peterm1
Veteran
I very much like the stuff in the picture. It has cotton wadding soaked in a mild metal polish (it smells like and most probably is "Brasso" as its known in Australia) . It is usually sold in auto parts stores. I have used it a number of times to clean up the chrome on various lenses and it is good for getting rid of mild discoloration or oxidization. If something stronger or more robust is needed when there is more corrosion,the same stores will usually have tubes of chrome polish paste designed for car chrome - which works also but the cotton wadding solution is easier to handle and there is less chance of getting paste residue in places it should not go.
If you own a dremel tool or similar you can also use the little polishing buffers made from compressed felt and a little paste polish to clean stubborn spots. But dremel tools rotate at an ungodly speed so you need to be careful not to overdo it.
miloss
Member
Thanks Peter, I was looking at Nevr-Dull just yesterday. I do have a Dremel, and don't intend on using it for the very reason you mentioned - speed of rotation. Do you mean I just grab a wad of Nevr_Dull and rub the lens barrel by hand? And have you got a chance to look at the image I posted - Is my lens a nickel one or a chrome?
peterm1
Veteran
Miloss HI. I can't really tell from the small photo you posted if it is chrome or nickel. The folks over at https://www.l-camera-forum.com/ would have a better idea. As I understand it the earlier (and probably less common ) ones are nickel but am not sure of details as I have not really studied it. They may be able to tell from the serial number as much as anything else. In any event this page ( https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leic...ial_Number_Links_for_Leica_Cameras_and_Lenses ) will give you an idea of manufacture date and that may help you make further inquiries. I suspect all lenses made after a certain date will be chrome.
This thread gives some info and discussion of the issue. https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-82895.html
But you might also wish to google this search term "Elmar lens which ones nickel"
As to the Nevr Dull, yes just pull off a bit of wadding and give the chrome / nickel a rub. it sometimes takes quite some time to remove old tarnish so you may not always get immediate results. I last used some on an old chrome and black 135mm f3.5 lens that was looking very dull and distressed. It had a lot of chrome but after perhaps a half an hour to an hour of careful rubbing the chrome looked much less tarnished. It did not manage to clean all spots off but got better than 95% off. If you need to get into corners and tight spots (such as knurling of a focus ring etc) , try wrapping a bit of wadding around the end of a match stick or better yet as it is more durable, a disposable bamboo skewer of the sort used for shaslicks. See below:
I also used it to polish the VERY tarnished and dull aluminium body of an old 135mm f4 Triotar which I overhauled and serviced.
And I tidied this up using the same stuff:
This thread gives some info and discussion of the issue. https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-82895.html
But you might also wish to google this search term "Elmar lens which ones nickel"
As to the Nevr Dull, yes just pull off a bit of wadding and give the chrome / nickel a rub. it sometimes takes quite some time to remove old tarnish so you may not always get immediate results. I last used some on an old chrome and black 135mm f3.5 lens that was looking very dull and distressed. It had a lot of chrome but after perhaps a half an hour to an hour of careful rubbing the chrome looked much less tarnished. It did not manage to clean all spots off but got better than 95% off. If you need to get into corners and tight spots (such as knurling of a focus ring etc) , try wrapping a bit of wadding around the end of a match stick or better yet as it is more durable, a disposable bamboo skewer of the sort used for shaslicks. See below:
I also used it to polish the VERY tarnished and dull aluminium body of an old 135mm f4 Triotar which I overhauled and serviced.
And I tidied this up using the same stuff:
miloss
Member
peterm1
Veteran
To me it looks a little like nickel but to be honest I still cannot tell. It should be more obvious in real life as nickel looks different to chrome. Perhaps if you compare it to another chrome lens, if you have access to one, it may help. Otherwise see what the other forum has to say including about its manufacture date as derived from the serial number (from memory the SN should be in quite tiny numerals on the face of the inner black ring and hence may be hard to see unless you know what to look for).
PS let us know what you find out and how you go with disassembly.