pico Posted January 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted January 7, 2018 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) Asking for one last time - cleaning 21mm viewfinder. I have three Leica 21mm viewfinders and all of them have an obscuring haze right in the middle of the field. Has anyone a do-it-yourself to disassemble the finder? If not, I will dive into one with my blooming ignorance and keep failure or success to myself. TIA! Edited January 7, 2018 by pico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 7, 2018 Posted January 7, 2018 Hi pico, Take a look here Last time - cleaning 21mm viewfinder. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
a.noctilux Posted January 8, 2018 Share #2 Posted January 8, 2018 Some years ago...viewfinders cleaning saga. I tried that cleaning with succes on one black metal Leitz 21mm but haze does install some years later. No succes with one Leica 28mm silver metal: one lens cracked when remounted after cleaning. Succes with plastic 28mm. For me only one failure from three Leitz/Leica finders = 66 % succes. Just try it. You may be better . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertknappmd Posted January 11, 2018 Share #3 Posted January 11, 2018 why not just send it in and have peace of mind? Albert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
semi-ambivalent Posted January 12, 2018 Share #4 Posted January 12, 2018 Asking for one last time - cleaning 21mm viewfinder. I have three Leica 21mm viewfinders and all of them have an obscuring haze right in the middle of the field. Has anyone a do-it-yourself to disassemble the finder? If not, I will dive into one with my blooming ignorance and keep failure or success to myself. TIA! I have a Leica 28mm, rectangular VF that's desilvering inside. The view through it looks like hell. I can't get the back ring off and the front window is held in by some type of mastic (a guess), or is somehow crimped in. See if you can get a blade in the front and pry a bit to cut loose or loosen the glass. You'll break it, I'm sure, but you have three and new ones are what, $900 or so? Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted January 12, 2018 Share #5 Posted January 12, 2018 pico, there was a thread on RFF a while back on this, but it appears the photos have been lost in hosting site changes. Maybe you can PM the OP and get the photos? If memory serves me correctly, then a clean environment (like a chemistry extraction workspace) was needed and it looked pretty fiddly (there are a lot of elements in there). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcg Posted January 12, 2018 Share #6 Posted January 12, 2018 Asking for one last time - cleaning 21mm viewfinder. I have three Leica 21mm viewfinders and all of them have an obscuring haze right in the middle of the field. Has anyone a do-it-yourself to disassemble the finder? If not, I will dive into one with my blooming ignorance and keep failure or success to myself. TIA! I think that you misunderstand the advantages of having haze in your viewfinder. It allows you to see the bokeh in your image and contributes to your decision to fix the decisive moment. You can read all about it here: https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280661-see-new-leica-lenses-are-rubbish/?p=3435614 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblutter Posted January 12, 2018 Share #7 Posted January 12, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Maybe DAG cleans them - give him a ring Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darylgo Posted January 12, 2018 Share #8 Posted January 12, 2018 If you have any luck I'll send you mine, it's been obscured with haze, yellowing and a cracked element for 25+ years, as my eyes age the obscurity is lessened as everything is hazy. Iirc I inquired about repair and found it either impossible or less than worthwhile. Interested to hear your results, please reconsider further posts with progress. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
david strachan Posted January 13, 2018 Share #9 Posted January 13, 2018 Cut your losses and use Voigtlander 21mm finder...really excellent, unless it has to be Leica of course 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted January 16, 2018 I like the Voightlander finders, but I already have the Leica finders and I'm just trying to be economical. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weihsuan Posted February 15, 2023 Share #11 Posted February 15, 2023 Hi all, Sorry for reviving an old thread. I have a plastic 28mm Leica finder which has a spot of fungus in one of the interior element and seek advice from the members of the forum. Will appreciate any comments/tips on the possibility of self disassembly? If its a sealed finder, and all hopes are gone, please do let me know too. Thank you in advance! Wei Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricChicago Posted February 19, 2024 Share #12 Posted February 19, 2024 I used a lighter on the black collar/ring and slowly (carefully!) pushed it off with my smallest flat head screwdriver. There are two glass elements sandwiched underneath. These need to be delicately prised out - I used a razor blade. The top curved lens is easy to remove, but be careful with the flat glass with the silver image frame on it - it is quite thin and fragile. Once these are out, you are on safer ground. Now I heated up the front most glass element and slowly teased it out with the razor blade. This lens is thicker and less easy to damage. One this is removed, the two internal elements and spacer can be pushed out from the rear - I used a q tip. After, I simply cleaned everything up and reinstalled. You'll need to glue the front and rear pieces in place - i ised hide glue. I have pics but don't know how to share them. Hope this helps!! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricChicago Posted February 19, 2024 Share #13 Posted February 19, 2024 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280648-last-time-cleaning-21mm-viewfinder/?do=findComment&comment=5046262'>More sharing options...
EricChicago Posted February 20, 2024 Share #14 Posted February 20, 2024 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/280648-last-time-cleaning-21mm-viewfinder/?do=findComment&comment=5047618'>More sharing options...
williamj Posted February 20, 2024 Share #15 Posted February 20, 2024 14 minutes ago, EricChicago said: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Very interesting. What did you clean the lenses with? Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weihsuan Posted February 23, 2024 Share #16 Posted February 23, 2024 Fascinating! Any information on disassembling/opening up the 12009 plastic finder? It seems the upper and lower housing are fixed by adhesives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted February 23, 2024 Share #17 Posted February 23, 2024 2 hours ago, weihsuan said: Fascinating! Any information on disassembling/opening up the 12009 plastic finder? It seems the upper and lower housing are fixed by adhesives. Shouldn’t you wait a year before responding? 🤪 Jeff 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted February 23, 2024 Share #18 Posted February 23, 2024 2 hours ago, weihsuan said: Fascinating! Any information on disassembling/opening up the 12009 plastic finder? It seems the upper and lower housing are fixed by adhesives. Hello weihsuan, Welcome to the Forum. I think that today is a good day to ask that question. Hopefully someone, possibly EricChicago, will have the answer. Best Regards, Michael 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted February 23, 2024 Share #19 Posted February 23, 2024 On 2/19/2024 at 4:58 AM, EricChicago said: I used a lighter on the black collar/ring and slowly (carefully!) pushed it off with my smallest flat head screwdriver. There are two glass elements sandwiched underneath. These need to be delicately prised out - I used a razor blade. The top curved lens is easy to remove, but be careful with the flat glass with the silver image frame on it - it is quite thin and fragile. Once these are out, you are on safer ground. Now I heated up the front most glass element and slowly teased it out with the razor blade. This lens is thicker and less easy to damage. One this is removed, the two internal elements and spacer can be pushed out from the rear - I used a q tip. After, I simply cleaned everything up and reinstalled. You'll need to glue the front and rear pieces in place - i ised hide glue. I have pics but don't know how to share them. Hope this helps!! On 2/19/2024 at 5:01 AM, EricChicago said: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! On 2/20/2024 at 3:56 AM, EricChicago said: Hello Eric, Welcome to the Forum. Nice. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
renguney Posted December 30, 2024 Share #20 Posted December 30, 2024 (edited) Daryl. Do you still consider giving out one copy of 21mm. I have one in parts which was gifted to me from a friend but it has some missing optical parts. I would be more than happy to pay the shipping and make one working unit. Is it the front or rear part which has been cracked. I am missing the most frontest optical part on my copy. On 1/13/2018 at 2:53 AM, darylgo said: If you have any luck I'll send you mine, it's been obscured with haze, yellowing and a cracked element for 25+ years, as my eyes age the obscurity is lessened as everything is hazy. Iirc I inquired about repair and found it either impossible or less than worthwhile. Interested to hear your results, please reconsider further posts with progress. Edited December 30, 2024 by renguney Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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