Update Feb 2004:
A number of postings to photo message boards have noted that this article tends to drift around a bit in purpose. My original intention was to discuss restoration, but a rant about fake cameras does seem to weave its way though the article. As many fellow NHS members know, I hate repaints to the bone.

Nikon rangefinder repaints, are usually easy to spot when seen in person, since most painters do a quick one-day job, but eBay is now a much more slippery slope for new collectors.

There have always been repaints out there, but they are getting better. Painters in Japan all seem to be painting chrome cameras black.

All I can say is be careful if you are buying a camera on eBay. Here is an example of repainting.

Original article follows:

Restoration is always a sticky point, both with collectors, and even museums.

Different areas of collecting have different positions on restoration. Current museum thought seems to be shifting toward "leave it alone". However, I recently visited a major motorcycle design show at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, and saw early motorcycles which had been so over-restored that they looked downright silly in their shiny new paint. The ones that had a little patina, and original chipped paint, looked so much better to me. Restoration is really just a matter of current taste. I continue to like the original finish.

You will have to make the decision on your collectible, is restoration appropriate, and how will it affect the value of the object?

Perhaps the most valuable "M" in existence ($30,000).
Repaint it and you have a fake "M" worth far less!

Of course none of the following applies if you are planning to use some of your vintage equipment. Since the older Nikons are still very respectable picture takers, using cameras that are in less than perfect cosmetic condition can make collecting much more fun.

My thinking is that in almost all cases it is better not to restore an antique camera. Trying to hide the age of a piece often removes the very essence of why that piece feels interesting in the first place.

Having said that, what are some of the reasons it might be OK to begin a restoration?

The camera is in such poor shape that it has no real value as a collectable.
This might be a camera that is missing all of its outside covering, or one that was used by a repairman for a parts camera. Many very valuable cameras have been used for a parts source by an unknowing repairman, or before the camera increased in value. I once built a complete Nikon 180mm lens by using two lenses, one that had been modified for TV, and one that had a cracked front element. In the end I produced one rare collectable, almost mint lens, from what had been optical trash.

The camera is missing a part where an EXACT replacement part is available.
Exact is the key word here, this often means a part produced at the time the camera was built, or a part from the same year or batch of production. Especially with Nikons, the color of the chrome changed from year to year as the mix of alloys changed, so a mismatched part will really stand out!

The part being replaced will not show, so a less than perfect match is not going to matter.
Here too, the part should still match in color and function if possible. One area that appears not to show, but does when you remove the back, is the shutter curtain. The shutter curtain must be an exact part replacement or it will be very noticeable as a repair.

Refinishing of the paint or chrome.

Never Repaint or Rechrome! In some instances it will appear that the camera might look better, and indeed it may, but the value will almost certainly be reduced. The Nikon is a very hard camera to repaint, there is almost no way to reproduce the lacquer from the 50's and 60's, since modern paint formulas have changed. To an experienced eye repaints are almost always very obvious. In all cases Nikon repaints are impossible to completely hide, especially on the models with chrome body rivets like the "S2" and "SP". In order for a repainted camera to maintain its value it would have to be extremely rare, and even then its value is still greater in original condition.

Individual parts replacement issues on the Nikon.

The best source of accurate replacement parts remains junked cameras. Nikon no longer stocks parts for the rangefinder cameras. Most of the "F" parts in stock are for very late cameras and are not even appropriate for early "F" cameras. Another source for parts are camera repairpeople who may have old stock or parts from cameras that have been junked.

The point here is, buy that awful looking "S" at the next flea market, it may provide parts for your next mint "M", the one missing all the front screws!

Body plates
There have always been a number of replacement body plates around the collecting circles. These have included top plates with new serial numbers, front plates, and new backs. There have been cases of enough parts available to build entire cameras, and indeed, I know of several cameras where this was done. Most of these cameras have some part that is not the right finish or style, but they can be very difficult to detect since the factory numbers are not publicly available, as they are on Leicas. It is often tempting to replace a plate, but again it may look like a replacement if it looks too new. Backs on many Nikons have matching serial numbers to the top plate. Some Nikons also have numbers on the body casting itself, all have assembly markings.

Rewind knobs, shutter release buttons, other small parts
When found new, most of these parts were made for the Nikon F and while they will fit the "S" cameras these "F" parts stand out quite obviously as replacements. Again I must emphasize the need for exact replacements.

Screws
It is always tempting to replace damaged screws, but again most replacements do not match and the replacements stand out. For instance, the color of the chrome on the screws on an "M" is much more yellow than that of an "S" produced only a year later. The screws fit but don't look correct.

There are, however, a number of screws used on the NIkon "F" which can be use for replacement screws on the Nikon "SP" or "S2". Especially important the front plate screws on an "SP" are the same screws used on the "F" to hold down the body plates. Front plate screws were often damaged on the SP so replacement can really improve the looks of your camera.

Shutter curtains
There are few replacement curtains for the early cloth shutters. Any handmade replacement, no matter how skilled the repairman is, always looks terrible. The titanium shutters from the "F" will fit the "SP" as an exact replacement. A shutter on a camera of the value of a Nikon One should never be replaced, no matter what the condition! Many Nikon One shutters are bad since natural rubber was used as a coating. Making a shutter that is full of holes work is all that should ever be done. No collector is going to use a Nikon One for photographs.

Body glass
Some replacement glass is available for the rangefinder windows, either new or from parts cameras. This item is easy to replace and this is one case where the camera almost always looks better repaired, even if the part is handmade. There is something really awful about cracked glass on an optical device!

Body glass can come from other brands of cameras and be carefully cut down, or it can be cut from thin microscope slide glass. I have successfully replaced even the front glass on an SP. Remember to keep the old cracked glass to show to the craftsman who will etch the replacement glass, so an exact match can be made.

Lens elements
Replacements are available from parts cameras, but it is important to remember that a replacement lens element will render a lens useless for photography. The Nikon rangefinder lenses were handmade and the elements were hand-matched. The quality of the lens resolution may not however be an issue with collectibles, but in many ways this is an unfortunate thing to do to a lens. The repair introduces an inferior lens into the collecting market that will not be identified as such. Also this repair cannot be hidden completely since the lens groups on Nikkors have numbers scratched in them. All numbers in a lens normally match, if they don't a switch has been made.

Leather or synthetic body coverings
All the later body coverings are available as replacements, but the early leather is not easily available, and the originals are sometimes stamped with "made in occupied Japan" If an early camera such a Nikon "One" is obtained with no covering is it considered acceptable to cover it with replacement leather using a light adhesive such as rubber cement, or wheat paste glue, which is easily removed. Loose body coverings should be glued back on using the original glues.

Leather covering to match early cameras is available from stores that supply book binding materials. It is often possible to almost exactly match the original leather, bring a sample camera with you when selecting the leather. Book binding is a fairly big hobby so you will probably find a supplier near you.

Again I prefer taking leather from a junked camera, to attempting to cut new material.

A few notes about commercial repair, cleaning, and other issues of maintenance

Repair
Sending a camera out for commercial repair requires a careful choice. Remember the goal of many repairpeople is not restoration, but repair for function. They do not see a conflict in part replacement, or damage of an old part to remove it. In the case of black painted bodies repairmen often do not realize that even the smallest blemish can lower the value of a black Nikon SP by thousands of dollars.

If you decide to use a commercial service ask for references, there are good repairs available. Be sure your repairperson understands your piece is a collectible and that you want approval on all parts replacements.

To prepare a black camera for disassembly the entire outside of the camera must be protected. I own many handmade plastic covers. These are cut, to protect areas such as the flash shoe, as pressure is being applied to the flash contact, to remove it. Cameras are not complicated to work on at the "clean and adjustment" level. Repair manual reprints covering the early Nikon rangefinders are often available from photo book dealers.

Remember every collectable camera does not have to be ready to go out and work for a living. Fixing the slows speeds is only important if you are using the camera, and is not worth the risk of a scratch. All our collectible cameras will cease to work someday, no matter what we do, repair simply puts off the inevitable. Sooner or later the glues will dry out, the shutter curtains will become too stiff to work, rubber will crack, and leather will rot, it does not matter if it is 10 years or 200, it will happen!

In order to continue to use a camera, rubber and glue will have to be replaced with new materials. You may not be able to have a collectible and a usable camera at the same time, sooner or later the two collide.

Cleaning
On the outside use only very mild mixes of water and Ivory soap, or very mild solutions of "Windex", applied with clean "Q-Tips". On glass use only the very best lens cleaners and cloths and be very gentle. Mild solutions of bleach can be used on white lettering. Be very careful with compressed air, if it is too cold lenses can be damaged, or discolored, mirrors can crack! Using a small artist's brush is safer and cheaper than compressed air cans.

If you want to remove paint or "Magic Marker" that was used for a bad restoration, use denatured alcohol, it will not damage the original finish on Nikons if it is used carefully. But remember that any solvent can damage the glues used for lenses, shutters, and body coverings as well as the body covering itself. If in doubt, just dust it off!

"Green Bumps"
The backs of many early cameras have bumps under the leather caused by the reaction of chemicals in the leather and brass in the body. The results are really ugly. The only cure is to remove the leather, clean, flatten, and reglue it. Not an easy task. Don't try this repair unless you are very skilled with your hands, it is easy to ruin the leather!

Lubrication
Never do it, period! The first thing I do when I am looking at a camera is smell it to see if a bad (for cameras) lubricant like "WD-40" has been introduced. On the Nikon the only part that can be lubricated, even during a complete overhaul, is the wind mechanism. Very little post factory lubrication is either possible or desirable. Working Nikons can, and should be adjusted for shutter speed. Do not lubricate the rangefinder lens mount, if it is squeaking. It is making that noise because it is has sticky lubrication on it. The lens mount is bronze and requires almost no lubrication at all.

One problem that seems to plague the Nikkor lenses is excessive lubricant that has found it's way to the blades of the diaphragm. This lubricant (from the pins on the end of the blades) can turn sticky and cause the blades to break. Blades on the 50 1.1 and 85 1.5 are often covered with lubricant that was put on the blade pins by the factory. Cleaning is very difficult, only a few shops can do it, but this is one repair I approve of. It takes great skill, and a dust free cleaning area. A broken lens with dust inside can easily be the results of a poor choice of repairman.

Storage
Keeping your cameras in a clean and dry area is a must. Also avoid direct sunlight or heat. Of course if you are like many collectors, including me, most of your collection will be at the bank, in a safe deposit box.

Go slow on cleaning and restoration, ask several opinions before you make a change to your valuable collectable that will damage it forever.

Other thoughts on restoration

Fakes
In closing it is important to note I have not revealed many of the secrets of identifying a fake, repainted, or parts-constructed camera, by paint colors, certain interior items, and hidden numbers. This article could have easily become a lesson on what to do to make a good fake black Nikon "SP". I can help a collector identify a fake. I have examined over 25 fake black Nikons, so it is an important issue.

Sadly, at least one collector in the US, that I knew personally, made what he thought of as "repaints" for collectors worldwide. Taking a chrome camera and painting it black, he was not trying to fool anyone, but all of his products are now in the collecting stream, without anything to identify them! They are easy for me to spot, but may fool new collectors. He did do a painstaking job, removing all the chrome before repainting, but he just never got the colors quite right. As time passes and the paint ages these fakes may look better and better, and in time they will appear original to many, even me! He made about 25 of these cameras, and also sold another 25 to 50 sets of body plates to build "new" cameras. These "new" cameras are almost impossible for new collectors to identify. I know of several world class collections which include these "new" cameras. They all contain errors of color and parts, so they can be spotted, but it's not easy!

At least one of these fakes has appeared at auction, where it brought a high price! It is human nature to want to believe you have found a treasure and overlook the obvious. I once looked at two Japanese produced fakes in a store in NYC, an S3 and an SP. I knew in my heart they were fakes, but I kept trying to convince myself the S3 was real, it was so pretty.

Many repaints have been produced in Japan, where collectors seem to care less. The Rotoloni Nikon book shows one such "S" repaint. This one is quite easy to spot simply because it looks so very wrong. But others are less obvious.

Another collector I know built several chrome Nikon SPs from spare parts. While not truly fakes, these cameras have totally mismatched parts, top plates from 1964, self timers from 1959 and so on, they can be spotted, but again, it is not easy. His cameras are hard to resist since they are like new. A case of "too good to be true".

Factory repaints
There is one exception to the "repaints are terrible" rule, and that is a camera repainted by Nikon. Nikon made special black cameras for journalists, especially those working for Time/Life. These cameras range from early "M" cameras to late "S2" and "SP" models. Many of these cameras also have special features like rapid rewind knobs on "S" cameras, and special finders on the "SP". They are usually fairly obvious, and are not easily confused with fakes produced outside of the factory. In addition the history is often known on individual cameras, since they were purchased from original owners. This is however a slippery slope for new collectors, so beware!

The factory also assembled a number of cameras known as the "Olympic S3" for the 64 games, and used many chrome parts which they painted black without removing the chrome! Some of these cameras also used other parts from the Nikon F, such as the speed dial, and "FX" display.

Commercial restoration
I have seldom seen work from commercial restoration companies that I really like. Perhaps it is a disagreement on what is good restoration, but to be good in my opinion, it must be invisible. It may be a small point when a new shutter blade on a 50 1.1 does not match its brothers, but more time should have been spent mixing the metal dyes! Most of the work I have seen was very quickly done. Proper cleaning of a 10,000 dollar black "SP" could take 40 hours, if is done to museum standards. Few people are willing to spend 2000 dollars to have a camera cleaned and restored, so the real blame falls on the collector.