How to fix a loose focus ring?

teraflame · Feb 23, 2013

Mineral spirits got into the lens somehow and now my 85 1.4's focus ring feels very loose. Nothing else went wrong, aperture and image quality is still great. How or where can I fix it?

E. von Hoegh · Feb 23, 2013

teraflame said:
Mineral spirits got into the lens somehow and now my 85 1.4's focus ring feels very loose. Nothing else went wrong, aperture and image quality is still great. How or where can I fix it?

Send it to a competent technician. The grease (which was dissolved by the spirits) on the focussing helicoid needs to be replaced, and it will need a thorough cleaning of wherever else the mineral spirits contaminated.

henry finley · Feb 23, 2013

Mineral Spirits will evaporate and leave the grease pretty much as it was. The real question besides how in the name of heaven did mineral spirits get spilled--is whether it wicked itself to the aperture blades or shutter mechanism. The best thing is to turn you oven to the lowest setting, turn it off and put the lens in to bake. Repeat the cycle all day, if necessary. In a day or 2 the solvent will be chased off and the original grease will be as it was. Quite possibly, no mater what you do, a greazy fog will cover the lens surfaces. But maybe not. Just don't let the oven temp get too high.

M Carter · Feb 24, 2013

I would take care of this sooner rather than later - if you have thinned oil inside the lens, get it fixed before it spreads... and mineral spirits could be dissolving things like glue as well.

PentaxBronica · Feb 25, 2013

Until I read "85mm f1.4" I was all set to recommend a tube of silicone grease and a cocktail stick to spread it on the focusing helicoil.

Unless you're reasonably skilled as a mechanic I'd get it dealt with by a pro. I re-greased a 55mm 1.8 today but that was a case of repairing a fairly common lens which I'd paid very little for (the tube of grease cost almost as much as I paid for the lens!) Worth the effort though as the optics are utterly superb.

AgX · Feb 25, 2013

Silicone grease is the last thing I would like to have nearby anything I grasp. It not only creeps but is hard to remove.

I know its benefits too, I use it. But in my workshop I handle it rather like a contaminant.

ac12 · Feb 25, 2013

I don't know how mineral spirits (ms) could get into the lens w/o being put there or the bottle tipped over onto the lens.

SEND IT IN for a CLA....QUICKLY.
And tell the tech what happened so he knows what to deal with.

As was mentioned the big danger is that the ms could have dissolved the grease and relocated it somewhere else in the lens where it should not be, like between the lens elements or into the aperture blades.

David Lyga · Feb 26, 2013

After I fully clean the helicoid I apply a VERY thin coating of Vaseline. It works well. Manufacturers routinely apply too much grease and, in time, you get stiff focusing. Nikons seems to be the only rational exception to this problem as they use grease sparingly. - David Lyga

PentaxBronica · Feb 26, 2013

AgX said:
Silicone grease is the last thing I would like to have nearby anything I grasp. It not only creeps but is hard to remove.

I know its benefits too, I use it. But in my workshop I handle it rather like a contaminant.

Well, that's you. I'm not you.

henry finley · Feb 26, 2013

PentaxBronica said:
Well, that's you. I'm not you.

I got smart once and re-lubed several Kowa Six lenses with white lithium grease. Guess what?--it wicks. The metal wicked the oily part of it and oil was on aperture blades. What a mess. I use ordinary wheel-bearing grease now. It stays put. Works pretty good.

E. von Hoegh · Feb 26, 2013

OK. Everyone has their opinion, trouble is some opinions are wrong. Here's what to put on focussing helicoids - http://www.nyelubricants.com/products/damping.shtml - nothing else.
Other products may work, in varying degrees, but most have disadvantages ranging from creep to outgassing to excessive wear and all carry the disadvantage of having to do the job over again, usually involving extra work due to the aformentioned creep and so on.

How to fix a loose focus ring?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency