Got myself bargain of the century, now I need some serious help!

OliMonster · Jan 7, 2014

Went to a charity shop today to track down some vinyl, saw a Nikon FG and a Canon F-1, both in great nick, languishing in the cabinet. Nikon was as-new, Canon had the tiniest bit of brassing here and there, but it still works a treat, predictably. The Nikon was dead, but £15 for body and a Kirin zoom with a stuck aperture and £6 for some new batteries sorted that out. Now, the Nissin 360TW on the Canon had a sticker on it, saying £25, which is a bit steep for that particular flash, but acceptable. I was curious, so I asked what the camera was going for. The dude said "no, that's the price for the whole lot." If it was a standard F-1, the body alone is worth many times what I paid, which along with the £7 I got the original 50 1.8 for, is an absolute steal! But wait! There's more...

Under a blob of paint on the top plate, beneath the film rewind, I can make out a logo. That logo is a Lake Placid 1980 logo. This camera is the 1980 Winter Olympics edition. I bought a flash, and I got a camera worth nearly as much as my Leica thrown in for free! I'm feeling a bit dizzy...

Now, my question is, do I have any way to remove the paint covering that logo without damaging it? The last owner blacked out the F-1 motif as well, which I'm not too concerned about, but if I remove the paint and the Lake Placid decal comes with it, I've effectively quartered the value of this body. Help!

mr rusty · Jan 7, 2014

There is no knowing how easily that paint is going to come off. It depends what it is and how well it is adhering to the surface. If it brittle, like a lacquer, you might try easing it off speck by speck with the tip of a needle or similar. What is encouraging if you look closely is that one bit of the paint at the top has been scratched through and removed without touching the under surface - there is a definite gap in the paint "blob" which suggests that it is fairly easy to get off mechanically. Or you might try a solvent very slowly on a small area at a time. Start with water - you never know it might be water soluble! Next I would try alcohol/lighter fluid but this might also affect the decal so go careful and slow! and work in from an edge. If you can find something not too powerful that softens the paint then you are in with chance. Once you get to cellulose thinners and/or acetone I suspect the chances of not damaging the decal reduce a lot. However, Canon will have made sure whatever technique they used to print was robust, so there is a fair chance I think of cleaning the paint off.

Good luck!

gone · Jan 7, 2014

Great find! All they have in my thrift stores are those lousy little plastic P&S cameras. If the paint over the logo is enamel you may be able to remove it w/ very carefully applied paint thinner. If the paint that covers the logo is lacquer, then lacquer thinner will work, or maybe even paint thinner. If the paint over the label is acrylic, you can try some of the stuff below. If the camera is painted originally w/ lacquer you will be in danger zone trying to remove lacquer from lacquer, so try the paint thinner first. Is the logo a paper/plastic decal or painted on? That's the thing you need to find out. Be very careful w/ lacquer thinner. I'd try denatured alcohol first maybe, and go from there.

http://jbosh1972.hubpages.com/hub/various-ways-to-remove-dried-acrylic-paint

AgX · Jan 7, 2014

What ever solvent you use, try it first on both lacquers, the one of that blob and that of the F-1 (at a covered location).
Let the solvent act on both locations for some time and add rubbing. If you got a solvent that harms the blob but not the F-1 under these circumstances you are right on.
Most probably. As that blob paint may have had a solvent that well harmed the original laquer...

Hard to predict though.

Keep in mind that a solvent still may have slight effect on gloss. If it has some matting effect it could be hard to polish it again to the original state, especially if the latter is not of high gloss.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 7, 2014

OliMonster said:
Went to a charity shop today to track down some vinyl, saw a Nikon FG and a Canon F-1, both in great nick, languishing in the cabinet. Nikon was as-new, Canon had the tiniest bit of brassing here and there, but it still works a treat, predictably. The Nikon was dead, but £15 for body and a Kirin zoom with a stuck aperture and £6 for some new batteries sorted that out. Now, the Nissin 360TW on the Canon had a sticker on it, saying £25, which is a bit steep for that particular flash, but acceptable. I was curious, so I asked what the camera was going for. The dude said "no, that's the price for the whole lot." If it was a standard F-1, the body alone is worth many times what I paid, which along with the £7 I got the original 50 1.8 for, is an absolute steal! But wait! There's more...

Under a blob of paint on the top plate, beneath the film rewind, I can make out a logo. That logo is a Lake Placid 1980 logo. This camera is the 1980 Winter Olympics edition. I bought a flash, and I got a camera worth nearly as much as my Leica thrown in for free! I'm feeling a bit dizzy...

Now, my question is, do I have any way to remove the paint covering that logo without damaging it? The last owner blacked out the F-1 motif as well, which I'm not too concerned about, but if I remove the paint and the Lake Placid decal comes with it, I've effectively quartered the value of this body. Help!

View attachment 79795

View attachment 79796

I've always found it amusing, the Canon '80 Olympics editions. There were far more Nikons than Canons at the games, by a factor of ~10 or more.

Nice find!

Edit - That's not a decal. It's stamped into the metal just like the "Canon" on the prism housing. Try the mildest solvents first, say isopropyl alcohol for starters. I'd be afraid of lacquer thinner removing the paint from the camera, but you could try various solvents on another(Canon of course, same era) camera to see what's safe for the original paint.

mgb74 · Jan 7, 2014

It reminds me of the covering put over some logos on cameras brought back from Asia in the 70s. Customs required that because the official importer owned exclusive rights. If I recall, it was kind of a tape. You might see if that was removable and how.

I'd start with alcohol (still talking about the paint here, not for you). Then I'd try the compounds sold for removing dried paint; a one brand here are "Goof Off". Typically found in home type paint stores.

If these didn't work I'd progress to paint thinner, then lacquer thinner.

elcabezagrande · Jan 7, 2014

You might try heat, like from a blow drier, before you try any solvents. It may soften it up enough for you to be able to peel it right off.

Roger Cole · Jan 7, 2014

And take heart that even if you do damage the Olympic logo you still got a tremendous deal on the cameras!

John Koehrer · Jan 7, 2014

Alcohol won't touch the paint. Goof off, Paint stripper or one of the lacquer thinners should do it.

Goof off is the only one I've tried that took off a base paint in addition to the covering.
Filling in the lettering is pretty easy with a paint stick. Rub it over the area to be painted and wipe it off, it's a snap.

Steve Smith · Jan 7, 2014

John Koehrer said:
Filling in the lettering is pretty easy with a paint stick. Rub it over the area to be painted and wipe it off, it's a snap.

If the logo is engraved, that's definitely the easiest way.

Steve.

nsurit · Jan 7, 2014

This apparently happened before they started giving IQ test to potential camera buyers. I'd probably give alcohol a try. Hmm, they may be how this started in the first place. <{:^) Bill Barber

AgX · Jan 7, 2014

nsurit said:
This apparently happened before they started giving IQ test to potential camera buyers.

I did not go through that test and that is why I take off the Japan Photographic Industries sticker off in most cases. Some collectors may blame me for that. So what?

I know a guy who blackened the Leica designation on his camera. Maybe there will be indefinite marks by that. He did it for the moment, not with sale in mind. Maybe he does not even want to sell it ever. After his death maybe a buyer might grumble. So what?

resummerfield · Jan 7, 2014

mgb74 said:
It reminds me of the covering put over some logos on cameras brought back from Asia in the 70s. Customs required that because the official importer owned exclusive rights......

I found one of those a few years ago, and it was covered in some type of paint that was slowly dissolved with naphtha without harming the original Nikon paint.

Steve Smith · Jan 7, 2014

AgX said:
I take off the Japan Photographic Industries sticker off in most cases. Some collectors may blame me for that. So what?

So do I. I don't want tacky looking shiny stickers on my stuff.

Steve.

Fixcinater · Jan 7, 2014

Not that it matters much, but what Tamron AD-2 lens came with it?

pen s · Jan 7, 2014

Just use the camera and forget about resale value. I'd hang on to a deal like that and start the search for more FD mount glass if I didn't already have them.

OliMonster · Jan 8, 2014

Thanks for the replies guys! I probably won't sell it, it feels so nice in-hand it'll be my go-to SLR for a good time to come, I should think! The Tamron is a 28-50 f/3.5-4.5. It's an 07a, if that means anything to you... It's a great range, I shoot in that range an awful lot, but it's no good, sadly, the aperture's a bit sticky. Never mind - the 50 is fine! The hunt for more good FD glass has already started, I had to exert an inhuman amount of self-control not to walk out of my local camera shop £400 lighter and an 85 1.2L heavier!

I'd love to go nuts with a load of paint stripper and a paint stick, but it really doesn't look like it's stamped, as far as I can see it's just a heavy-duty transfer, the paint is raised on the lettering, not sunken... I'll take it to an art shop and see if they can identify the paint type and recommend something for me. I'll let you know how I get on. Cheers!

Mainecoonmaniac · Jan 8, 2014

Try something easy and non-invasive first. How about heating the paint with a hair dryer to soften then goo then gently scrape it off with a plastic stick?

AgX · Jan 8, 2014

I looked at photos on the net of both, old and new, F1 In both cases the olympics designation seems to be flat. With the old model even in different colour. In both cases most probably printed on.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 8, 2014

AgX said:
I looked at photos on the net of both, old and new, F1 In both cases the olympics designation seems to be flat. With the old model even in different colour. In both cases most probably printed on.

I looked too. I haven't seen one since probably the summer of '80, but I'm pretty sure the logo was stamped into the metal. Memory being what it is, it may have been raised that is screened on. But I still vote for stamped. Looking at the OP's photo, I cannot convince myself of either.
BTW I worked for the LPOOC in 1979 & 1980, I saw more than a few of these cameras.

senorverde · Jan 8, 2014

elcabezagrande said:
You might try heat, like from a blow drier, before you try any solvents. It may soften it up enough for you to be able to peel it right off.

I second that notion. To me, it looks like the previous owner painted it with nail polish/varnish. Makes me wonder though, did that logo really make the body into an ugly duckling? Oh, and if it does turn out to be varnish, by all means DO NOT use acetone to remove it or you'll strip it down to the metal. Learned that the hard way!

ic-racer · Jan 8, 2014

Be bold. If you mess up the camera's finish, you get to learn how to take off the top, do your own CLA, and re-paint it. You can then use one of these markers to re-do the lettering.

randyB · Jan 9, 2014

Be sure to look closely at all the cheapie p&s's, I once found a Yashica T-4 in usable condition for $2.00 at a local Goodwill.

momus said:
Great find! All they have in my thrift stores are those lousy little plastic P&S cameras. If the paint over the logo is enamel you may be able to remove it w/ very carefully applied paint thinner. If the paint that covers the logo is lacquer, then lacquer thinner will work, or maybe even paint thinner. If the paint over the label is acrylic, you can try some of the stuff below. If the camera is painted originally w/ lacquer you will be in danger zone trying to remove lacquer from lacquer, so try the paint thinner first. Is the logo a paper/plastic decal or painted on? That's the thing you need to find out. Be very careful w/ lacquer thinner. I'd try denatured alcohol first maybe, and go from there.

http://jbosh1972.hubpages.com/hub/various-ways-to-remove-dried-acrylic-paint

OliMonster · Jan 10, 2014

Did the best I could! I decided not to use chemicals for the risk of taking the whole decal with the paint, so I spent a couple of hours straining my eyes with a needle. The paint still chipped off and took some of the decal with it which is a great shame, but you still know what it is when you see it! It isn't stamped into the metal, unfortunately, otherwise I'd have filled it along with the F-1 stamping as well. The F-1 looks much better now... Sitting pretty with the rest of the collection at the moment! Again, many thanks for the comments.

AgX · Jan 10, 2014

I'm surprised by the result!

Got myself bargain of the century, now I need some serious help!

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