RE: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE

[Jem Kime <jem.kime@cwcom.net>]

Dan,
Thanks for a comprehensive post, most of which I knew but there were a few 
ideas there. Sadly there's a fair chunk of vulcanite missing but I might 
try some repair work just in case that can be utislised with some other 
vulcanite form elsewhere. Did you notice if the heat application smoothed 
the tectured surface of the material or not?

Jem

- -----Original Message-----
From:	Dan Post [SMTP:dpost@triad.rr.com]
Sent:	06 May 2000 00:30
To:	leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject:	Re: [Leica] VULCANITE MAINTENANCE

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?
> >> >
> >