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Painting a FED Black
4 Sep2009
AN EASY WAY TO REMOVE CHROME FINISHES ON ZORKI AND FED CAMERAS- MAY ALSO WORK WITH OTHER CAMERAS
(posted March 2007)
Removing tarnished or tired Chrome finishes on FED-1 and Zorki-1 is quite easy and simple to do. However, dangerous chemicals are involved.
Note:**This procedure calls for handling of sodium hydroxide and sulphuric acid solutions. There is also some electricity involved, though this comes from a car battery, not a mains circuit. This has to be done in a well ventilated area- outdoors is best. Stay clear of the fumes. Wear gloves, masks, and goggles. Observe all precautions- work in a non-flammable environment, away from other people or pets.**
This method is useful, as a first step toward repainting the camera black (or any colour- hot pink or mint green are possible! 
). Paint will not adhere to chrome. However, the brass body of the plates has strong affinity for paints. The brass body is covered by two layers- a nickel subcoat and a chrome super coat.
The top plates of the FED and Zorki (at least for the “1″ models) and the bottom plates are differently plated. The top plates have a thinner plating of both chrome and nickel. The bottom/baseplate has these much thicker. The deplating methods described here involve two steps for removing the chrome and nickel layers respectively.
The top plate of FED-1 and Zorki-1 are actually two parts- rangefinder housing and the main plate. The main plate carries most of the camera’s important components- shutter crate, speed controls, film advance, shutter cocking, rewind components, etc. These have to be removed before any treatment can be done.
Once the parts are removed (stripped down to the last screw), the plate is scrubbed clean with a scouring pad, scouring powder, and washed well:
A deplating solution (10-25% sodium hydroxide solution) is prepared. The object to be deplated is attached to the positive terminal of a 12 V car battery. An ordinary wire can be used, and the solution must be at least 1 metre away from the battery.
A steel object (nails, spoon, etc) is attached to the negative terminal. Once the anode and cathode are in the solution, connect the terminals to the battery. The steel object will fizz and the chromed object will gradually turn yellow. This takes place in just 3 – 5 minutes. 10 minutes should be long enough. In the case of the
top plates, the brass plate will usually show instantly and the second step can be omitted. If after 10 minutes the object still appears ’silver’, the coating seen may be the nickel layer. It will look like the chrome plate, but it is a bit yellow. Make sure that the object is in contact with the solution. Any part touching the plastic parts of the deplating vessel will retain the original plating..
Wash the deplated objects thoroughly in water. The top plates can be dried and set aside for the next steps. If the parts
Attach the object to the positive terminal again, as in the previous step. At the negative terminal, attach a lead object, such as roof soldering lead. Removing nickel will take a bit longer. Thicker nickel plating will actually peel off like foil.
The objects in either plating solution will turn brown, light copper, or even green. This is not important. It is critical that the objects do not remain too long in the solution since the brass will be degraded by the lye and acid solutions.
After thorough washing, sand the surfaces to be finished with very, very, very fine sandpaper. Sanding should be lightly done and the surfaces must not be made too smooth. Sand only rough spots left by corrosion. Some roughness is in fact better for repainting since this gives the necessary “bite” for the paint. Or you could polish the surfaces finely and get a temporary ‘gold’ surface which will of course tarnish after a few days.
After, with new Black Finish:
A FINAL NOTE: THE SOLUTIONS BECOME MORE TOXIC AFTER USE SINCE CHROME
AND NICKEL ARE LEFT IN THEM AFTER DEPLATING. YOU MUST CONSULT YOUR
LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR DETAILS ON TOXIC WASTE DISPOSAL.
- In: Uncategorized
- Tags: Painting Cameras
3 Responses to Painting a FED Black
jef
September 9th, 2009 at 11:33
when can we do this? i have my fed 2 waiting……
OKYNEK
September 16th, 2009 at 03:25
It’s a really great step-by-step tutorial.
Questions I have are:
How can I put chrome back in?
Not to be funny I have very “rusty” FED and like to replate it.
I thinking to remove old chrome and then I like to re chrome it back.
Is it possible to do it “on the kitchen table” or I need special equipment?
Second question Can I put luckier on top of the brass to keep it shiny forever? What lucked should I use? Where to buy it?
And last question later Zorki/Feds use aluminum tops. Should I adjust procedure? How?
Thank you for this great Wed Side!
admin
September 16th, 2009 at 14:58
Thanks Okynek.
First, this method is for removing old chrome to prepare the surfaces for painting. To give a new chrome plate you will have to send the metal parts to a professional chrome-plater. You should specify a satin-chrome finish too, since ordinary plating will give you a smooth, mirror-like chrome surface.
The FED do rust. I have several of them. The one above got the ‘treatment’ because it was badly rusted.
Indoors, on the proverbial kitchen table, is not the right place to do this work. Do this outdoors, or at least in areas with wide clearance from ceilings, walls, and where there is easy access. Don’t have other people (when they’re not needed) or children or pets around.
Clear lacquer may work, just like black paint, but in this case, the metal shows through the lacquer. Not sure exactly which type of lacquer you should use. Something used for the top coat of automobiles may be useful?
Aluminum doesn’t take paint well. It’s hard to make paint stick to aluminium. Plus if the cover plate is made only of aluminium, stripping won’t work since the metal will be of the same colour inside. The latter FED-5 I have still has a brass cover under the chrome. Zorki-4K are aluminium?