Helios 40-2 element cleaning & focus regreasing

[abe in space]

All right, so I've been calling around all day to different camera repair places in my area, nearly all of which claim they can repair "all brands." Not one so far has even heard of Helios or KMZ, let alone this lens. None has even seemed to know what I mean when I say "M42" or "Pentax screwmount," though they haven't specifically said on that account. Several have curtly said "no, we won't work on that," without even offering to look at it. Not a single one demonstrated a modicum of politeness, customer service, an interest in the job, let alone anything resembling competence. Having heard some really good stories on the net of various camera shops and repair places, I'm beginning to assume that my suspicions were correct and Atlanta just sucks at this like it sucks at most other things.

That out of the way, I still need to have my Helios-40-2's focusing mechanism regressed, and I would like to get the glass elements & aperture blades cleaned, and have some high-viscosity grease applied to the aperture mechanism for some resistance as well, but those concerns are secondary to the focus mechanism. If anyone knows of a DEFINITELY competent technician in Atlanta, who's familiar with this lens, I'd be really grateful to hear about it. If not, can anyone provide me with a set of newb-friendly instructions for disassembly & reassembly, along with suggestions for effective, affordable grease brands I can get in the US? I've found a couple of relevant tutorials, one in Russian and one in French, but neither instructs for reassembly, or even how to properly reseat the helicoids so I maintain the proper focus range.

[abe in space]

Seriously? As popular as this lens is, NO ONE at this forum, in a whole week, has anything to say?

[Attila]

Seems nobody knows ... quite expensive lens to ruin it with DIY job, try keh.com they have repair service or send it my repair man to Hungary.

[ZoneV]

I have done a bit of repair on my Helios 40-1 copy.
But I couldn´t even remember what I have repaired - after the birth of my second child two weeks ago.
If I remember right I have the helicoid cleaned and regreased - but I have to look into my image folder, probably I have made some images.

[themoleman342]

If you found that russian tutorial already, that's sadly the best you'll find. The tricky part about the repair is the entire focusing block unscrews from the optical portion. It feels very wrong to be forcefully turning at both ends of the lens in opposite directions but unfortunately that's the way it's constructed.

As for your concerns about re-seating the threads correctly: the helicoid works in the same way as any other. You just have to mark the disassembly point.

I've done both the Helios 40 and 40-2. The 40 was a mess and I had to deal with someone's botched repair-job. I essentially received a box of parts and had to make a lens out of it. I say this only to show that it's a fairly intuitive job if one is experienced in classic lens repair.

~Marc