How to dissasemble and clean 1650 PZ lens?

Started Jun 18, 2013 | Discussions thread
Regular MemberPosts: 420
Re: How to dissasemble and clean 1650 PZ lens?
In reply to smallLebowski, Jun 19, 2013

The lens is definitely not pressurized. I have taken apart many lenses, zoom and prime. I would honestly say you have zero chance of taking this apart and getting it back together.

Even damaged, you can sell it on eBay. Sometimes people will pay decent money for broken camera equipment to tinker, spare parts, salvage, etc. Or take it for repair.

But if you're beyond that and about to throw it out, here's what I'd do. Get the highest content isopropyl alcohol you can. At least 90%. Fill a cup with it, drop the lens in, and let it soak. Cover the cup to prevent the alcohol from evaporating. After it's permeated with alcohol, take it out and swirl it around. You want the alcohol to basically wipe the lens elements clean. Then see where it's leaking, and try to get all the alcohol to leak out. I would take compressed air and shoot it in around the leak, trying to pressurize the lens and get more alcohol out. Then try a vacuum cleaner and see if you can get some suction to suck some of the alcohol out. Then take a big container, fill it with uncooked rice, put the lens in, put on the lid, open it daily to release any moisture, and leave it for a week. Hopefully the alcohol has washed all of the water residue off the lens elements and contacts and has evaporated. This will probably kill the lens, so only do this if you're determined the lens is not worth repair or selling for parts and dead anyway.

As for the body, I would remove the battery and drop it in a separate sealed rice container as well for a week. If that doesn't work (and you are ready to throw out the body, no hope of repair or selling for parts), I would try the alcohol on the body as well, then rice it again.

For background: With anything electronic you have 2 concerns with water. If the circuits are powered, the water shorts and can burn the circuit board. So rule 1 with water damage is immediately remove the battery. Anything in the water (like salt) will leave residue that can short circuits even after the board is dry. If the device is off (totally off, battery removed, not just switched off, which still has residual power) then pure water is harmless. Just let it dry, and then it will work again. Salt water is problematic because it will corrode the electronics, so even after it dries, you can have a problem. With salt water (or Coca Cola, etc.) it's best to remove battery and then wash with distilled water to remove the salts, acid, etc.

With lenses, you have a third issue, which is the water depositing "stuff" on the lens, such as salts or lubricants from the lens. Once they deposit, you either need to disassemble the lens and clean the elements (I wouldn't try this on the 16-50) or use another liquid to wash them, like the alcohol.

Again, this will probably ruin your lens, but maybe not.

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