[jon.partsch]

I have a set of these, and have found them to work well. Perhaps a difference in the compound.

It really looks like the same set I have, but perhaps not. My set has been completely useless so far.

---------- Post added 07-14-21 at 08:47 AM ----------

ZIPPO LIGHTER FLUID can be your best freind.

Isopropyl Alcohol really frees up sticky parts better than anything else I have used.

MEK OR ACETONE,BUT mEK is better

Zippo lighter fluid (or Ronsinol) works great, but Coleman "white gas" camping (lantern/stove) fuel works just as well and is way cheaper if you are going to be doing this kind of thing often.

Acetone also work great, but is total overkill for this, and you risk stripping the paint or melting any plastic parts - acetone is the solvent of choice for removing really difficult adhesive on camera leatherette.

MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) is extremely hazardous and I urge you to stay away from it at all costs. It should not be sold to sold consumers IMHO. I spent 16 years in the hazardous materials cleanup industry, and had to know all about the toxic effects of chemicals like this for my job. Use Acetone with care only if lighter fluid or white gas wont work for you, but even Acetone should not be needed for this kind of work.

Isopropal alcohol has very limited utility in camera service and repair. It can be used for a light cleaning of outside surfaces of things, or for lens elements prior to reassembly, but I use Coleman fuel for almost all of this kind of thing now as it works better and is more multi-purpose.

Everything I have said above has been told to me by highly respected classic camera restoration experts, and verified by me personally in a couple dozen complete lens and camera teardowns and restorations.

[niceshot]

It really looks like the same set I have, but perhaps not. My set has been completely useless so far.

---------- Post added 07-14-21 at 08:47 AM ----------







Zippo lighter fluid (or Ronsinol) works great, but Coleman "white gas" camping (lantern/stove) fuel works just as well and is way cheaper if you are going to be doing this kind of thing often.

Acetone also work great, but is total overkill for this, and you risk stripping the paint or melting any plastic parts - acetone is the solvent of choice for removing really difficult adhesive on camera leatherette.

MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) is extremely hazardous and I urge you to stay away from it at all costs. It should not be sold to sold consumers IMHO. I spent 16 years in the hazardous materials cleanup industry, and had to know all about the toxic effects of chemicals like this for my job. Use Acetone with care only if lighter fluid or white gas wont work for you, but even Acetone should not be needed for this kind of work.

Isopropal alcohol has very limited utility in camera service and repair. It can be used for a light cleaning of outside surfaces of things, or for lens elements prior to reassembly, but I use Coleman fuel for almost all of this kind of thing now as it works better and is more multi-purpose.

Everything I have said above has been told to me by highly respected classic camera restoration experts, and verified by me personally in a couple dozen complete lens and camera teardowns and restorations.

MEK Iis the only way to undo Vivitar Lens ,says in the rebuild guides, having said the use rubber glove and dont inhale this stuff.

[jon.partsch]

MEK Iis the only way to undo Vivitar Lens ,says in the rebuild guides, having said the use rubber glove and dont inhale this stuff.

I find it highly improbable that MEK is the "only" way to service a Vivitar Lens, and I find it highly improbable that it is even the best way, regardless of what these "rebuild guides" say to which you refer.

[niceshot]

I find it highly improbable that MEK is the "only" way to service a Vivitar Lens, and I find it highly improbable that it is even the best way, regardless of what these "rebuild guides" say to which you refer.

Obviously you never rebuilt any , there fore you didn't know they used airplane glue as loctite. aand the only way to loose them is by using MEK . ok is that ok with you?? actually go rebuild a vivitar then come back at me.

[jon.partsch]

Obviously you never rebuilt any , there fore you didn't know they used airplane glue as loctite. aand the only way to loose them is by using MEK . ok is that ok with you?? actually go rebuild a vivitar then come back at me.

Your attitude is not called for. I have rebuilt Vivitar lenses and never run into any kind of thread-locker or glue requiring MEK to dissolve. As I'm sure you know, Vivitar lenses were produced by several manufacturers, and were sometimes simply re-badged version of other lenses. I can accept that a few lenses may have used some special threadlocker, but that hardly calls for use of MEK on just any old lens. It's total overkill, and it's a highly hazardous substance. Do you have any evidence that it is required for the lens in question by the OP? If not, then it's a totally inappropriate solvent.

[clickclick]

It really looks like the same set I have, but perhaps not. My set has been completely useless so far.

Curious, do you find your set picks up any and all dust and dirt? I feel like mine are a magnet for whatever is floating about. I find buying stuff like this can be frustrating, as it's really hard to differentiate what's what. I bet if I dig back through my purchase history, the set I bought won't even come up. Seems like this stuff is always changing. The proverbial crap shoot.

[jon.partsch]

Curious, do you find your set picks up any and all dust and dirt? I feel like mine are a magnet for whatever is floating about. I find buying stuff like this can be frustrating, as it's really hard to differentiate what's what. I bet if I dig back through my purchase history, the set I bought won't even come up. Seems like this stuff is always changing. The proverbial crap shoot.

Yes! a total dust and crud magnet! so much so that I doubt it would shed any dust into what I am working on, if only it was grippy enough to actually remove any lens rings! Mine is chinese, light gray, apparently made of silicone, and purchased on AliExpress. Perhaps it is a cheap knockoff of a better set that was the same light gray color, but I don't know.

[clickclick]

Yes! a total dust and crud magnet! so much so that I doubt it would shed any dust into what I am working on, if only it was grippy enough to actually remove any lens rings! Mine is chinese, light gray, apparently made of silicone, and purchased on AliExpress. Perhaps it is a cheap knockoff of a better set that was the same light gray color, but I don't know.

Thanks. No clue what the differences might be, and sound so similar - you'd think they spit them all out of the same place.

[niceshot]

Your attitude is not called for. I have rebuilt Vivitar lenses and never run into any kind of thread-locker or glue requiring MEK to dissolve. As I'm sure you know, Vivitar lenses were produced by several manufacturers, and were sometimes simply re-badged version of other lenses. I can accept that a few lenses may have used some special threadlocker, but that hardly calls for use of MEK on just any old lens. It's total overkill, and it's a highly hazardous substance. Do you have any evidence that it is required for the lens in question by the OP? If not, then it's a totally inappropriate solvent.

Sell your theory to other people , not me. vivitar uses so muck airplane glue as thread locker that even with MEK it takes tremendous effort and force to disassemble it. I would love to watch you try on an old Kiron built lens. Having said that the progression should be alcohol first then acetone and then Mek.

[jon.partsch]

I'll say this again for clarity:

Coleman White Gas (aka camping fuel) or Zippo/Ronsinol lighter fluid (NOT Butane) is the long sanding gold standard for cleaning and servicing lenses and shutter assemblies. This is not new information, and it is what the professionals use. Full disassembly and cleaning/replacing of *all* lubricants in vintage manual focus lenses is advised if at all possible as "oily aperture syndrome" can quickly reappear due to old, deteriorating lubricants migrating in from the focusing helicoid.

Don't use isopropal alcohol - it's much less effective and more trouble than it's worth. It is good only for light cleaning.

Don't use acetone, MEK or any other solvent unless you have a *specific reason* for doing so. And, if you do, be aware that you are risking damage to paint or any plastic components in the lens and are exposing yourself to a significantly greater health hazard.

[Just1MoreDave]

I'll say this again for clarity:

Coleman White Gas (aka camping fuel) or Zippo/Ronsinol lighter fluid (NOT Butane) is the long sanding gold standard for cleaning and servicing lenses and shutter assemblies. This is not new information, and it is what the professionals use. Full disassembly and cleaning/replacing of *all* lubricants in vintage manual focus lenses is advised if at all possible as "oily aperture syndrome" can quickly reappear due to old, deteriorating lubricants migrating in from the focusing helicoid.

Don't use isopropal alcohol - it's much less effective and more trouble than it's worth. It is good only for light cleaning.

Don't use acetone, MEK or any other solvent unless you have a *specific reason* for doing so. And, if you do, be aware that you are risking damage to paint or any plastic components in the lens and are exposing yourself to a significantly greater health hazard.

The home improvement stores might line up all the solvents in a row of blue cans but they are not all the same! California banned retail MEK 10 years ago.

As for the lens, it has been a long time so I barely remember taking it apart. I do remember the aperture blade assembly coming off as one piece, and soaking that piece in mineral spirits overnight to dissolve most of the oil. If I'm right, that can save the chore of removing individual blades to clean.

[jon.partsch]

The home improvement stores might line up all the solvents in a row of blue cans but they are not all the same! California banned retail MEK 10 years ago.

As for the lens, it has been a long time so I barely remember taking it apart. I do remember the aperture blade assembly coming off as one piece, and soaking that piece in mineral spirits overnight to dissolve most of the oil. If I'm right, that can save the chore of removing individual blades to clean.

This would be awesome! It's always best to avoid complete disassembly of the aperture assembly if possible, as long as it can be soaked (flush cleaning with the aperture in place has never worked for me for long ... oil always comes back). That said, I have completely disassembled and cleaned aperture assemblies, and *still" had the oil come back because it migrates in from the focusing helicoid. This is why I always recommend a complete teardown, cleaning and re-lubrication, if possible.

For "soak" cleaning of parts a cheap ultrasonic "jewelry" cleaner is a very useful tool. Like this: amazon.com: Magnasonic Professional Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner with Digital Timer for Eyeglasses, Rings, Coins (MGUC500): Industrial & Scientific?tag=pentaxforums-20&

If possible, if the part is small enough, I prefer to use a small 4-oz size Mason jar with solvent and place this in the ultrasonic cleaner filled with water, rather than put the solvent in the ultrasonic cleaner directly.

Also, I find Zippo/Ronsinol lighter fluid or Colman fuel works better than mineral spirits, but odorless mineral spirits would certainly be friendlier to work with. My guess is that mineral spirits would work better than isopropal alcohol.