Jupiter 37A foam disintegrated

[jessebear]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and finally received my first MF lens today from eBay. While packaged well, it unfortunately did not make the journey unscathed. It looks like the old foam in the lens case disintegrated during shipping and has coated both the lens and body.

I have been careful not to turn any rings as I'm worried I will wind up with foam bits deeper into the lens. Do you have any advice on how to properly clean this? The foam will not shake or be dusted off - it's very sticky and gummy.

The seller offered a return/refund but I'd rather keep the lens if I can verify it isn't damaged. Any help you could give would be very much appreciated!

[eddieitman]

Try an air blower, or compressed air, ask a Garage that may have a line compressor if they can blow it out

[Sciolist]

1. A desk stand magnifier.

2. A pair of tweezers.

3. Cotton buds.

4. White spirit, or hot soapy water.

I'd pick the foam off, rather than wipe it off. Once the foam is picked off, gently wipe any residue with a damp cotton bud. Rotate the bud between your fingers as you wipe, so you don't grind it back in. You'll use a lot of buds. I'd dampen the bud in white spirit, as I know what it will and wont do, but hot soapy water might be better for your first time. If you use hot soapy water, do a second wipe using plain water, as dish soaps often contain salts.

If you're getting into MF lenses, you're likely going to end up purchasing a magnifier and tweezers, so why not now. Get a magnifier with an LED, you'll thank yourself. And when using white spirit indoors, make sure the room has ventilation.

Props on not being tempted to mess around with the lens before removing the junk. If its sticky, none may have gone into the lens. I don't know where you are so I've just used U.K. names for things.

If anyone sees anything wrong with the above, please speak up as I'm not familiar with the lens.

Good luck.

[jessebear]

I just wanted to thank the both of you for your advice on getting this lens cleaned up. It took me a while but I got it sorted and I'm enjoying using the lens.

My previous experience with DSLR cameras is quite limited. I bought an old 1000D body and have been using it with telescopes. I wanted to give daytime photography a shot and figured I'm already used to manually focusing.. why not try manual focus camera lenses? It's saving me money but it's very clear I have a LOT to learn.