At the beginning of February I received a Contax II with the f:2 Sonnar. I spent a year watching feepay, researching, learning about the shutters etc.
What I found is a 1936 C-II, with two filters, a telescoping lens hood, hard case, some literature - booklet on the Contax system, a couple US price lists, depth of field tables for all the Contax lenses and believe it or not the original bills of sale for the camera and accessories - the only item missing is a roll of film. The camera shows very light use, has the usual buboes, is extremely clean inside, and generally looks like it was used a couple times a year for family snapshots and then sat in the case in a dry and temperate environment for sixty or so years. The original ribbons broke almost immediately.
I'll describe stages of my process of overhauling this camera, and maybe put up some pictures, from time to time.
I started this morning removing the leather. Zeiss used shellac to glue the leather, so denatured alcohol (or Everclear) will soften the glue. Proceed slowly and gently so as not to distort the leather. Clean the verdigris off the leather and press flat to iron out the bumps. Clean the residue off the back, clean the rivets gently with 4-0 steelwool and give them two coats of paint, say Rustoleum or DeRusto. Stick small pieces of aluminum foil over the rivets with a third coat and let dry thoroughly. Reglue the leather using fresh orange shellac. Don't sip on the Everclear while working on the camera.
What I found is a 1936 C-II, with two filters, a telescoping lens hood, hard case, some literature - booklet on the Contax system, a couple US price lists, depth of field tables for all the Contax lenses and believe it or not the original bills of sale for the camera and accessories - the only item missing is a roll of film. The camera shows very light use, has the usual buboes, is extremely clean inside, and generally looks like it was used a couple times a year for family snapshots and then sat in the case in a dry and temperate environment for sixty or so years. The original ribbons broke almost immediately.
I'll describe stages of my process of overhauling this camera, and maybe put up some pictures, from time to time.
I started this morning removing the leather. Zeiss used shellac to glue the leather, so denatured alcohol (or Everclear) will soften the glue. Proceed slowly and gently so as not to distort the leather. Clean the verdigris off the leather and press flat to iron out the bumps. Clean the residue off the back, clean the rivets gently with 4-0 steelwool and give them two coats of paint, say Rustoleum or DeRusto. Stick small pieces of aluminum foil over the rivets with a third coat and let dry thoroughly. Reglue the leather using fresh orange shellac. Don't sip on the Everclear while working on the camera.
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