I have restored 2 Nikon F5 film and 1 Nikon D3 digital cameras using the following materials:
I discovered this method while restoring a second hand Nikon D3 camera and have since mastered the technique while restoring 2 of my 3 Nikon F5 film cameras. I am currently restoring my third Nikon F5 camera.
I have to apply Cerakote Gun Black ceramic paint into the scratched part of the camera using small cotton tips, let it dry until I see that the newly applied paint when dried is of the same height as the original camera paint, meaning the applied paint is not noticeable and does not look like a blob of paint covering the scratched part. I used cotton Q tips to apply the Cerakote Gun Black paint in small quantities until the applied paint entirely cover the scratched part without looking like a blob. I have to re-apply Cerakote paint using Q Tips in several repeated applications until the applied paint is not noticeable.
On close inspection, one can still notice the applied paint. By some luck, I decided to use the white nylon wiping cloth from Dr. Color Chips Car Body repair kit by swiping it with black Cerakote paint and applied/swiped it to the Nikon D3 that I want to hide the paint job that I performed on the scratched surface. I was surprised at the result on my Nikon D3 when I swiped the white nylon wiping cloth with black Cerakote paint to the Nikon D3 part which I just made the repair. The repair is no longer noticeable after the Cerakote gun paint has dried. Even when still not dried, I can already see that the wet paint is now consistent in finish, meaning the repaired paint can no longer be detected as the wiped paint blended the old body paint and the new paint repair.
The fully cured Cerakote black ceramic paint does not fade in time, it totally replaces the scratched part of the camera and cannot be detected. One needs to be very patient to successfully repair/restore a film camera to look as if it came out of the factory.