To avoid removing paint from the shallow engraved letters it would be best to use a cube shaped piece of stiff foam, or polystyrene. Secondly, one layer will not be sufficient, so after the first repaint, additional layer 24+ hours later will be necessary. Recently I had an idea to convert a brass top Leica M11P into a monochrome camera by getting a reputable company to remove the colour filter from the sensor, primarily because it will then be possible to take photos without using a physical filter and instead use filters from a editing software, what do you think?
Thanks Matt. Very brave. For small areas, like the dots on the crank, I suggest using a cocktail stick, with a tiny blob of paint, and use it to just accurately touch the target area to trickle the paint into the engraving depression, hopefully avoiding the excess and clean-up of the surrounding top surfaces.
Hey! Unlike the chrome barnacks, the black paint models ingravings were never painted. They were filled with bismuth, hence the silvery dark tint we usualy see today.
Effing bloody brilliant, smashing! You read my mind, and several others. The white lettering on my old M9 need refreshing and has been on my mind so thanks a lot.
Thanks Matt that is a great Video! Because one of my M9 needs a repaint at the writings next to the display. I thought I need a thin brush and do lines. Your technique looks so much easier.
Yikes! You had me there till I saw it was only to fill engravings ;-) Easier without any mess is to use a Markal Lacquer-Stik. And, for those of you with early Barnack black paint cameras…, some of those have the ‘Wismut-silver alloy’ or ‘Woods’ engraving fill, so don’t use white paint to fill! It will ruin the look and patina of your precious Leica. Personally, I think it is fine to re-fill the black paint on silver cameras, but as for any black camera (especially a BP’d camera with patina) I’m happy with the aged patina look of use - unless the white paint fill is needed for legibility of use [numbers].
Excellent, Matt. You might try wrapping your lens tissue tightly around the cylindrical shaft of a screwdriver, dampened with thinner, then wipe the excess paint off across the engraving. This will help avoid wiping paint out of the recesses of the engraving. Thanks 😊
@@PhotoArtBrusselsexcept you want to wipe paint out of the recessions because that’s the way it came from the factory. Remember he isn’t removing old paint so this method just adds more layers and too much build up will make the lettering flush with the plate which is not a good look,
I've used acrylic vallejo or citadel paints to similar effect. Huge improvement on lenses with faded distance markings. It may seem silly to casual photographers but it's very practical if a lens is so beaten you can barely see the numbers against the reflective chrome.
If you don't want to wipe out the paint from shallow engravings, don't use your fingers (course your finger WILL fill that tiny void), rather use something straight and strong like old, used up sensor cleaning brush. If you don't want your paint to go inside some crevasse it shouldn't go in, you can try to block it with a mask made out of scotch tape. Hope this helps...
Hi Matt, as a professional model maker I go right along with your choice of paints and technique, and nice to see in passing you have other interests. I’ve done infills and touching up paint finishes in a very similar way.
Thank you! I have a Leica M6 Titanium, and the engravings on the shutter speed dial are filled with white paint, so it’s often difficult in low light to see what speed my shutter is set for. Even the lightning bolt indicating the flash synch speed is white. (Why did Leica use white paint??) I’ve been thinking of changing that.
Hi Matt, I'm glad you're making this video. I just got an m4-p in really nice condition. Similar to yours. However, the one small area of cosmetic imperfections is on the back door/back plate. Otherwise it is perfect. The black enamel surrounding the vulcanite has a couple small chips (I knew about them when purchasing). Just in two weeks of owning it I notice the paint is chipping a microscopic bit more. Unfortunately I've seen so many M4-ps and M4-2s end up with this black paint on the back door completely gone. Maybe you've seen this too. I watched your old video, How to Load a Leica M6/M4-P, and noticed your M4-P back door was looking like mine is back then but looks much nicer in this video I noticed. Long Story Short, have you had experience painting these back doors on Leicas?
Hey Matt✌ First of all, two thumbs up 👍👍 Thank you for your practical video, I was planning to do the same thing to clean my Barnack Leica's. It's a bit more difficult to get the colour into the engravings here as they have very fine structures and lines👌 Did you not do it then or did you end up touching it up? You just have to be very careful. I have a new Leica Ia in collector's condition from 1930, it still looks very good from the engravings, but should also be used, then only need a rangefinder😁 And a Leica Ia also from 193o but factory conversion to III with complete CLA, which I also prefer than if the disappointment is great when it has to be serviced.in the video on the left side of me, there was an M2 or M3 with a brown strap, what kind of one? I'm still looking for narrow ones for my Barnacks😉 Lg Anderl
Instead of using the thick brushes, you might be better off with so-called micro eyebrow brushes which are very inexpensive but extremely useful to paint small details (using these all the time for detailed paint-by-numbers drawings). Thanks for showing the colors needed to repaint and explaining the process!
What I often seen on older cameras is that not the paint in the engraving is fading. Most of the time it is actually just dirt and grime ontop of the paint. The paint in the engraving does not wear away. How could it? This is corrected with a toothbrush and some 50/50 isopropyl alcohol / water mixture in no time at all. By just filling the engraving with more paint you will paint over the dirt ontop of the original paint, which will not last long.
Matt, that thinner can dissolve the factory paint. So be very careful. Personally i would never paint a factory standard camera (or small parts of it) in any case. The camera tells its own story, but that my personal view. ;-)
Well done, nice job. Two issues though, if you don’t buy gear to £35+ for each purchase, Amazon charges you £4.95 for packing and again for postage if you don’t have Prime. Easier to go to a local shop that sell model planes, trains etc and avoid the extra cost. Two, your recent video changing red logo for a black/grey screw head makes me wonder why you bother and not let your cameras show their age!
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To avoid removing paint from the shallow engraved letters it would be best to use a cube shaped piece of stiff foam, or polystyrene. Secondly, one layer will not be sufficient, so after the first repaint, additional layer 24+ hours later will be necessary.
Recently I had an idea to convert a brass top Leica M11P into a monochrome camera by getting a reputable company to remove the colour filter from the sensor, primarily because it will then be possible to take photos without using a physical filter and instead use filters from a editing software, what do you think?
Cool that one of the paints was named after you Matt :)
Thanks Matt. Very brave. For small areas, like the dots on the crank, I suggest using a cocktail stick, with a tiny blob of paint, and use it to just accurately touch the target area to trickle the paint into the engraving depression, hopefully avoiding the excess and clean-up of the surrounding top surfaces.
You are a man of many talents. Nice job!
From photographing beautiful women to being the Picasso of Leica. Super job brother.
Hey! Unlike the chrome barnacks, the black paint models ingravings were never painted.
They were filled with bismuth, hence the silvery dark tint we usualy see today.
Effing bloody brilliant, smashing! You read my mind, and several others. The white lettering on my old M9 need refreshing and has been on my mind so thanks a lot.
Thanks Matt that is a great Video! Because one of my M9 needs a repaint at the writings next to the display. I thought I need a thin brush and do lines. Your technique looks so much easier.
Yikes! You had me there till I saw it was only to fill engravings ;-) Easier without any mess is to use a Markal Lacquer-Stik. And, for those of you with early Barnack black paint cameras…, some of those have the ‘Wismut-silver alloy’ or ‘Woods’ engraving fill, so don’t use white paint to fill! It will ruin the look and patina of your precious Leica. Personally, I think it is fine to re-fill the black paint on silver cameras, but as for any black camera (especially a BP’d camera with patina) I’m happy with the aged patina look of use - unless the white paint fill is needed for legibility of use [numbers].
Excellent, Matt. You might try wrapping your lens tissue tightly around the cylindrical shaft of a screwdriver, dampened with thinner, then wipe the excess paint off across the engraving. This will help avoid wiping paint out of the recesses of the engraving. Thanks 😊
That is true; a finger is flexible and descends in the groves; a ridged tool will not. Good suggestion.
(i still would not do it lol)
@@PhotoArtBrusselsexcept you want to wipe paint out of the recessions because that’s the way it came from the factory. Remember he isn’t removing old paint so this method just adds more layers and too much build up will make the lettering flush with the plate which is not a good look,
Each to their own but I don't have a problem with 'honest wear'. I enjoy the patina that a well cared for camera acquires with age and use
Yes that makes sense. I wouldn't paint over brassing but I like to make other markings look "clean".
I've used acrylic vallejo or citadel paints to similar effect. Huge improvement on lenses with faded distance markings. It may seem silly to casual photographers but it's very practical if a lens is so beaten you can barely see the numbers against the reflective chrome.
Brilliant. Thanks Matt.
I used the same technique to recolour the logo, red, on my infrared converted Fujifilm camera. I needed a few layers of paint for the colour change.
If you don't want to wipe out the paint from shallow engravings, don't use your fingers (course your finger WILL fill that tiny void), rather use something straight and strong like old, used up sensor cleaning brush. If you don't want your paint to go inside some crevasse it shouldn't go in, you can try to block it with a mask made out of scotch tape. Hope this helps...
Hi Matt, as a professional model maker I go right along with your choice of paints and technique, and nice to see in passing you have other interests. I’ve done infills and touching up paint finishes in a very similar way.
Now this is the kind of video I’m looking for!
Do you know if there is a Nikon Zf leather template I can cut a leather to rewrap Nikon Zf? I love yellow color but there has has a yellow Zf yet 💛
Thank you! I have a Leica M6 Titanium, and the engravings on the shutter speed dial are filled with white paint, so it’s often difficult in low light to see what speed my shutter is set for. Even the lightning bolt indicating the flash synch speed is white. (Why did Leica use white paint??) I’ve been thinking of changing that.
Oskar Barnack would be proud 🎉😂
Where are you finding those straps with Peak Design connectors?
Nice. Next step take all the chrome ones apart and paint them black!
Nice job. Well done.
Thanks for the video. I would never paint one of my Leica cameras. However, I have some older cameras that really need painting.
Hi Matt, I'm glad you're making this video. I just got an m4-p in really nice condition. Similar to yours. However, the one small area of cosmetic imperfections is on the back door/back plate. Otherwise it is perfect. The black enamel surrounding the vulcanite has a couple small chips (I knew about them when purchasing). Just in two weeks of owning it I notice the paint is chipping a microscopic bit more. Unfortunately I've seen so many M4-ps and M4-2s end up with this black paint on the back door completely gone. Maybe you've seen this too. I watched your old video, How to Load a Leica M6/M4-P, and noticed your M4-P back door was looking like mine is back then but looks much nicer in this video I noticed. Long Story Short, have you had experience painting these back doors on Leicas?
I saw the thumbnail and was like noooo!! Lol. I've seen people paint whole cameras with enamel before and it looks awful 😂
Clickbaited!
Hi Matt, can you give us demonstration how to safely remove white paint from LEICA sign on SL2 and now on the SL3.
You can try to add something red into center of shutter speed dial.
Hey Matt✌
First of all, two thumbs up 👍👍 Thank you for your practical video, I was planning to do the same thing to clean my Barnack Leica's. It's a bit more difficult to get the colour into the engravings here as they have very fine structures and lines👌 Did you not do it then or did you end up touching it up? You just have to be very careful. I have a new Leica Ia in collector's condition from 1930, it still looks very good from the engravings, but should also be used, then only need a rangefinder😁 And a Leica Ia also from 193o but factory conversion to III with complete CLA, which I also prefer than if the disappointment is great when it has to be serviced.in the video on the left side of me, there was an M2 or M3 with a brown strap, what kind of one? I'm still looking for narrow ones for my Barnacks😉
Lg Anderl
Great! One can now make his SL 2S look like an SL 2!
I’d rather have my SL2 look like a SL2-S 🙂
@@yvesmichel4101 You will have to ask Matt how to remove the white paint without disturbing the black finish.
Did you use Matt paint, Matt? 🥸🤣🏴
Interesting, thank you
Can you paint over the red dot to make it Black?
You can, but it’s not the same technique. You have to take the dot off first and wipe the paint from across the top layer of the lettering.
Instead of using the thick brushes, you might be better off with so-called micro eyebrow brushes which are very inexpensive but extremely useful to paint small details (using these all the time for detailed paint-by-numbers drawings). Thanks for showing the colors needed to repaint and explaining the process!
What I often seen on older cameras is that not the paint in the engraving is fading. Most of the time it is actually just dirt and grime ontop of the paint. The paint in the engraving does not wear away. How could it?
This is corrected with a toothbrush and some 50/50 isopropyl alcohol / water mixture in no time at all.
By just filling the engraving with more paint you will paint over the dirt ontop of the original paint, which will not last long.
Matt, that thinner can dissolve the factory paint. So be very careful.
Personally i would never paint a factory standard camera (or small parts of it) in any case.
The camera tells its own story, but that my personal view. ;-)
I want to try to do this on my lens , make the numbers red
Goodbye lovely Patina!
I don't mind proper brassing etc like on my 930s cameras but if it just looks like dirty white I want to fresh'en it up a little
😊
Well done, nice job. Two issues though, if you don’t buy gear to £35+ for each purchase, Amazon charges you £4.95 for packing and again for postage if you don’t have Prime. Easier to go to a local shop that sell model planes, trains etc and avoid the extra cost. Two, your recent video changing red logo for a black/grey screw head makes me wonder why you bother and not let your cameras show their age!
And after do you take better photos?