relevant for its functioning, and it makes an otherwise near mint camera more desirable to me than a beaten up one.

Zinc zits and near mint is a description reserved for Japanese ebay listings.

[Bronco McBeast]

3 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

It is absolutely doable. The zinc alloy parts need to be chemically treated. Several providers do repaints of M6.

 

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As in using primers and thicker paints as shown here? Maybe…  still won’t correct possible future bubbling, and I’m not convinced it’s going to age well. What kind of patina is ro be expected? 

There’s a reason why I always stayed far away from the M6. 
 

[250swb]

After stripping the plating you can only do a decorative paint finish on zinc, or do another hard wearing plated finish. Paint won’t stick and the silver underneath looks horrible when it does wear through.

But this is somebody’s first Leica and I think it’s a bit selfish if the old campaigners to go on about a bit of bubbling not making a difference. You’ve made a few scratches on your own Leica’s so the novelty has gone away and so a bubbly camera isn’t such a bad prospect and it may even be in a better condition than your own. But the OP should start with a datum point, a nice camera, then the OP can join in future discussions about condition and ‘it’s the photos that count’ on the same basis as most people do, having started with a nice camera.

Edited October 1, 2023 by 250swb

[Fotoklaus]

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If you want an almost perfect camera, you cannot start with bubbles. 500 €/$/£ off of a price for a mint camera is not enough to forget about it.  Painting is the helpless attempt to cover something bad.

I would just do that to a really ruin of a camera.

To pay  maybe 1000 less and get a frequently used but working camera is a better and honest starting point in my opinion.

It is clear from the start what you got and for what you paid. No bad debts in mind.

[Fotoklaus]

vor 56 Minuten schrieb Al Brown:

It is absolutely doable. The zinc alloy parts need to be chemically treated. Several providers do repaints of M6.

 

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Great. I would paint an old drill press like this.

[Huss]

Wear from extensive use on an M is a beautiful thing - it is patina.  It shows the camera has lived an active life and has seen things.

Zinc zits are not that. They are not patina.  They are not from use - gentle and lovingly or brisk and business like.  They are a flaw, simple as that.

Consider them on a person... a mature gentleman or lady, who has lived life.  Grey hair and wrinkles around the eyes.  Beautiful as that is expected.  Throw in acne - not expected, not reflective of a life lived.  Just an unfortunate condition.  That is zinc zits on an M6.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Huss

[dpitt]

@250swb
My first rangefinder was a M2 with bad scratches from the MR light meter and a small dent on the top plate. I knew that at the time of purchase. On top of that it had an issue with the shutter curtains. I only found out after my first film, but I was counting on a possible CLA anyway when I bought it. After giving it a CLA, it was all that I expected and more. It gave me the taste for diving deeper in the Leica RF system. Now, it is still with me, and I will probably never sell it. It was the start of 20 years of using and collecting Leica camera's and lenses, digital and analog, LTM, M , R and L mount. IMO, the first Leica does not have to be perfect. It has to be good value for money and functioning properly IMO. In fact, I think it helps if the first Leica is not very expensive. It gives you the opportunity to dip your toes in the Leica pond, and when the experience is good, you can dive in further.

@Huss

I certainly do not mind a little scratch or dent. And I love patina from normal use. I spoke of a camera with otherwise near mint condition. It can not be called near mint because of the Zinc issues. But it would not bother me much if I just want to use the camera. In fact, I would prefer if it comes at a discount. I would be much more concerned with large dents and signs of very heavy (careless) use, like I have seen from the gear of certain professionals. They are not all like that, but some can inflict more 'patina' on a camera in a few months than others do in a lifetime. I have seen Leica's held together with duct tape and almost without paint. IMO, it would be bad advise to have a first time user look for that kind of used gear.
 

[Huss]

6 hours ago, dpitt said:

@250swb
My first rangefinder was a M2 with bad scratches from the MR light meter and a small dent on the top plate. I knew that at the time of purchase. On top of that it had an issue with the shutter curtains. I only found out after my first film, but I was counting on a possible CLA anyway when I bought it. After giving it a CLA, it was all that I expected and more. It gave me the taste for diving deeper in the Leica RF system. Now, it is still with me, and I will probably never sell it. It was the start of 20 years of using and collecting Leica camera's and lenses, digital and analog, LTM, M , R and L mount. IMO, the first Leica does not have to be perfect. It has to be good value for money and functioning properly IMO. In fact, I think it helps if the first Leica is not very expensive. It gives you the opportunity to dip your toes in the Leica pond, and when the experience is good, you can dive in further.

@Huss

I certainly do not mind a little scratch or dent. And I love patina from normal use. I spoke of a camera with otherwise near mint condition. It can not be called near mint because of the Zinc issues. But it would not bother me much if I just want to use the camera. In fact, I would prefer if it comes at a discount. I would be much more concerned with large dents and signs of very heavy (careless) use, like I have seen from the gear of certain professionals. They are not all like that, but some can inflict more 'patina' on a camera in a few months than others do in a lifetime. I have seen Leica's held together with duct tape and almost without paint. IMO, it would be bad advise to have a first time user look for that kind of used gear.
 

It would be bad advice to a first time user to get a camera with zits.  She/he is spending a lot of money, get the best camera she/he can afford.

And if they ever try to sell it, guess how much fun it will be trying to sell a zitty camera?  Welcome to Lowballville.  Population - the dood who bought a zitty M6.

[250swb]

Giving advice to a first timer is always tricky because we all have our own levels of acceptance and risk, and old campaigners have a tendency to translate this into sayings like 'it's the photos that count' or 'it's only cosmetic'. Personally I think advice should be to aim as high as possible in the camera you want and then develop your own sense of risk and not have it imposed. We can be blasé about scratching a camera or a minor dent because we've probably all done it, and that is our datum point. But I wouldn't advise somebody to buy a car with rust bubbles coming up on the basis of 'it will still get you to the shops', or 'but it's still a nice colour even with the rust', and how many of you would? This bubbly M2 isn't the only M2 in the world, far from it although cameras do disappear as soon as you start looking. But buying an M2 from a good dealer that comes with a warranty and priced fairly for a clean camera is likely to be the best experience the OP could have and does away with a large measure of uncertainty, and when hopefully the OP becomes an old hand they'll have their own opinions about equipment and condition to factor in.