Glass Dressing or coating for old lenses

[Drew Bedo]

Very glad you are going to use a Packard

I had thought about a Thornton Pickard roller blind shutter, but they seem finicky and complex. Only antique examples are available now.


The Packard seems to be a simpler mechanism. Additionally, the compasny is still in business as a side gig for the current owner and it can be worked on. I had him do the install on my lens board and it works fine and looks great.

https://packardshutter.com/

Another approach would be a working Graflex or other press camera with a focal plane shutter. But I am not looking to make 4x5 glass plates.

[Tin Can]

If you 'improve' your old lens it will lose the old effects inherent

I store my lenses in stainless steel ventilated room HVAC temp cabinet

and never touch the glass

Yes, some were very dirty when I got them

I have Acetone and don't like to need it, medical cotton balls

I also have Purosol Optical Glass cleaner as final

still testing Activated Powder Charcoal

[Drew Bedo]

Not looking to "improve" it or alter the optical properties in any way. /the intention is protecting or filling micro scratches..

[BrianShaw]

I'd be more inlcined to just clean it and use it. Have you looked into the potential usability of a product like this for your application?

https://www.ejwheaton.com/products/e...ve-made-in-usa

[ridax]

Not looking to "improve" it or alter the optical properties in any way. /the intention is protecting or filling micro scratches..

There is no way to fill the micro scratches. Re-polishing is the only method to get rid of them. And as for the glass protection, one has to apply a really modern high-thech technology to apply a coating that's harder then the glass itself. The vast majority of the coating methods make either soft or very soft surfaces.

[Drew Bedo]

I'd be more inlcined to just clean it and use it. Have you looked into the potential usability of a product like this for your application?

https://www.ejwheaton.com/products/e...ve-made-in-usa

The product name seems to ring a bell . . .the "chalk white" part gives me pause though. I'll try out a bottle and give it a go on some other lens I have laying around . . .stare with a magnifying glass from the desk drawer or an oscilloscope lens maybe.

[Drew Bedo]

Has anyone ever used that product?

Or a similar on?

[BrianShaw]

Glass wax, a carnuba wax product, is a very old-fashioned product. It may even pre-date ammonia-based window cleaners like Windex; I'm not sure, though, and not going to research it. My grandmother used the term "glass wax" as a generic name the way many people use "Kleenex" for all facial tissue. I've used a glass wax product on windows, both home and automotive, and eyeglasses. I recall it being really good stuff and sheds water excellently. I had a plexiglass(?) windshield/fairing on my motorcycle and never had visibility issues when riding in mist or rain.

On an uncoated camera lens I would expect the same characteristics as it exhibits on a window. I recall back in the 1980's Calumet gave away and sold a product that seems similar in that it rubbed on, dried and was buffed off. I used it once and it really made my multi-coated lens clean. The next time I was tempted to use it, the product had dried up to a hard mass, so I'm guessing that it was a solvent-based wax product also. The lens shows absolutely no signs of any damage even after three decades. I can't recall the trade name of that specific product, though, and haven't been able to identify it when I last tried to find out what it was.

EDIT: Found the product I was mentioning that Calumet sold. Lens Site Professional Lens Cleaner.
https://archive.org/details/calumet-...20%2837%29.jpg

[Drew Bedo]

What about glass products that use the term "Ceramic"?

[Tin Can]

What about glass products that use the term "Ceramic"?

The only thing I would use is Ren Wax

https://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-M...s%2C102&sr=8-3