Should I be worried ? Leica M6 classic

[Ilgaz]

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Should I be worried ?

Hi everyone first post here, just wondering if anyone else’s M6 classic has these coming up in their M6 bodies? Is this mold / fungus ?(has some bubbling on the metal parts and bits of green here and there) but can’t see to find anything on the internet about it.

Doesn’t seem to affect the photos I’ve taken, but wondering if it’s something I need to fix or if it’s just cosmetic…

Thanks in advance!

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[rogxwhit]

No, from here it doesn't look like mould / fungus.  More to do with metals & finishes.  I know that it looks worrying, but I'd be inclined to accept it & just carry on.  It's not going to impinge on your photographs.

That's not meant to sound like a brush-off!   It's just that in the end, we can't buy perfection - it's a fantasy - so we just have to get on with life.  What matters after all, with photography, is the images that come out from the end of the pipe.  And whether things work ...

[a.noctilux]

2 hours ago, Ilgaz said:

Should I be worried ?

NO.

Cosmetic "failure" with time.

Enjoy your M6 if everything works fine.

[spydrxx]

It looks like aging....you either dismiss it and enjoy the photography or get something newer which doesn't show its aging beauty wrinkles.

[AndreasG]

I have two M6 bodies, one of them (1986) shows similar traces of surface deterioration as above, the other (1990) does not. The material of the body should be aluminum, difficult to say, whether it comes from the aluminum or the coating material. Maybe it was caused by the storage condition, the 1986 camera was stored for five years in Japan under hot und humid conditions, the other not.

[George Collier]

I have an M6, relatively early model, which has a small area of "bubbley" finish (black) on the top plate near the film advance. No problem, but I do feel like I have to be careful not to break the "bubbles".

[KlarNebel]

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That is the so called "zinc rot" that affects early models of the M6. It isn't a huge problem, but there are some horror stories out there, if the camera is stored in hot and humid conditions over a longer period of time. This only affects the top plate. The bottom plate is brass. I don't know what material the rest of the body is made out of.

I'd keep an eye on it, but it shouldn't affect anything.

[KlarNebel]

On 7/7/2024 at 9:00 PM, George Collier said:

I have an M6, relatively early model, which has a small area of "bubbley" finish (black) on the top plate near the film advance. No problem, but I do feel like I have to be careful not to break the "bubbles".

That is the so called "zinc rot" that affects early models of the M6. It isn't a huge problem, but there are some horror stories out there, if the camera is stored in hot and humid conditions over a longer period of time. This only affects the top plate. The bottom plate is brass. I don't know what material the rest of the body is made out of.

I'd keep an eye on it, but it shouldn't affect anything.

[AndreasG]

The M6 body is made by aluminium pressure diecast, therefore, zinc rot is not the cause for above shown surface bubbles.

[Fotoklaus]

More horror storys about bubbles than bubbles around.