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Herb Cunningham
22-Jul-2012, 14:20
Just got a nice Zone VI as my only field camera, and I noticed some of the fittings look like they could use a polishing.

Are the fittings really gold plated? Will that rub off? (presuming it IS gold, which I find hard to believe)

I read somewhere the fittings were gold, just in case you thought I was dumber than I really am.

I suspect they are lacquered brass.

Joe O'Hara
22-Jul-2012, 14:29
I'm guessing that if it looks like it needs polishing, it's not gold. Gold doesn't corrode.

Peter De Smidt
22-Jul-2012, 14:49
They did gold plate the fittings at one point.

Kirk Gittings
22-Jul-2012, 14:51
Over the long run the brass looks better anyway IMO.

Gem Singer
22-Jul-2012, 14:53
Hi Herb,

Fred Picker was not satisfied with the way polished brass fittings tended to tarnish, even after they were protected with lacquer.

He decided to improve his brass work, and he ran a series of Zone VI 4x5 cameras that had beautiful gold plated hardware.

Your camera is from that series.

Yes, the gold sometimes wears or peels off.

Leigh
22-Jul-2012, 14:56
The fittings on mine are real gold (plated, probably quite thin). I don't know what the actual metal is.

They did this for a couple of years. I don't know if it was an option or standard on the product.

These cameras were made by Zone VI in Newfane Vermont. I don't think any of the other versions had gold fittings.

One thing to check...
Make sure all your screw fittings have the nylon washers in place on both sides.
Tightening a knob without the washers will definitely damage the plating.

- Leigh

Herb Cunningham
23-Jul-2012, 04:59
Thanks guys-I will see how some light polishing works.

Leigh
23-Jul-2012, 05:49
I will see how some light polishing works.
Gold plating is very thin (measured in milliionths of an inch), and can be damaged or removed by abrasive polish.

Examine the discolored area very closely with a magnifying glass to see if there was lacquer on the fitting that has come off.
If there is, the fittings are brass with a lacquer over-coat. They won't be damaged by polishing. You'll need to re-coat after polishing.

- Leigh

E. von Hoegh
23-Jul-2012, 06:40
A properly lacquered brass finish is easily as durable as that gold flash plating Picker put on. And, when the brass wears, it looks like honest wear, not like a pimpmobile that's seen better days.

E. von Hoegh
23-Jul-2012, 07:23
Hi Herb,

Fred Picker was not satisfied with the way polished brass fittings tended to tarnish, even after they were protected with lacquer.

Properly lacquered brass is good for quite a few decades, judging by some brass items I have from the century before last. I'm no fan of Fred Picker, and I think the gold plating he used was just a pretentious gimmick.

Scott Walker
23-Jul-2012, 07:34
Thanks guys-I will see how some light polishing works.

Use a jewelers rouge cloth for polishing and do not use the cloth to polish anything else, particularly ferris metals.

Gem Singer
23-Jul-2012, 07:49
Fred picker was not attempting to be pretentious, nor was it a gimmick, when he decided to gold plate the brass work on his cameras.

The shellac coating on the polished brass of Ron Wisner's cameras (he called it "spirit lacquer") tended to wear off leaving the underlying brass to tarnish when exposed to air.

Fred came up with the idea of gold plating the brass on his Zone VI cameras in order to improve the look and durability of the metal fittings.

Eventually, Ron began to use gold anodized aluminum metal fittings in order to lighten the weight of his cameras.

Fred sold Zone VI to Calumet, and they used black anodized aluminum on the last series of Zone Vi cameras, which they referred to as light weight.

I lived through that era. Owned two Wisner 4x5 Tech fields and a 4x5 Zone VI camera with gold plated hardware.

TheDeardorffGuy
23-Jul-2012, 17:15
Is the metal Gold plated or brass? If gold DO NOT POLISH IT. You will rub it off to the brass base and the brass WILL tarnish. Old Brass was shellaced while the brass was very warm. This method made a very hard durable coating. I do it with cameras that used the method. I've had several Deardorffs gold plated. Imagine the weight of a dime. 2.3 grams or 0.08 oz. Not even a tenth of an ounce. Thats how much the plater put on all the metal parts of a 8x10 Deardorff. It was at the time 55.00 of gold. I got one of those cameras back a few years ago for a CLA. The metal looked perfect. The knobs did show some wear on the points of the knurls.

Kirk Gittings
23-Jul-2012, 17:21
On everyone of those gold plated ones that I've seen, the gold plating was coming off within a couple of years of regular use-peeling in some cases. A really dumb idea.

Arne Croell
23-Jul-2012, 22:34
On everyone of those gold plated ones that I've seen, the gold plating was coming off within a couple of years of regular use-peeling in some cases. A really dumb idea.

Yes, same on my 8x10. Apart from the flashy aesthetics, it is not so much the basic idea that was flawed, but the execution. Whoever did the plating, did not do it right. I wonder if it has to do with the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons around the same time, since they were quite effective at and widely used for degreasing components. Degreasing is a vital first step before electroplating a metal piece. If the company Fred used had just done the switch to other methods, there might have been a learning curve.

Leigh
23-Jul-2012, 23:02
...the gold plating was coming off within a couple of years of regular use-peeling in some cases.
If gold plating comes detached from the substrate it will not stay together.
It's so thin (~<15 microinches) and weak that it can't support itself and will disintegrate.

You can't plate gold directly on brass; that won't work. You must first plate nickel onto the brass, then gold onto the nickel.
If you saw a separation with a visible flake, it means the nickel had come detached from the brass, carrying the gold with it.

This would result from insufficient cleaning of the brass.
That can happen quite easily; proper cleaning is a challenge in any plating process.

I think Arne has a good explanation (above) regarding evolving processes at the time this product was made.

- Leigh

Leigh
23-Jul-2012, 23:12
The contact areas of electrical connectors have been gold-plated since WWII.

That's done because of its high durability and resistance to damage from repeated mate/de-mate cycles,
with resulting abrasion between the tensioned female member and the male member.

Gold plating is required by all government specs, including MIL, NASA, etc.

There's no question about gold plating being "suitable" for wear applications... It is.

- Leigh

Peter De Smidt
23-Jul-2012, 23:35
If I remember correctly, Mr. Picker said that he had a local jeweler do the plating.

E. von Hoegh
24-Jul-2012, 06:39
Fred picker was not attempting to be pretentious, nor was it a gimmick, when he decided to gold plate the brass work on his cameras.

The shellac coating on the polished brass of Ron Wisner's cameras (he called it "spirit lacquer") tended to wear off leaving the underlying brass to tarnish when exposed to air.

Fred came up with the idea of gold plating the brass on his Zone VI cameras in order to improve the look and durability of the metal fittings.

Eventually, Ron began to use gold anodized aluminum metal fittings in order to lighten the weight of his cameras.

Fred sold Zone VI to Calumet, and they used black anodized aluminum on the last series of Zone Vi cameras, which they referred to as light weight.

I lived through that era. Owned two Wisner 4x5 Tech fields and a 4x5 Zone VI camera with gold plated hardware.

Perhaps he wasn't attempting to be pretentious, but he succeeded in being pretentious. Remember how he worked the gold into the sales pitch?

Gem Singer
24-Jul-2012, 07:44
One man's pretentiousness is another man's attempt to make improvements in his products and market them to the wold.

Fred Picker was not a warm fuzzy guy, but he played an important role in the world of large format photography.

Imagine Fred Picker and Ron Wisner working together. Together, they could have been the world wide leaders in the LF photo industry.

Kirk Gittings
24-Jul-2012, 08:25
Imagine Fred Picker and Ron Wisner working together. Together, they could have been the world wide leaders in the LF photo industry.

Godzilla vs. Rodan :)

Some years after the Calumet sale, I went looking for a Zone VI. because of all the problems I had seen on friends gold plated ZVIs I sought one out in brass. IMO brass ages beautifully and appropriately for a VC.

Vaughn
24-Jul-2012, 08:26
I have a Zone VI 8x10 -- I guess it is gold plated...not really sure (made in Vermont, #270) No longer 'pretty', but fully functional -- that what counts to me.