Oil on the aperture blades in AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2

There was so much oil on the aperture blades in this lens.
Use 99% Isopropylalcohol to clean the blades and the 2 ring's that hold the blades in places.

[@richardau7580]

Thanks so very much for the video. I had paid a camera service guy to clean my lens aperture it twice and I bet he didn’t disassemble the aperture.. You inspired me to fix it a third time. I did it properly. I also found that mounting the spring before inserting the aperture unit back into the lens did the trick. The spring keeps the blades under tension when the unit is upside down. The spring idea came after two attempts.. best wishes to you!

[@TXP220]

Hi, i have to thank you so much for this video. The 35mm f/2 AFD is one of my main travel and work lenses and I have had no end of trouble with them with this particular issue. Over the last 20+ years, I have sent over half a dozen of these lenses to have this issue fixed, but this just happened to me while in the field (in a small village in Malaysia) and I came across your video. I managed to fix the really sticky blades with one small screwdriver, tweezers and an alcohol swab from a first aid kit. Fantastic! Thank you!!!

[@gsimmans]

your patience and attention to detail is almost unbelievable. thank you for sharing.

[@terrysmith1498]

Thank you for this tutorial. My 35mm F2 has oil on the blades and I fixed it without too much fanfare. However when I tried to put the blade assembly back into the lens body, the blades kept falling out. I decided to hook up the spring before inserting so it had some tension to hold everything in place. It worked. Thank you so much.

[@conorryan5993]

Thank you for the fantastic tutorials! I cleaned oil off the aperture blades in my nikkor 85mm today thanks to your guidance.

[@kevinnewsome5767]

Another amazingly detailed video that helps nontechnical guys like me being new life into the old Prime lens collection

[@mikeno62]

Thanks Kevin :-)

[@DenialSefer]

Followed the guidelines and worked like a charm, cleaned the inside of the lens en removed oil from diaphragm in about an hour!

[@Yul636]

Thanks a lot. Used your instruction to return to life my lens, that collected dust in the drawer for several years

[@Megusta1]

I cleaned the diaphragm of the nikkor 50mm 1.4 D according to your instructions. Thanks.

[@JoseCalvoPhotography]

Thank you very much! Superb tutorial. I followed you step by step and was able to fix my lens. Excellent!

[@arnaldostudio]

Thank you for the great video. Fixed my lens in no time! :)

[@cameronwheatley7065]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[@ryanprosser2502]

Thanks very much for this. Worked a charm and saved me £100!

[@garfishsmith9037]

thanks mate , I just did mine by following your instructions.

[@RoyceMeredith]

Worked perfectly. Thank you for the information!

[@TomFindahl]

Thanks, Kenneth - king of how to do videos!

[@Alexander84001]

Thank you for best tutorial👍

[@jarabselner3516]

Thank you for posting this.

[@bradl2636]

Thanks for posting 👍

[@jamiepopplewell4595]

Used this guide for the Nikkor 35mm f2D. Absolutely fantastic and clear; it worked perfectly! Took me about 1 hour 15 mins, but I'm sure I'll be quicker now that I'm more confident (this was my first time taking apart a lens). Thank you so much- saved me a lot of money :) Does anyone know how long this fix tends to last with moderate use of the lens?

[@mikeno62]

Thanks Jamie, I'm happy to know that. If it's the first time you disassemble a lens you are in good time :-), this lens is a more "easy" lens to work with. If you try to go in to other lenses of the same brand, you will discover that they are different made!. Also when you thinking of re-grease a lens focus helicoids, then it's very important to remember to set small marks before disassemble the focus helicoids, and also where the helicoids threads gets separate!, simply because, even if you could find a repair manual for a lens, it will not tell you what helicoid thread is the correct one, that's why it is so important to also measure how long or short the lens focus system is before disassemble, it's your only "backup". Don't forget to take a lot of pictures during the process. Good luck with your work :-)

[@jamiepopplewell4595]

I’ve now used this video a further 2 times since this comment (the markings come in very handy!) Thank you again for this amazing resource!

[@mr.doublejeans2411]

Hej Kenneth! Thank you for the wonderful and informative videos! I was wondering if you knew if the procedure is somewhat similar in the 35mm 2.0 AI version?

[@laudfarter1957]

Thank you! Just fixed my 35/2!

[@Butterfly07949]

I wonder where the actual oil originates from? Have been looking to clean the aperture blades on my newly acquired Soligor 200mm f2.8

[@mingshan4135]

that's the point

[@repcamgdl]

Thank You!!

[@mckind2075]

hey Kenneth, precise and to the point, as usual. I have a lens like this which fell. the inner (plastic) helicoid skipped the thread and is now bent and stuck. I tried with spray lubricant and a rubber plug inside it to turn it out, but nope. Any suggestion? thanks in advance!

[@mikeno62]

It look's like the metal helicoid is bend a little so the focus is stiff, you could try with 2 fingers to gently push on the metal helicoid, and in that way free the inner helicoid, and hopefully get the inner part out (take good care of the thin flex cable).

[@mckind2075]

​@@mikeno62 thanks for the quick answer Kenneth, and for the tip. I tried with gentle push and tried with not-so-gentle push... nothing. At the end I was afraid to mess up with the metal helicoid, so I took the rather drastic decision to cut the plastic one. After a vertical cut through-and-through, I could remove it and rebuild the cut part with epoxy, body and threads. It worked quite well, now the lens is back to its glory.

[@subrotomitra]

Thank you very much..excellent. Q: Where does this oil come from? and how does it get on the blades? How to prevent?

[@mikeno62]

Where does the oil come from? Well, the only place it can come from, is the focus system, if you look how old this lens is, it has probably been in a warm summer many times and in cold temperatures too. These differences in temperature will over time, get the oil part in the grease, that is on the focus helicoids to separate, so the oil part will very slowly begin to move into the aperture system, and then, the sometimes very, very sticky oil will be on the aperture blades and make the working very slowly. The only solution to get rid of that problem, is to fully disassemble and clean the aperture assembly and the blades, I use Isopropylalcohol 99% to fix the problem. To prevent that from happen very soon again, the only solution is to fully disassemble the focus helicoids and clean them with petroleum or lighter fluid. Then re-grease the helicoids with new helicoid grease, it could be something like the #10 from Japan Hobby Tool, or another very light instrument grease. Here are some link's to different repair tool's and lubricating stuff: Flex-I-File: Ultra Fine Needle Piont Scriber #6114 www.flex-i-file.com www.alphaabrasives.com Dental instruments are: Hollenback Carver “plastic instrument” (a.k.a. stellite) Wall’s carver. "ORBIT" HEPA Blower: photosol.com/products/orbit-hepa-blower/ You can buy it here: www.adorama.com/cpkhjdb.html "Liqui-Moly" LM 50 Litho HT: www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-Lm-Litho-400g/dp/B004FPSTAE "Liqui-Moly" LM47 MoS2 grease with Molybdenum disulfide: products.liqui-moly.com/lm-47-long-life-grease-mos2-1.html or on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-3510-Langzeitfett-MoS2/dp/B00295CR0U?th=1 Contact glue: www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/fix/contact-adhesives.html Japan Hobby Tool rubber cone: www.amazon.com/Japan-Vacuum-Camera-Opener-Repair/dp/B0013HFYKK/ref=pd_sbs_469_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0013HFYKK&pd_rd_r=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C&pd_rd_w=5H58m&pd_rd_wg=DBny2&psc=1&refRID=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C 18 different size rubber repair tool's: www.amazon.com/Sizes-Lens-Filter-Wrench-Rubber/dp/B00988D1BK/ref=pd_sbs_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00988D1BK&pd_rd_r=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C&pd_rd_w=5H58m&pd_rd_wg=DBny2&psc=1&refRID=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C You can also buy this set. Lens Repair Set with pointed, flat, half flat tips: www.amazon.com/dp/B00QRPWCN0/ref=psdc_3347581_t1_B00J5F6O92 JIS cross head screw driver's: www.amazon.com/Moody-Tools-58-0219-Chromium-Screwdriver/dp/B004PGO1T6/ref=pd_sim_421_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B004PGO1T6&pd_rd_r=775KBDR03D8PMMEZWKFJ&pd_rd_w=ti7yC&pd_rd_wg=s2a40&psc=1&refRID=775KBDR03D8PMMEZWKFJ Or this set, that is the set I use: eustore.ifixit.com/en/Tools/Drivers-Wrenches/JIS-Driver-Set.html?Fixit&Referral& Lens cleaning wipes (PEC-PAD): www.amazon.com/dp/B0161VIZZ8/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0161VIZZ8&pd_rd_wg=ZTxxY&pd_rd_r=RNY8S6Q1V5K18K3F61VZ&pd_rd_w=2c1Oy Thin Cotton Buds x 200 you can buy them here: www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?lan=uk&ShopSel=y&scrn=1920&wndw=1920&sec=17&sub=70&pid=2469 DSLRKIT Pro Lens Vise Tool Repair Filter Ring Ajustment Steel 27mm to 130mm: www.amazon.com/DSLRKIT-Repair-Filter-Ajustment-Steel/dp/B00SYBYTZO Japan Hobby Tool Helical Grease Made in Japan: www.amazon.com/Japan-Hobby-Herical-grease-JHT9110/dp/B0014ZU03M Loctite 222 50ml Threadlocker www.amazon.com/Henkel-Loctite-Threadlocker-Super-Screw/dp/B013SDAWQC

[@christophecasse1006]

Hello - nice job. I have the same lens and same problem. Do you offer repair services for others ? Thank you

[@mikeno62]

Thanks Christophe, but sorry but I do not have a repair service.

[@diegolabrador]

Great video, thanks! I have exactly the same problem with my 50mm Can you tell me if is the same way for the AF 50mm 1.4 D ?

[@mikeno62]

It's almost the same in the 50mm 1:1.4 D so here you can see how it's done in another of my film's: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpTZf4qradBgjsU

[@loricastro3772]

Nice video! Thans for sharing ... but, how that blades get oiled?

[@mikeno62]

The oil come from the focus system, it happen in many different lens of different brand.

[@Frperilla]

@mikeno62 Can you provide a written list of all tools I would need to complete this? Please and thank you.

[@mikeno62]

Here are some link's to different repair tool's: Japan Hobby Tool rubber cone: www.amazon.com/Japan-Vacuum-Camera-Opener-Repair/dp/B0013HFYKK/ref=pd_sbs_469_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0013HFYKK&pd_rd_r=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C&pd_rd_w=5H58m&pd_rd_wg=DBny2&psc=1&refRID=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C 18 different size rubber repair tool's: www.amazon.com/Sizes-Lens-Filter-Wrench-Rubber/dp/B00988D1BK/ref=pd_sbs_469_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00988D1BK&pd_rd_r=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C&pd_rd_w=5H58m&pd_rd_wg=DBny2&psc=1&refRID=RKSF5A4YKT9GV3E1382C Divider Caliper Wing Compass: www.amazon.co.uk/Divider-Caliper-Compass-Marking-Machinist/dp/B015CN9A8M You can also buy this set. Lens Repair Set with pointed, flat, half flat tips: www.amazon.com/dp/B00QRPWCN0/ref=psdc_3347581_t1_B00J5F6O92 JIS cross head screw driver's: www.amazon.com/Moody-Tools-58-0219-Chromium-Screwdriver/dp/B004PGO1T6/ref=pd_sim_421_6?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B004PGO1T6&pd_rd_r=775KBDR03D8PMMEZWKFJ&pd_rd_w=ti7yC&pd_rd_wg=s2a40&psc=1&refRID=775KBDR03D8PMMEZWKFJ Or this set, that is the set I use: eustore.ifixit.com/en/Tools/Drivers-Wrenches/JIS-Driver-Set.html?Fixit&Referral& Lens cleaning wipes (PEC-PAD): www.amazon.com/dp/B0161VIZZ8/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B0161VIZZ8&pd_rd_wg=ZTxxY&pd_rd_r=RNY8S6Q1V5K18K3F61VZ&pd_rd_w=2c1Oy You will also need some Isopropylalcohol 99% or 90% to clean the blades and the aperture assembly

[@Frperilla]

@@mikeno62 many many thanks. You rule. Thank you.

[@raymondlim25]

Do he have to re-lubricate it somehow?

[@mikeno62]

No, there should NOT be any oil in the aperture system or on the blades. Everything should run dry! Cheers Kenneth

[@raymondlim25]

So where

[@raymondlim25]

So where did all that oil came from?

[@mikeno62]

The oil will over time come's from the focus helicoid's and then find it's way into the aperture mechanism and of course the aperture blades, and then, the aperture system with the blades need's to be disassembled, and cleaned with 99% Isopropylalcohol.