Lubricate Elmar to help collapse?

[goamules]

Hi, just got a 50/3.5 Elmar that is very nice. It's tight when collapsing, which I assumed to be the Leica quality and tolerances. But compared to a cheap Fed collapsable, it's really tight. The Fed is looser, and no scratches. I don't want to scratch the bright chrome barrel on this Leica. Is/was there a felt or leather gasket inside to protect from metal on metal? If not, do you lube the chrome tube, where it goes into the fixture?

Thanks, I'm going to be using this a lot, but don't want to scratch or wear out the barrel opening and closing it.

 

[Landshark]

There is a velvet/felt liner in the lens so no lube is good lube.
You might try waxing the barrel with car or floor wax. I've used canning wax just rubbed on for some surfaces and it's been enough.
Rub a bit on & rub it with a soft rag 'til you can't see it & that should improve it quite a bit.

 

[250swb]

I would have thought that wax would compress the nap of the felt and damage it. It is the nap (the fluffy nature of the felt) that makes the barrel open and collapse smoothly.

When through wear the felt does eventually loose its natural nap over the years this is when it starts to feel tight and not very smooth. It sounds like it needs replacing which should be a simple job for a technician.

Steve

 

[goamules]

Thanks both, I'll look into it. It sure is a nice lens, I just compared it to an Industar-10, and the Elmar is much nicer in color and sharpness.

 

[elmer3.5]

Hi, don´t lub the tube, as someone said it has some felt linning and it will expand.
Try to clean it up from dust and other things.
Don´t wash the felt either it won´t fit it´s housing, the tolerances are quite small.

bye

 

[gb hill]

My elmar has nice brass showing on the barrell. It's a user so I don't care. It takes nice photo's just like a shinny one. As far as cleaning, don't put anything on it, just use it. For some reason I noticed in the colder weather it has got a bit stiffer to collapse. Enjoy your lens, the elmar is a classic.🙂

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

The felt could have come loose and twisted or folded and that might cause the problem.

Regards, David