Hi,
I have an old Wolly Raptar with cloudy Wocote coating on the front element....
I'm considering a make-it-or-break-it effort to make it a semi-useful sorta-focus lens. The coating issue kills any contrast and is very flarey... and not in a good way.
Can anybody recommend a DIY way to remove the coating?
It's really not a project worth throwing any money at, so any cheap & cheerful helpful hints are appreciated.
The AR coating is cloudy? I hadn't heard of that before.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
Yes, it's the coating on the front of the front element. I don't know how it got that way.
I once had a coated Cooke Aviar with a surface that looked cloudy. After it wouldn't clean up I looked at it with my stereomicroscope. The surface was covered with tiny pits.
I once got a nice TLR from a friend who said it "didn't take pictures any more". All it took was one good pass with a lens tissue and cleaning fluid. I'm assuming you've tried the obvious.
Simon Cygielski
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mr.cygielski/
If you Google 'Removing Anti Reflection Coating from Glasses", you'll get a ton of hits.
“You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know
im sure an acid bath will remove the coatings yet leave the glass n tact.
Have you tried it?Originally Posted by Paul Ron
I think it was Focal Point that would polish off coatings before re-coating...
Modern coatings are harder, but older "hard" coatings are softer than today...
I was told the finest abrasive is cesium oxide, but don't know where to get it... Jeweler's Rouge is available, and is used to polish glass... But power polishing is not recommended as it builds heat unevenly (and can crack glass), but a glass guy told me lots and lots of hand polishing will work (eventually)...
Thank you for the suggestions, everybody!
I will try isopropyl alcohol first, then undiluted indicator stop bath, then baking soda, then jeweler's rouge.
Should be an interesting experiment!
Cheers!
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