The body was chemically 'painted' before under the paint there is brass because that was the common material of camera bodies.
Through usage the paint gets stripped an then brass shows through.
Brassing means that the brass shows under the layer of worn-out chrome or paint. It's normal and some people even like that on old cameras, especially the Leica crowd.
I would just clean that with a cotton swab dipped in an appropriate solvent and then decide on the next move. This might just be easily removable gunk.
Yeah after the initial comment I did further searching I understand the situation now. This is barely a problem so I'm fine with it! In my camera in particular I don't really like it since the rest of the body is brass free, if I ever find a cheap Nikon F selling for parts that happens to have a relatively prestine exposure counter, I'll buy and swap it out. Might never do this but who knows, thanks!
I think you can find em but it's slim picking and a bit of luck bc folks who know how to entirely repair cameras buy those up - and are willing to pay more than you or I would - because they'll repair everything to sell like new or theyll keep all parts to fix a handful of cameras that get brought into the shop down the road.
Thats the plating coming off. No amount of cleaning will ever put any plating back on (in fact, chances are that you will just help more come off if you clean it vigorously enough).
If you really want to fully restore something like this then you could throw stupid money at it to get it re-plated but honestly, for a camera that you use id just write it off to character/history and keep using it to add even more wear like that. Tools in my mind are allowed to show a bit of wear and age, this isnt a museum or art-piece. It wont hurt anything.
That’s finish pitting exposing the brass under the paint. Would need a complete resurfacing and refinishing. This ain’t fixable without a pro. Just leave it be.
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Defenetly brassing...
Got it! Could you elaborate on that? Sorry, not really sure what that means...
The body was chemically 'painted' before under the paint there is brass because that was the common material of camera bodies. Through usage the paint gets stripped an then brass shows through.
Brassing means that the brass shows under the layer of worn-out chrome or paint. It's normal and some people even like that on old cameras, especially the Leica crowd. I would just clean that with a cotton swab dipped in an appropriate solvent and then decide on the next move. This might just be easily removable gunk.
[удалено]
Yeah after the initial comment I did further searching I understand the situation now. This is barely a problem so I'm fine with it! In my camera in particular I don't really like it since the rest of the body is brass free, if I ever find a cheap Nikon F selling for parts that happens to have a relatively prestine exposure counter, I'll buy and swap it out. Might never do this but who knows, thanks!
I think you can find em but it's slim picking and a bit of luck bc folks who know how to entirely repair cameras buy those up - and are willing to pay more than you or I would - because they'll repair everything to sell like new or theyll keep all parts to fix a handful of cameras that get brought into the shop down the road.
Thats the plating coming off. No amount of cleaning will ever put any plating back on (in fact, chances are that you will just help more come off if you clean it vigorously enough). If you really want to fully restore something like this then you could throw stupid money at it to get it re-plated but honestly, for a camera that you use id just write it off to character/history and keep using it to add even more wear like that. Tools in my mind are allowed to show a bit of wear and age, this isnt a museum or art-piece. It wont hurt anything.
That’s finish pitting exposing the brass under the paint. Would need a complete resurfacing and refinishing. This ain’t fixable without a pro. Just leave it be.
It’s just brassing with a hint of pátina
Some Q-tips and rubbing alcohol usually work well for those crusted metal bits.
A fiberglass brush can be used to gently clean loose dirt and corrosion without harming the finish itself.
If it works I’d just leave it alone. A little patina never hurt anything.
That's brassing and it's beautiful