After having my Leica for one month now, I wanted to update the leather to really make it my own. So I decided to remove the original "griptape" cover and replace it with a unique cover from Aki Asashi. I ordered the "#4008 black leatherette", which is looking pretty good and almost as good as Leica's vulcanite from the M9.
The first step is to remove the cover from the USB port. I used a 00x50mm screwdriver to remove the two tiny screws.
Starting at the back, it took a while to remove the old tape. Especially the frame lever needs to be handled with care.
After the tape was removed, I used nail polish to remove the last glue remains.
To get a better hand of the new tape, I cut everything not need away from the back sheet. Further, I cut a the back sheet into two half below at the thinnest part. That enabled me to do the right side first and then do the left side.
I started with the lever, put it through a cut out hole and started removing the back sheet. The rest is very easy, just take your time when doing it yourself.
Besides the lever, the right side was pretty easy. The tape is super sticky and was about 1 mm to long at the edge so I had to cut off that bit, but it is still looking really nice.
After everything is in place, I made sure to also go into each edge using the spatula. Afterwards, I attached the USB cover again and the battery plate.
I'm really satisfied with the result. It looks much valuable than the old "griptape". It wasn't too hard to attach the new tape correctly and without any sign of DIY. I would definitely do it again, maybe then with real leather, probably from CameraLeather.com.
Thanks to Aki, the leatherette looks pretty good, feels warm and soft, almost like real leather.
I really like the combination of the new cover and my leather strap, much better than the old one.
😊 📸 💙
