Cleaning the chrome on a leica

cliveh · Dec 18, 2015

Can anyone suggest a solution/substance and method for cleaning the chrome on a Leica?

Sirius Glass · Dec 18, 2015

What are you cleaning off? Corrosion? Dirt?

cliveh · Dec 18, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
What are you cleaning off? Corrosion? Dirt?

Dirt.

Sirius Glass · Dec 18, 2015

Simple Green [http://www.uline.com/BL_6974/Simple...e&gclid=CNHGw7SV5skCFRVtfgodFZcKZQ&gclsrc=ds] is about as mild as you can get. Try it first with a very diluted solution.

cliveh · Dec 18, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Simple Green [http://www.uline.com/BL_6974/Simple...e&gclid=CNHGw7SV5skCFRVtfgodFZcKZQ&gclsrc=ds] is about as mild as you can get. Try it first with a very diluted solution.

Thanks, but what is the equivalent in the UK?

Sirius Glass · Dec 18, 2015

I do not know. It is the mildest soap one can get in North America.

02Pilot · Dec 18, 2015

Just plain old dirt, or some kind of oily or sticky stuff? If it's just dirt, a damp cloth or soft brush should be all you need. If it's oily or sticky, lighter fluid is the quickest solution; I usually use it on a cotton swab. It won't bother the chrome in the slightest.

Gerald C Koch · Dec 18, 2015

Use isopropyl alcohol.

Mick Fagan · Dec 18, 2015

One of the few products that I have consistently used for at least 35 years, is the Amway product called, Liquid Organic Cleaner (LOC).

LOC is the only product I know of that can when applied directly with cotton buds to ball point pen writing on a colour photograph, it is able to remove most, if not all traces of the ink. You are left with the depression created by the roller ball, but the print is effectively clean.

LOC can be used at full strength, or diluted with water. I believe the latest incarnation is fully biodegradable.

My current 500ml bottle of LOC is about 20 years old, I use it spareingly.

Could be a viable product for your application.

Mick.

bdial · Dec 18, 2015

Simple Green is a general purpose cleaning detergent. I used it for a while for cleaning bicycle chains, but it can leave a slightly sticky residue, so I no longer use it.
A moist cloth with a drop or two of dish washing detergent or similar would probably do as well.

Actually, my favorite for that sort of cleaning on the camera is a few drops of lens cleaner on a cotton cloth, or lens tissue.

02Pilot · Dec 19, 2015

Simple Green is great for a lot of things, but it does need to be rinsed off, unlike a lot of the other options mentioned here. It is also mildly alkaline (pH 8.5-9.5), and will cause a layer of oxidation to form on some metals (uncoated aluminum, for example) if left for too long.

Bill Burk · Dec 19, 2015

When I got my grimy M2, I spent a couple evenings with cotton swabs dampened with spit, sometimes dampened with ordinary hand dish washing soap. I also used wooden toothpicks to clean crevices.

Glass and lenses of course got the standard lens cleaning treatment: Lens cleaning tissue folded in half, torn and rolled, and only touching glass with fuzzy ends of the rolled up tissue. Either dampened with breath or lens cleaning fluid.

Took a long time but in the end, a remarkably clean camera considering it looked like it was tossed loose into a carton and left for years before I got it.

John Koehrer · Dec 19, 2015

Toothbrush with Alcohol or a mild dishwashing detergent both work. I've also used a spray on household cleaner
or glass cleaner applied to a cloth/tissue/cotton ball. The cleaners do tend to leave a residue & need to be wiped off
with alcohol or glass cleaner.
I use a child's tooth brush to get into the nooks & crannies.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Sirius Glass · Dec 19, 2015

bdial said:
Simple Green is a general purpose cleaning detergent. I used it for a while for cleaning bicycle chains, but it can leave a slightly sticky residue, so I no longer use it.
A moist cloth with a drop or two of dish washing detergent or similar would probably do as well.

Actually, my favorite for that sort of cleaning on the camera is a few drops of lens cleaner on a cotton cloth, or lens tissue.

02Pilot said:
Simple Green is great for a lot of things, but it does need to be rinsed off, unlike a lot of the other options mentioned here. It is also mildly alkaline (pH 8.5-9.5), and will cause a layer of oxidation to form on some metals (uncoated aluminum, for example) if left for too long.

Yes Simple Green does need to be cleaned off with a damp cloth.

benjiboy · Dec 19, 2015

Lens cleaning fluid works.

cliveh · Dec 20, 2015

Thanks for all the suggestions and I will probably go with the lighter fuel idea.

pdeeh · Dec 20, 2015

Bill Burk said:
cotton swabs dampened with spit

this is precisely what restorers/conservators in museums will often use.

Philippe-Georges · Dec 20, 2015

Ballistol gunoil, cleans and restores the fine LEICA look, and nurishes the vulcanite. If the dirt/grit doesn't come of right the way, then repeat the treatement.
Don't try an other brand of gunoil, it's not the same at all!

Paul Howell · Dec 21, 2015

I use Brasso. Not very expensive and does not harm the chrome, at least no in the 50 years I used it on my Spotmatic or Retina III C.

Ronald Moravec · Jan 4, 2016

As in cleaning all things, start with the most mild and work toward aggressive as required.

Techs use alcohol. Turtle wax makes a chrome cleaner. Purchase at auto supply store.

James Page · Jan 4, 2016

Lemon juice. Been using it for 45 years. Works amazingly. Must be something about the PH of the juice, but the chrome shines right up and the gunk just dissappears.

cliveh · Jan 5, 2016

James Page said:
Lemon juice. Been using it for 45 years. Works amazingly. Must be something about the PH of the juice, but the chrome shines right up and the gunk just dissappears.

Thanks, I'll try that.

seanE · Feb 10, 2016

Sorry to jack this thread, But would an ultrasonic damage the chrome? I don't see why, but it was suggested some where my mind fails to remember.
They strip pretty much any dirt, off anything, As long as the water is hot. Obversely this would not be for an average clean, But it might be worth striping the camera if it has 50-60 years of grime shoved under every crevice.

For just a quick clean, Buy a hard bristled artists bush, and some alcohol from a chemist, That should do the trick.

resummerfield · Feb 10, 2016

seanE said:
....would an ultrasonic damage the chrome? I don't see why, but it was suggested some where my mind fails to remember.
They strip pretty much any dirt, off anything, As long as the water is hot....

I had a chrome plated bottom cover for a Pentax Spotmatic, in which the battery had corroded and the battery cover (which screws into the bottom plate) was frozen in place. I removed the bottom cover and placed it in an ultrasonic cleaner filled with a heated baking soda and water mix. After about 15 minutes I removed the bottom cover, and the battery cover was removable.

However, there was an almost invisible corrosion that had formed between the chrome plating and the metal substrate, and the ultrasonic cleaner removed the chrome above that corrosion. So if the chrome plating is not in perfect condition, with a full bond to the substrate, the ultrasonic cleaner will probably strip the plating.

Fujicaman1957 · Apr 10, 2016

I once worked in a camera repair shop part-time and the boss told me to NEVER get denatured alcohol near a camera or lens. It seems the denaturing agent can damage lens coatings. He used Everclear 190 proof pure grain alcohol to clean lenses and to scrub off dirt. If you're cleaning a camera body, you need the Everclear and a soft toothbrush and a bunch of Q-tips and a soft rag to wipe off any excess alcohol.

If the Everclear won't remove the dirt from the chrome, lightly use lighter fluid on a Q-tip.

Cleaning the chrome on a leica

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