I bought an chrome M6 second hand for a good price. But it has what could be described as pimples on the finish. They do not look like they could be formed by any scratching - there are plenty of scratches on it and that's not a problem for me. It looks like little bubbles or pimples in the finish that then get worn off a bit because they stick out. And on the frame lever it even looks like little specks of dust were caught under the finish when they sprayed it... Anybody ever hear of such things? Thanks...

-- Russell Brooks (russell@ebrooks.org), July 02, 2001

Answers

I've seen that quite often on black-chrome R bodies, the R4 in particular, but never on an M and never on a chrome. I've learned that nothing is impossible, though, when it comes to Leica's "quality control".

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), July 02, 2001.

Isn't there a zinc layer in there somewhere? Zinc is very vulnerable to corrosion, once it's been exposed.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), July 02, 2001.

Hi Russell,

I believe the earlier M6's and lots of the variations of the R's had a production glitch.

Apparently the plating was applied too early before the casting had cooled down sufficiently and eventually small bubbles have appeared. It looks like corrosion, but it's purely cosmetic. Don't look too good though....:(

Best way to determine if corrosion is indeed a problem is to check internally for signs of salt water damage. Check the finder, under the battery compartment etc. It should be easy to see if this camera's been for a seaside dip. Smelling the camera for funny whiffs is as good as anything else....:)

Cheers.

-- Simon Wong (drsimonwong@hotmail.com), July 03, 2001.

Regarding two postings above, "Zinc is very vulnerable to corrosion, once it's been exposed": (a) zinc is very unvulnerable to corrosion, and (b) all the more unvulnerable especially after it's been exposed. (A camera is not a water bucket, but you can take a good (zinc-plated) bucket and scratch the hell out of it, and it will still not rust.) Apart from that it's likely not the zinc (in the camera) but the aluminum (in chrome or black; under titanium it's brass). Never heard of such pimples, for any M-finishing.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), July 09, 2001.

Hi Russell,

I bought my M6 in 1993. I shortly detected those bubbles you mentioned on my camera, too. I think Leica did some mistakes during the production concerning the galvanic process. I intend to go to Leica in Solms next month and ask the Leica people what they can tell me about it. It might be that our two Leicas, yours and mine, have been produced at the same time.

-- Jochen Kriegesmann (Jochen.Kriegesmann@t-online.de), September 16, 2001.

My M6's have more pimples than smooth finish.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), September 16, 2001.

Sounds like it was so much Schnaps and beer at a lunch during the galvanic process :?)

-- Victor Randin (ved@enran.com.ua), September 17, 2001.