This is not a question but a way of getting this post up as a new one as opposed to an answer to a rather old "Black Tape" thread.

Not for the fainthearted.... I received two red Leica logos (M6) from Northvale. They come on a strip with self-adhesive on the back. Using a 000 brush and Gunze-Sangyo Flat Black Acrylic Enamel (XF-1), I flowed the paint into the small openings in the L, e, under the dot of the i, the c and the a. I then removed the excess from the silver Leica with a toothpick. After that dried I painted the rest of the circle with a number 1 brush, gently flowing the paint up to the sides of the letters so as to cover the red. A second coat was required (after the first dried) to completely cover all the red. A final touch-up to remove any of the black from the silver Leica lettering was done with a toothpick. The logo was then baked dry under a 60 Watt lamp for about an hour. It looked pretty good, although not perfect - some red was still visible when looking closely at the sides of the letters, the paint was not exactly smooth like the anodized red, but all in all it looked good enough to achieve the results I desired - to tone down the glaring red logo.

Now the scary part! You must mask around the red logo on the camera to prevent accidentally scratching the finish. I used thin removable contact paper - but in resrospect a I would double it up or use a thicker removable drafting tape as it's possible to get through the single application of contact paper. To remove the red logo, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PRY IT OFF! The tolerances of the fit are such that it is impossible to get even the point of a very fine pin between the camera and the logo. Once the area around the logo is masked off you can take a very small optical screwdriver (an pointed orangewood stick of the type used to remove film emulsion from the film-gate of motion picture cameras may also work and is less likely to scratch but a toothpick will definitely break - also a strong nylon burnishing tool such as used to burnish press-type might work and is less likely to scratch) and gently push the raised letters of the Leica, starting from the long section of the L under the a so as to move the logo counterclockwise. It will move slowly about 10-15 degrees and then settle back. Do the same from the loop of the L moving it clockwise. It will again nove about 10-15 degrees and the settle back. Continue to do this very gently in both directions adding a few degrees each time until the adhesive that holds the logo in place begins to loosen. Be very gentle as the logo will suddenly pop off and your tool may jump, potentially scratching the inside of the recessed circle, or worse your camera body!

Once the logo is off it is a simple matter of removing the protective paper from the the adhesive back of the (in this case, satin/matte black) replacement and positioning the replacement circle inside the recess on the camera front.

Again, this mod is not for the fainthearted, but in my case the results were worth it. The camera looks a lot less conspicuaous and still maintains the Leica integrity. With a piece of removable matte black contact paper covering the LEICA M6 on the camera front it looks excellent.

-- Ron Benvenisti (benvenisti@aol.com), March 10, 2001

Answers

What a bore....... i simply used a permament marker and scribbled over the m6 and the logo,its fine, takes nice pictures too.

-- john billington (jbillington@xtra.co.nz), March 11, 2001.

Well some people take the sloppy approach to life and others take the craftsman's approach. Maybe I should repaint my car with a can of roof paint slapped on with an old 6" brush.

-- sam smith (ssmith@hotmail.com), March 11, 2001.

I wonder if Leica would sell the gray/black dot used on the recent M6 LHSA Black Paint Version. I sure like the look as compared to the red dot.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), March 11, 2001.

Leica did not have the LHSA dot available - that was my first course of action. In any case I have now achieved the perfect black dot with a better technique: Painted the red dot with quick-drying black automotive lacquer primer (this is a perfect match to the camera finish) and after the paint dried (about 15 minutes) I polished the Leica letters out with a polishing wheel. The paint is perfectly uniform and the raised Leica letters are smooth and shiny as original. The whole process took less than 20 minutes and looks like it came off the Leica assembly line.

-- Ron Benvenisti (benvenisti@aol.com), March 11, 2001.

Probably my ego reacting to a couple of responses (taken with good humor) but just to set a level without too much of a trip as it is hard to know somebody from a post.

I am a New Yorker, a professional photographer (definition only because I happen to get paid) but I am an amateur at heart.

On more than one occasion I have been approached with the intent to steal my "designer labeled" gear. I have never liked the idea of covering my stuff with electrical tape but the contact paper seems to work pretty well without gumming up the cameras and takes away the "designer appeal" for potential theives. Since the red-dot on Leicas appeared (and I have been using Leicas for 33 years) it has always been a pet annoyance of mine (and I see, of others as well). It wasn't until the M6 that I upgraded because of the convenient metering, even with that blasted red-dot! For some perhaps ridiculous reason it has always bothered me that the Leica script would bulge out of the otherwise inconspicuous contact paper, so hence the black dot "project".

I am not an equipment nut per-se and really am about taking photos "professionally" but primarily really for myself which I have been doing for the past 33 years, 31 of them as a contributor to Magnum Photos (where I have seen some pretty interesting examples of taped, painted or otherwise camouflaged Leicas). My professional work includes clients spanning the range of corporate (AT&T, Porsche/Audi, Hertz, Traveler's, Kodak and so on - who generally like to see the camera's name!) and editorial (Business Week, Time, Life, NY Times and so on - who care somewhat less about brand!) and last but certainly not least my personal work (Camera 35, Camera, Popular Photography, Graphis, Modern Photography, Life Library of Photography, FotoKine Koln, MOMA, etc., - where it makes no difference what was used at all!).

For the type of photography I like to do, an inconspicuous camera is best, and in New York as close to invisible as possible!

-- Ron Benvenisti (benvenisti@aol.com), March 11, 2001.

Dear Sam, Roof paint would probably be an extravagance for your car, but i know you craftsmen.... Seriously, I am reminded of the plastic bags on the seat syndrome with Leicas, I care lovingly for my camera, I know it isn't actually built like a tank....i droped my M4-P on cobbles in Germany and paid for resucitation at the factory.... I recently bought a new M6 with 35asp., what a camera!, however i dont want to keep it in as delivered condition, i want to take photographs with it, and if this involves me and the camera getting knocked about, then the photograph should be worth it. The reason i like to make my camera neutral is that white lettering and logos are attention grabbing for the subject, blacking them out fixes this. And as far as the craftsmanship thing goes, you are welcome to follow the road you please.......

-- john billington (jbillington@xtra.co.nz), March 12, 2001.

John ole boy, I agree with you on the plastic seat/Leica analogy entirely. However I don't consider Ron a bore! I appreciate the time he took to tell us about his project. Personally consider the red dot ugly and cheap looking as well as a very noticeable target for thieves. As pointed out by Ron, his method would overcome those issues and still have his camera's identified as Leicas close up, for his clients who care about the quality of the gear the photog is using.

-- sam smith (ssmith@hotmail.com), April 02, 2001.

I inquired about obtaining an LHSA black dot and was told that they cannot sell them because it is a unique feature of a special edition. Even if you are a registered LHSA special edition owner, and needed to replace the black dot, you would have to send the whole camera to Leica to get a new dot. I was also told that previously, only Leica Germany could replace a unique special edition part, but they have eased up so that the whole camera no longer has to go to Germany just to stick on a black dot or other unique part, but does have to go to the offical importer.

-- Tom Schofield (tdschofield@msn.com), May 20, 2001.

Who f*****g cares?!

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), May 20, 2001.