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Classic Camera Repair » Archives-2009 » Fungus+Leicaflex prisms... swap? clean? « Previous Next »

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Dragunov
Tinkerer
Username: Dragunov

Post Number: 141
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 09:18 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

it's like Christmas or something.
I walked home from a friend's place with two broken Leicaflex SLs in various states of disrepair- one won't wind, the other the mirror won't return blah blah... I can fix that.

BUT!
the prisms and stuff have fungus on them! augh, fungus!
1. is there a similar prism I can swap with, that doesn't cost an arm, a leg, and then some? this one has a curved bottom, so swapping it with a Canon FTb prism is out of the question...
2. what else works to remove fungus? I know vinegar works... any other good tips?

cheers!
Dragunov
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Markus
Tinkerer
Username: Markus

Post Number: 115
Registered: 08-2007

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Posted on Sunday, April 19, 2009 - 10:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I just today cleaned some fungus off a Xenar lens that came with a AKA-relle by simply using lens cleaning liquid.
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Petercat
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Username: Petercat

Post Number: 80
Registered: 01-2007

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Posted on Sunday, April 26, 2009 - 03:11 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Cold cream is said to work, also, although I have never tried it.
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Harryrag
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Username: Harryrag

Post Number: 66
Registered: 05-2008

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Posted on Sunday, April 26, 2009 - 03:21 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

... but I have and I can tell you forget about cold cream, using it is a bad joke at best!
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Dragunov
Tinkerer
Username: Dragunov

Post Number: 142
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Sunday, April 26, 2009 - 09:15 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

ok!

well, I'll try something.

oh, and by the by, fixing a Leicaflex is impossible. IMPOSSIBLE (<-uh, not really)! it took me two weeks (!) to get to the shutter! just to get to it! and I had a repair manual at hand! (for some time...) you gotta pull the timing gears out just to get at the shutter... for goodness sake!
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Tobias_f
Tinkerer
Username: Tobias_f

Post Number: 2
Registered: 06-2009

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Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 12:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Fungus, i find, is really easy to get rid of. you can do it in two stages. Hydrogen Peroxide, of the normal domestic grade, will kill the fungus, so it is good to clean the inside of the body with, and make sure there are no live spores. it should not react with any of the materials inside the camera. And... to remove the fungus from all optical material, plain distilled (clear) vinegar. i usually try to float it on the surface, using the surface tension, and let it sit for ten minutes, then wipe it off with some cotton wool. or you could submerge it, though I would avoid this for safety if you are dealing with a glued optical group.

Grandma always said that the best thing for cleaning glass was vinegar, and oddly it still is.
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Dragunov
Tinkerer
Username: Dragunov

Post Number: 146
Registered: 10-2007

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Posted on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 01:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I used vinegar to clean fungus on binocular prisms a while back...

the Leicaflex? I used my smelly breath and a microfiber cloth. that did it, actually...

and now I gotta get the damn thing back together. Can't figure out how the slow speed escapement goes in- it either doesn't work, or jams firing or winding.

and worse still is the wind return stuff on the bottom... augh... Leica must have hated their repairmen.

and I now believe this camera is pretty much impossible for anyone without a guide or training to fix.

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