Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE

["Dan Post" <dpost@triad.rr.com>]

Vulcanite is pretty brittle to begin with. I still have several smoking
pipes with the Vulcanite stems, and they do oxidise after a while.
The material is pretty much an early form of plastic that is formed with a
rubber like gutta percha, and sulfer which is heated and molded, much as a
tyre is molded. I have, where the cover of my IIIa split due to being
shipped in the dead of Winter, and where it cracked from the cold, repaired
fairly well the seam. I found that the Vulcanite, while somewhat like a
thermoset plastic, does soften with heat and become more flexible. In my
case, where is split under the VF, and came loose, I heated it gently with a
hair dryer, and carefully swung the vulcanite out of the way, clean the
metal surface of loose material, and used contact cement on a Q-tip cotton
sqab to apply a thin layer of cement on both the body, and the Vulcanite.
I then warmed the Vulcanite again, until it became flexible, and re-applied
the vulcanite back to the camera, and pushed the edges together. I got it
almost perfectly together, and when I had it all done- I wrapped several
wide ruber bands around the body to apply pressure, and let it set
overnight.
I later filled in the crack with some of the black stick paint that Fargo
sells, rubbed it in well, and let it dry. The result is a nearly invisible
mend, cheaper than recovering, and after a couple of years- still sounds and
tight. I carry this as my 'Tote Camera' so it gets its share of use, with no
problems!
Now- I am not so much a purist- the 'sharkskin' of the IIIc feels pretty
much the same as the regular covering, and I really don't notice that the M6
is all that different from the other Leicas I have or had- I suppose if it
is so bad, that the 'collectible' value is ruined, but if you want it for a
display piece or user, I can see no reason not to recover. Good Luck!
I have seen some die-cut Leica body covers advertised on eBay- but have not
yet bid onone. They seem an ideal solution for someone wanting a nice
looking cover, easy to apply, and one that will probably last another 50-60
years!
Dan ( NASDAQ?, What NASDAQ? We don' need no steenking NASDAQ!) Post
- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve LeHuray" <icommag@toad.net>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 8:37 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE


> I am not sure about this but I would think that there is nothing that can
be
> done to maintain older vulacanite considering that it is now 35+ years old
> and probably dried out and brittle. Even knowing that on my two M2's (both
> with chipped vulacanite) I took a cleanser and applied it to an old coton
> T-shirt and gave the vulacanite a thorough cleaning, the t-shirt came away
> very black. Then once a week i applied leather/vinyl preservative
(available
> at any grocery store or auto parts store many different brands and they
are
> all the same thing).I did this for a couple of months but then one day the
> whole corner of one of the M2's fell off in my hand. Which leads me to
think
> that once vulanite dries out nothing is going to bring it back. About
three
> weeks ago I bought a M3 that was recovered with the M6 leatherette and I
can
> easily live with that, it looks pretty good, and I will eventually have my
> M2's recovered with the M6 cover.
> Steve
> Annapolis
>
>
> ----------
> >From: Bill Satterfield <cwsat@cyberhighway.net>
> >To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> >Subject: Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE
> >Date: Fri, May 5, 2000, 9:48 AM
> >
>
> > What should I do to maintain the vulcanite on my M5 and  M3?
> >
> > Jem Kime wrote:
> >
> >> John,
> >> thanks for this info. I'm expecting an ex-Leitz mechanic to apply it so
I
> >> won't have to worry about that myself. I'm aware of the leatherette
> >> available from Fargo, etc. My mechanic only recently sold on his last
sheet
> >> to someone else. I'm hoping someone on the LUG might have something to
help
> >> out!
> >> cheers,
> >> Jem
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From:   John Collier [SMTP:jbcollier@home.com]
> >> Sent:   05 May 2000 14:04
> >> To:     leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> >> Subject:        Re: [Leica] WTB: Vulcanite skin for early Leica
> >>
> >> Vulcanite is applied through a special process with "gumite"(?) and
heat
> >> which is only really possible at the manufacturing stage. A Leica
repair
> >> facility may have access to a NOS shell, expect to pay major $$$$.
Small
> >> spot repairs are usually done with vinyl repair materials, black
silicone
> >> or
> >> other such stuff. Leatherette replacements and leatherette material to
make
> >> your own replacements are available. Again try your local Leica repair
> >> person for parts or:
> >>
> >> http://www.micro-tools.com/
> >>
> >> Kindermann Canada does screw-mount repairs and also carries parts:
> >>
> >> kindrman@istar.ca or info@kindermann.com
> >>
> >> Leica USA has a parts email:
> >>
> >> leicaparts@juno.com
> >>
> >> Cheers
> >>
> >> John Collier
> >>
> >> > From: Jem Kime <jem.kime@cwcom.net>
> >> >
> >> > Having bought a beat up Leica 1, I now need to locate a vulcanite
'skin'
> >> to
> >> > replace the crazy paving that's on it at the moment.
> >> > Can anyone offer any assistance?
> >> >
> >