I've got an old (c.25 years) pair of binoculars which are "hazing" due to age: I'm assuming that the haze is internal -- the four outside lens surfaces get cleaned regularly.
I've often looked at doing it, but always chicken out when I start to unscrew things: is it actually possible to dismantle the binoculars and clean the inside lens surfaces?
Cheers John
Well, yes; but there is a risk you will make things worse or not be able to reassemble them successfully.
A common cause on old optics is the growth of a fungus on the internal surfaces of lenses and prisms.I believe this can etch the coatings or glass, and therefore can't simply be cleaned off.
Binoculars are not always easy to dismantle, and it depends on the prism arrangement. I have not looked on YouTube but since everything else is there, I assume they will be. That would definitely be my starting point.
At least it is easier to get hold of tools these days.
Most binoculars have several lenses and in some cases they are cemented together so this could cause you some issues, best to google & utube for more info.
A chap on the Repair Shop did a refurbish on I think a set of German military ones. He did have to replace a prism but had an extensive selection of recovered ones to try out to get a perfect fit.
Richard
I had a Porro prism one apart many years ago, I never managed to get the prism alignment back correctly (even though it looks simple).
If the hazing badly affects using them and they dont have a high value, then you have nothing to loose from attempting to improve things. Start with removing the lenses and cleaning their inside surfaces.
This link describes a successful attempt at this. A superficial scan of the article suggest that cleaning the prisms alone may cure cloudiness.
michael adams
...
lose
OP here -- thanks to all for the suggestions, especially to Michael, who found the link to the [rather daunting] page which actually discusses and illustrates the procedure:
Thanks again John
It should be. Also remember the prisms as well, If they are designed well you can normally get things back together again accurately. Wear cotton gloves etc, and check for smears and blooming effects. Make sure you absolutely know which part went where as they can appear the same but not quite be the same. Brian
Another John snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news:lalaw44- snipped-for-privacy@eu.news.astraweb.com:
Cleaning any coated lens worries me!
Thanks John and also to Brian (who sounds like he's done this too!) -- the chap at the link above warns against the hazard you mention, and the solution seems to be (as Brian indicated) to clean the prisms.
I haven't written off this job, but I've put it well down The List (after repainting the garage floor, and for that matter cleaning the budgie's cage out)! I would hate to ruin my binocs through my own incompetence. It's not too expensive, these days, to get a pretty good new pair, but I hate to see old things thrown out[1], and I would hate even more to have been the person responsible for making that necessary!
Cheers John
[1] Not that I would throw them out, of course: I would put the sad little pile of bits into a box "in case they come in useful". To be discovered in some years time, when my kids have to get the skip in ...Another John snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@201-92-171-81.dsl.telesp.net.br:
Many such devices had a special grease in the focusing mechanism to provide a smooth friction. See:
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