Cleaning the Inside of an Enlarger Lens

[wfe]

A Besseler 45M recently found its way into my possesion with two lenses. One (80mm) is fine the other (50mm) has some fungus growth on the inside element. Both are Nikon lenses. Does anyone know if this lens can be taken apart and cleaned? It looks like it would come apart with the proper tools.

 

[rbarker]

If it's fungus, rather than dust or atmospheric gunk, replacing the lens is probably the better (or at least more economical) path. Fungus tends to eat into the coatings, etc., so simple cleaning doesn't really solve the problem. I'd suggest trying it as-is, and then make a decision based on print quality.

 

[inthedark]

I have taken apart and cleaned all of my lenses, BUT I couldn't do it with the confidence that I wasn't going to harm them till I got a special screwdriver setup for lenses. Check at your local Photographer/Camera store. I do not agree with rbarker that it has probably ruined the lens coatings, but with those coatings in mind, I would use one the mildest of cleaning products (not one of the new does-everything glass cleaners type, they seem to leave a greasy film,) once you get it open.

Be sure to keep the correct order and direction of each lens within and each set of rings. And then re-snugging at closely to original as possible as the distances between the elements makes a difference. So don't do what I did my first time and NOT snug them up very firmly (I wanted an easier time opening next time).

Good Luck!

 

[ChuckP]

You should be able to screw apart the groups of the Nikon 50. You do not need to take the small screws along the edges off (newer lens type)). This will allow you to clean the inner lens of the two groups. If you need to break these apart you will need some tools. Sometimes rubber stoppers will work nicely to remove caps and rings. My Nikon 50 just had fungus on the inner glass of the lens group so I didn't need to go further. If I remember correctly it took quite a force to unscrew the groups and I used the stoppers for gripping.