Nikon F3 paint restoration, what I did...
Jan 12, 2023 00:09:12 #
My F3 finally came to me and after mechanical inspection, I noticed that the paint on the F3 badging and the serial number was in pretty bad shape. I checked online and there were several places where the question came up as to how best to fix this issue for those who were interested.
Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of the 'before' state of affairs, but trust me, it looked pretty horrible. The end result came out, in my opinion, looking like new. Here's what I did:
First step was to try and clean it as the lettering was mostly discolored. I went to the dollar store and got a baby toothbrush and using some Zeiss lens cleaner, I gave the F3 and serial number badging a gentle brushing taking care to not overly wet the areas and also ensure the bristles got in the etching grooves. I did this a couple of times to no avail and moved on.
My next step was just to color over it with a very fine tip paint marker. Off to the local craft store (Hobby Lobby in my case) and picked up a Sakura Pen-Touch Extra Fine Point paint pen. They run about $3 USD.
Link: https://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supplies/Drawing-Illustration/Pens/White-Pen-Touch-Fine-Paint-Pen/p/136705?gclid=CjwKCAiA2fmdBhBpEiwA4CcHzVjA9L7zmurFeXzXNY1kV3-dvMiCdrR_8-BvMzVwHWWiX3Mn2gR9aRoCswQQAvD_BwE
The ink/paint is alcohol based so clean up and touching up should be easy as long as you have isopropyl Alcohol available. You can use paper towel and the alcohol, but for me, I found it easier to use alcohol prep pads.
I shook the pen for about 2 minutes and then pressed the nib down several times to get the paint flowing. Once that was done, I simply painted over the letters and numbers, gently cleaning with the alcohol pads in between 'coats'. The ink/paint dries very quickly but the pads moisten the liquid right back up and clean the surrounding areas nicely. Let each 'coat' dry for about 5 minutes and then apply and repeat until you are satisfied with the results. In my case, it was about 3 applications to get it back to an acceptable condition. That's it!
Unfortunately, I didn't take a pic of the 'before' state of affairs, but trust me, it looked pretty horrible. The end result came out, in my opinion, looking like new. Here's what I did:
First step was to try and clean it as the lettering was mostly discolored. I went to the dollar store and got a baby toothbrush and using some Zeiss lens cleaner, I gave the F3 and serial number badging a gentle brushing taking care to not overly wet the areas and also ensure the bristles got in the etching grooves. I did this a couple of times to no avail and moved on.
My next step was just to color over it with a very fine tip paint marker. Off to the local craft store (Hobby Lobby in my case) and picked up a Sakura Pen-Touch Extra Fine Point paint pen. They run about $3 USD.
Link: https://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supplies/Drawing-Illustration/Pens/White-Pen-Touch-Fine-Paint-Pen/p/136705?gclid=CjwKCAiA2fmdBhBpEiwA4CcHzVjA9L7zmurFeXzXNY1kV3-dvMiCdrR_8-BvMzVwHWWiX3Mn2gR9aRoCswQQAvD_BwE
The ink/paint is alcohol based so clean up and touching up should be easy as long as you have isopropyl Alcohol available. You can use paper towel and the alcohol, but for me, I found it easier to use alcohol prep pads.
I shook the pen for about 2 minutes and then pressed the nib down several times to get the paint flowing. Once that was done, I simply painted over the letters and numbers, gently cleaning with the alcohol pads in between 'coats'. The ink/paint dries very quickly but the pads moisten the liquid right back up and clean the surrounding areas nicely. Let each 'coat' dry for about 5 minutes and then apply and repeat until you are satisfied with the results. In my case, it was about 3 applications to get it back to an acceptable condition. That's it!
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