Well the K1000 is back from Eric. So many swapped out bits and peces it could well be a new-old camera. New serial number on bottom plate is near to the old plate so it is still a Japanese origin K1000. Looks great and works well so that is great.
The camera leather came in from Hugo Studio, quite a bit lighter in colour than i expected- more like malachite than licorice.
Stripping the original off was quite easy but left a lot of glue and crumbs around the edges
Isopropyl Alcohol swabs and the solvent mentioned in the post earlier pulled that off in a few minutes.
A sharp pointed stick moved the gunk out of the creases and crevices.
Placing the new leatherette on and pushing it in place went easily, Whole replacement operation took less than 30 minutes.
The final new look with below the the K55 F2 that the original K1000 was supplied to me with. Above, with the M 50 F1.7. My son has my K55 F1.8 and Vivitar 28 F2.8 Close Focus, the only other K series lenses I currently own.