19
Found a trick for cleaning helicoid grease without full disassembly
Had this old Pentax K1000 where the focus ring was getting stiff as hell. Took me forever to figure out where the gunk was building up. After 3 tries with different solvents and wasting a whole afternoon, I finally tried something dumb - used a syringe to inject a tiny bit of naphtha right into the gap between the helicoid sections, then worked the ring back and forth. Flushed out all the old crusty grease in like 10 minutes. Just had to relube after. Anyone else got shortcuts for this kind of thing without taking the whole lens apart?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
michael8951mo ago
Honestly, I gotta push back on this a little. Injecting solvent into a lens without taking it apart is asking for trouble. That naphtha can seep into places you don't want it, like between the glass elements or onto the aperture blades, and then you're looking at a bigger mess.
5
william_miller1mo ago
...and I tell you what, that's a pretty clever trick. I've done something similar with a couple old M42 lenses where the grease had basically turned into glue. Used lighter fluid on a q-tip to dab right where the threads meet, then worked it back and forth a few times. It's amazing how much crust comes out when you do it that way, saves you from having to mark the helicoid position and all that nonsense. I usually follow up with a tiny drop of synthetic grease on a toothpick, just enough to coat the threads. Works a treat and keeps that old glass smooth for another decade.
1