Lynx 14 viewfinder cleaning

[stratcat]

I'm cleaning the insides of my Lynx 14, as the viewfinder is a bit dim and the meter needle projection is not working. I found the same issues I've seen mentioned around the internet:

1) the thin diagonal mirrored surface directly below the meter needle assembly is completely oxidized. I'll try the trick I read in the forum of using a thin strip of aluminum foil.

2) the beam splitter in the viewfinder is partially covered with haze.

And my question pertains to this last part. I know cleaning the silvered side of the beam splitter is impossible as it would also clean the silvering.... but is the beam splitter partially silvered on BOTH sides ??

I'm pretty sure the haze is over the side facing the front window, not on the side facing the rear round window (the 'ocular'). Is that side silvered too?

Thanks in advance.

 

[b1bmsgt]

The beam splitter is only silvered on the eyepiece side.
I clean Electro 35's with a 50/50 mix of Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia and a Q-Tip cotton swab with excellent results. The beamsplitters on the Electro's are robust enough to allow this with no degradation of the silvering. Whether the 14 is as tough, I can't tell you. If it was me, I'd probably try it on an edge and see what happens. If you do, use very light pressure and let the liquid do most of the work. After the 50/50, I do a final cleaning with a new Q-Tip and a puff of breath, again very lightly. Works like a charm on Electro's. (I tried the same thing on a Canon QL-17 GIII and the silvering came right off. :bang: )

Good luck!!

Russ

 

[stratcat]

Thanks for the reply! I don't think I'm brave enough to try and clean the side facing the eyepiece. Where I live, these cameras are not exactly easy to find 🙂

But thanks to your confirmation, I can clean the other side with confidence. Thanks again!

 

[Paolo Bonello]

Probably safe not to touch the coated side. I've read elsewhere that although the silvering in the electro beam splitter is quite resistant to cleaning, the minister series is not so resistant. Either way, you'll get a fair improvement doing all the other surfaces and not touching the mirror coating. I did the very same on a recent aquisition of a Lynx 14e. The VF image is good but I must admit the mirror was already quite clean.

 

[stratcat]

Yes, I did clean all the other surfaces and the improvement in the viewfinder brightness was very noticeable. They were not only hazed but also covered with some kind of thin oil that attraced a lot of dust/debris.

I also did the thin strip of aluminum foil below the meter needle and its visibility in the viewfinder is much much better (as in: you can actually see it now). Still very faint in dim light, but very useable outside.

If I find a very cheap/for parts Electro 35 I'll probably snap the beamsplitter out and replace the Lynx's.

Thanks again!

 

[b1bmsgt]

If I find a very cheap/for parts Electro 35 I'll probably snap the beamsplitter out and replace the Lynx's.

You could give it a shot, but I'm pretty sure that the mirror in the Lynx is bigger than the one in the Electro.

Russ