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How to remove haze from lens elements?

David,

For Fungus removal. I have used this on a Rolleicord as well as other vintage lenses. You probably won't even have to soak it more than 10 minutes. Make sure the area is well ventillated. Ammonia is wicked strong. How bad is the fungus on the lens ? Is it a light haze you saw while shining a flashlight through a wide aperture ? If it is then it will easily remove all of it. I used Qtips very lightly to brush it away. Then I filled a plastic jar and got Dawn dishwashing liquid ( yeah dishwashing liquid) like one drop and used that solution to wash the lenses, then a distilled water rinse and then pat the water off with a soft paper towel. You will now have super clean lenses.

Let me know how it works out. It would be kind of neat if you could post before and after photos. This cleaning tip is the one I got from the Camera Repair Forum. I have rebuilt many different cameras, and really enjoy this feed.

http://kyphoto.com/classics/forum_message.html


Greg
 


Here is another site you can look at...




http://www.travel-images.com/cleaning-lens-fungus.html
 
Denatured alcohol.... The stuff you get in paint stores. No residue or film.

If that doesn't remove it, your coating may be deteriorated or its in the balsam between the elements.
 
shutterfinger said:
Another method is to heat an oven to 175°F-225°F, turn the oven off, place the cells in the center of the oven, close the door and leave for 15 to 30 minutes. Sometimes such heating will "fix" the Balsam and it will clear upon complete cooling.
Click to expand...


a dummiest question: what if I can´t separate this part.
Would it work to put all this part in the oven?
 

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Curses! Mr. Later, your photo shows an Apo Tessar front cell. It contains two singlets. They're not cemented together. The CZJ Tessar front cells that I've taken apart have a retaining ring at the rear that should unscrew to release the rear singlet. Make sure that the elements are oriented correctly when you reassemble.
 
For stubborn haze, I have had luck with Lime-A-Way or Hydrogen Peroxide. Depending on the nature of the haze, one will work better than the other.
 
Dan Fromm said:
They're not cemented together. The CZJ Tessar front cells that I've taken apart have a retaining ring at the rear that should unscrew to release the rear singlet. Make sure that the elements are oriented correctly when you reassemble.
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yes Indeed Dan, I feel that the lens knows that it is in the operating room BUT WITHOUT A SURGEON
 

Finally an answer from an actual lens designer! (Nodda Duma is one)

I was getting worried about some claims made on this thread (Windex being abrasive?! come on...)

Whenever i think of "haze" i think of what you say: Irreparable damage to the coating. Otherwise it's just fungii, oil, dirt, etc.

So, when I find this haze, my only option is to remove it by polishing with an abrasive (even toothpaste works, although I guess the ideal is cerium oxide or cigarrette ash). This restores the lens element. However light transmission will never be as good as before, because that element lost its coating. Thus, if you're Nodda Duma and can recoat the optic, that would be the best thing to do.
 
How does one polish off coating? I've found that MgF2 is very hard, perhaps harder than the glass.
Mark Overton
 
try to wipe it off with bleach followed by lens cleaner again.
 
albada said:
How does one polish off coating? I've found that MgF2 is very hard, perhaps harder than the glass.
Mark Overton
Click to expand...

Mechanical polishing, like with cerium oxide, etc. Also note that coatings aren't MgF2 all the time, there're more compounds, see patents on anti reflection coatings.
 
Windex you have to be very careful to not spray it directly on the lens if its assembled. If you have compound elements it can get between them and fog it, had it happen with a Nikkor 50 1.2 I was able to set it in the sun and it evaporated.

Apply it to the cloth and make a quick pass or two then immediately dry it.
 
Coincidentally enough, I just polished off fungus / haze from the surface of a lens for a friend.







 
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