Grease/Oil

[Jim Graves]

I have a couple of vintage lenses that are pretty tight when I take off one or the other of the elements ... is there a preferred way to clean or lube the threads to make them a little more friendly??????

[John Kasaian]

Juice from jalapeno nacho rings makes brass shine like crazy. A wee bit of Lubriplate is a useful lubricant. Or K-Y (no, really!)

[E. von Hoegh]

I have a couple of vintage lenses that are pretty tight when I take off one or the other of the elements ... is there a preferred way to clean or lube the threads to make them a little more friendly??????

Before you lube, try getting the threads - both male and female - as clean as possible. Use some solvent and a toothpick to get to the root of the threads. I'm assuming these are brass cells in aluminium threads? Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol, available up to about 90% iso.) is good; I've even used Hoppe's no.9 bore solvent. Needless to say, keep the solvent well away fron the glass! If nothing is dinged, this usually works. A TINY bit of light grease will ease things if they are still tight after cleaning.

[DanK]

Clean threads are important, as mentioned...

I personally use a soft toothbrush and 'trewax' for threads and avoid oils unless something is frozen...

Dan

[eddie]

I've even used Hoppe's no.9 bore solvent. Needless to say, keep the solvent well away fron the glass!

what EvH said.

as for teh hoppes.....i used that on a lens a long time ago....now it smells like hoppe 9....i am getting tired of that smell......

OT is there another bore solvent that has a different smell?

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"is there a preferred way to clean or lube the threads to make them a little more friendly??????"

Jim Galli's method: Chase the threads with a sharp #2 pencil, the point will clean out the muck and the graphite works well as a dry lube, no smell.

[E. von Hoegh]

what EvH said.

as for teh hoppes.....i used that on a lens a long time ago....now it smells like hoppe 9....i am getting tired of that smell......

OT is there another bore solvent that has a different smell?

They all seem to have a nasty smell. The military surplus stuff in the little oval tins has a nasty carbolic/ammonia smell, but if you use ammo with corrosive primers, it's the best. There's one from Australia, Sweet's 7.62 solvent I think it's called, that also has a strong ammonia smell. Outer's, if it's still available, smells a bit like Hoppe's.

There's a cleaner/lubricant called Break Free that doesn't have much aroma, probably worth a try.