Leica chrome

randy6 · Mar 10, 2015

I have been looking into re chroming satin / matte leica top and bottom plates. I sent a bottom plate to AAA PLATING, INC in CA. I'm told the chrome can be duplicated by glass bead blasting. BUT and it's a big but the engravings will fill in. Best to leave it alone I guess or find some to engrave

snapguy · Mar 10, 2015

cool

Aren't you afraid you'll lose the "cool"? Isn't there a new Leica out showing "wear" at the edges like the thing is actully used, not just casually draped over the clothing as a fashion accessory?

randy6 · Mar 10, 2015

I like to restore items / antiques to original condition if i can or like new. How about painting cameras I understand Kanto camera in Japan does a great job. Anyone here in the US ?

E. von Hoegh · Mar 10, 2015

Fraught

randy6 said:
I have been looking into re chroming satin / matte leica top and bottom plates. I sent a bottom plate to AAA PLATING, INC in CA. I'm told the chrome can be duplicated by glass bead blasting. BUT and it's a big but the engravings will fill in. Best to leave it alone I guess or find some to engrave

Preserving the engraving is difficult. Depending on the medium used for blasting, you may be able to fill the engraving with sealing wax, blast it, dissolve the wax and then plate. It's pretty difficult to refinish the metal without losing the crispness of the engraving.

250swb · Mar 10, 2015

randy6 said:
I have been looking into re chroming satin / matte leica top and bottom plates. I sent a bottom plate to AAA PLATING, INC in CA. I'm told the chrome can be duplicated by glass bead blasting. BUT and it's a big but the engravings will fill in. Best to leave it alone I guess or find some to engrave

I would question the competency of the plater. It is my understanding you get a satin chrome finish in the technique of plating, not in the technique of distressing the metal beforehand. So look at it this way, all they have to do is strip off the chrome that is on the top and bottom plates, which would leave the original finish (anybody can do this at home with a de-chroming kit). Now if it was so that Leica distressed the metal beforehand by bead blasting that would simply leave the original distressed finish wouldn't it? So why do the plating company need to re-distress an already distressed finish? I think you are being given the run around for something they are uncertain of doing.

Steve

lxdude · Mar 10, 2015

The pieces can be de-chromed without bead blasting.
An example of a plater who dechromes electrochemically- reversing the plating process to strip plating:
www.ashfordchroming.com/dechroming

semi-ambivalent · Mar 10, 2015

Maybe send an email to CRRLuton at:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/Leica/

Yer talkin' some real dollars here. Might be cheaper to buy new covers.

s-a

randy6 · Mar 10, 2015

I think I'm not going to do it because the loss of the engraving. Its my understanding the brass is nickel plated then then fine glass bead blasted for matte finish then chromed. Glass bead is not to remove the chrome but to create the finish it would be cheaper then painting but I cant loose the engraving

E. von Hoegh · Mar 11, 2015

250swb said:
I would question the competency of the plater. It is my understanding you get a satin chrome finish in the technique of plating, not in the technique of distressing the metal beforehand. So look at it this way, all they have to do is strip off the chrome that is on the top and bottom plates, which would leave the original finish (anybody can do this at home with a de-chroming kit). Now if it was so that Leica distressed the metal beforehand by bead blasting that would simply leave the original distressed finish wouldn't it? So why do the plating company need to re-distress an already distressed finish? I think you are being given the run around for something they are uncertain of doing.

Steve

I wouldn't.
If the parts are worn to the extent that they need replating, it stands to reason that the "original distressed finish" is no longer there. Ergo, the chrome needs to be stripped, the nickel under the chrome needs to be stripped and replated, then beadblasted, then the chrome can be reapplied.

jochen · Mar 11, 2015

Hello,
I think the matte chrome finish is not made by sand blasting but by a special galvanic process with high Ampere/cm² so that hydrogen bubbles are formed together with chromium. Another special chrome galvanic process is used for the black chrome Leicas.

E. von Hoegh · Mar 11, 2015

jochen said:
Hello,
I think the matte chrome finish is not made by sand blasting but by a special galvanic process with high Ampere/cm² so that hydrogen bubbles are formed together with chromium. Another special chrome galvanic process is used for the black chrome Leicas.

That could be, Leitz might have evolved their own method. But, sand or bead blasting is used for this purpose.

randy6 · Mar 12, 2015

I would like to see if someone can pursue this. I sent an extra old scratched base off a iiia its on its was back I let you know if it matches. I'm sure someone can do this out there.

250swb · Mar 12, 2015

E. von Hoegh said:
That could be, Leitz might have evolved their own method. But, sand or bead blasting is used for this purpose.

It can be used, for stripping a steel car wheel of paint before re-painting, or heavy industrial plating, but not fine plating. As I said the plating process is the way a satin finish is achieved, not bead blasting the component. And unless all the original chrome has been removed by wear and the brass polished by use then the chemical stripping of whatever chrome is on the camera will reveal the original finish underneath, and I would bet it isn't a bead blasted finish. So if the body components are chemically stripped (an easy process which is essentially a reversal of the plating process) then all the original lettering will be untouched and as sharp as the day it was first plated. All that then needs to happen is it to be re-plated by somebody competent. It is not a special process invented by Leica, it is a common well understood process.

Steve

randy6 · Mar 12, 2015

Ok AAAplating is a dude he said he warped the base but was able to duplicate the chrome
I contacted another company http://www.turnerplating.com/ these people asked for a sample. I'll see if i have another leica scrap I'll be sure to ask if the engravings can be preserved.

250swb · Mar 12, 2015

Look, it's simple, you reverse the plating process simply by reversing the terminals on the plating tank, so it takes the current plating off. It needs to be done firstly for the chrome, then the nickel. You are left with clean brass. It is a benign process. Then the nickel is applied to the stripped brass, and it depends on brighteners being put into the nickel that decide if the end chrome is satin or bright/ shiny. If the plating company don't understand this they are specialists in something else, not the plating you need.

It is possible to by your own chrome plating and nickel plating stripping kit, and it is possible to buy your own nickel plating kits. It is not possible to buy a proper chrome plating kit, but you can buy cadmium plating kits that do a similar thing if not to the original colour.

Steve

randy6 · Mar 12, 2015

Thanks for your commits 250swb. I tried my hand at nickel plating before I had some issues with uneven plating so I know there is a little learning curve. So I'm in no hurry to buy an Eastman plating kit for my leica. You say all the engravings can be preserved so I will try another plating co. I'm looking at shops that plate small parts motorcycle and classic car parts. I'm looking for a similar brightness and texture this is why company's are asking for samples. At this point I only speculated the process and was told after the fact that the engravings would fill in.

Thanks for help
Randy

mhcfires · Mar 14, 2015

I can't understand why anyone would want to refinish an old camera. I have three Leicas, two LTM's and one M2. They all show some degree of wear, but I would never want to ruin the finish by trying to refinish it. You have already said that one refinisher warped the sample piece, why risk ruining a perfectly good camera? Just take it out and shoot it the way it is. I get a lot of satisfaction out of taking my oldest cameras into the field and shooting loads of film. My IIIa is 79 years old and still perfectly functional. The shutter speeds are a bit off, the Vulcanite is starting to show some wear, the plating is wearing a bit, but the camera still works and handles like a dream.

tessar · Mar 14, 2015

+1. I have an M4-P that has traveled to three continents and now sports a tasteful amount of brassing. I think this looks cool, in snapguy's words -- shows the camera is a working instrument and not a collector's item.

randy6 · Mar 15, 2015

That's fine if you want a beat up camera that's your opinion I have a few. But again i like to restore things to new condition or close to. People restore old cars all the time do you think there is always someone that say's "you should left it a rusted piece of junk"

randy6 · Mar 26, 2015

First piece back from aaa plating a base for a IIIa finish looks cheap uneven too thick on the edges. Waiting on a second piece from another company. I sent a leotax base in poor shape this is my last attempt.

randy6 · Apr 15, 2015

Update: Turner plating believes that the matte finish can be duplicated after inspection of piece. Round figure of cost $50 per piece. He believes this would be achieved removing chrome then creating a matte finish on the brass then re chrome. He told me he used a similar process for medical instruments that required the item not to be very reflective. He will be sending me a sample soon

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Apr 16, 2015

read my old thread.

here there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Xmas · Apr 17, 2015

randy6 said:
That's fine if you want a beat up camera that's your opinion I have a few. But again i like to restore things to new condition or close to. People restore old cars all the time do you think there is always someone that say's "you should left it a rusted piece of junk"

Unlikely you will fool any collectors but it is good for the economy.
It is easier to get a black paint reproduction cause so many people do that.

lxdude · Apr 17, 2015

randy6 said:
That's fine if you want a beat up camera that's your opinion I have a few. But again i like to restore things to new condition or close to. People restore old cars all the time do you think there is always someone that say's "you should left it a rusted piece of junk"

Oftentimes, imperfect but original paint is valued as much as or more than a perfect repaint. Even with some dings in the metal. Just making the point as it pertains to cars.

randy6 · Apr 17, 2015

Thank you Mustafa I will forward the manufacturing process to the plating co. I'll wait for his reply. Still maybe good enough for a cheap really beat up leica. I have a war time iiic also someone polished down to the brass i'd like to fix

Leica chrome

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