Yo,
on Tue, 14 Dec 1999 22:55:39 -0800, Rich Lahrson wrote:
> I have an old uncoated tessar lens on a 3x4 Graflex SLR. The aperture
>ring was very stiff. A squirt of WD-40 brought it to life after 40+ years
>of non-use.
Well, I don't know......I would not risk using WD-40 on my OM gear. Here is
something I tried that seems to work all right, at least for certain things,
though:
I recently acquired a Zuiko 35-105 f3.5-4.5, in B condition, on German Ebay
for the equivalent of about US $ 123, including a skylight filter and
rubber lens hood. When I received it I found that the zoom action was very
stiff in the shorter half of the zoom range, so I thought I might have to
return it. However, as these lenses are rare and usually way higher in
price than what I paid I decided to take a risk and try whether a little
lubrication might help. Remembering John H.'s advice to never ever use oil
on a lens I figured I'd try something else. I extended the zoom to its full
length making the rear element retreat as far as possible into the lens
barrel, sprayed some silicone lubricant on a q-tip, reached to the inside of
the lens barrel past the retreated rear element as far as possible with the
q-tip, and moved it twice around the interior side of the lens barrel, thus
spreading a ring of lubricant. Then I worked the zoom action for a minute or
two, also changing focus, in order to distribute it as evenly as possible.
The result is that the entire zoom range now has the smooth, velvety feel we
all know and love in our Zuikos. The amount of lubricant used is so small
that now that it is spread out all the way there are no traces of it visible
looking into the lens barrel - the matte black paint in there looks just
like before. I have shot a couple of rolls of film in the meantime, and it
appears the lens is doing just fine.
So, applied cautiously, this silicone stuff seems to work real wonders, and
not being oil it can never resinify and make things sticky.
MtFbwy,
Volkhart
--
Volkhart Baumgaertner email: kyu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MausNet: @MGN
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