Cleaning a Rolleicord Lens

[ChuckP]

A friend gave me a Rolleicord Model III Type 2 to checkout. It belonged to her father and has been sitting for many years. It has the 75mm Zenar. The lens is very cloudy internally. I'm used to view camera lenses that just unscrew from the shutter for cleaning. On the Zenar the front has a knurled ring. Do you just use that ring to unscrew the front element group from the shutter? Maybe using the right size rubber stopper. The front also has a retaining ring but I'm assuming that it's used to remove the front lens to get between. Don't want to try to unscrew something that's not meant to turn.

 

[Mark Crabtree]

Yes, it is the same as a view camera shutter/lens, just covered by the faceplate. As long as the front cell clears the bayonet mount opening it will just screw right out, though they are often screwed in very tight. I've had good luck with a tool I made from a plastic 35mm film can fitted with a piece of bicycle inner tube for the gripping surface.

The worst haze is usually between the front two elements and usually cleans out easily. The back cell unscrews the same way, but is a bit tricky to reach. I had a Rolleiflex T w/very odd imaging characteristic once and found the back cell was cross threaded. The back cell is 2 cemented elements, so you can usually (carefully) just clean the inner surface from the front with the shutter locked open.