Tragedy: Salt Water Dunked M3 -- who can fix?

julianphotoart

julianphotoart

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A mini-tragedy happened. My M3 got dunked into the Pacific Ocean. It wasn't left swimming for its life but it did go underwater in the surf (which means some sand too).

So, who should this go to to get cleaned out and working smoothly? I'm currently in Southern California but I'll mail it wherever it has to go, preferrably in North America.

Julian
 
I don't know who to send it to, but I would be damned sure to get it to somebody fast...preferably in your area. Cameraquest?

Others may correct me, but if your camera was totally submerged in saltwater, then you may really want to wash the thing very thoroughly in fresh water, just to get the salt corrosion from really doing damage.

I'm not the expert in these things, but it seems to me you won't do any additional damage by washing it thoroughly with fresh water, as long as you dry it well. The main thing is to get that salt off!

My sympathies!

One of my favorite photographers, Jeanloup Sieff once dropped his favorite M3 in the the English Channel. Even though he fished it out immediately, the camera was ruined and became a paperweight...I don't mean to scare you of course.
 
bobofish said:
I don't know who to send it to, but I would be damned sure to get it to somebody fast...preferably in your area. Cameraquest?

Others may correct me, but if your camera was totally submerged in saltwater, then you may really want to wash the thing very thoroughly in fresh water, just to get the salt corrosion from really doing damage.

I'm not the expert in these things, but it seems to me you won't do any additional damage by washing it thoroughly with fresh water, as long as you dry it well. The main thing is to get that salt off!

My sympathies!

One of my favorite photographers, Jeanloup Sieff once dropped his favorite M3 in the the English Channel. Even though he fished it out immediately, the camera was ruined and became a paperweight...I don't mean to scare you of course.
Click to expand...

I agree. I've heard that as well. I would say you need to soak it in fresh water, flushing it thoroughly, between soakings until you can get it in for service. Salt water is a killer.

You have my sympathies and best wishes. I hope it all works out.


:angel:
 
Repairers

Repairers

Check nemeng.com for a list of repairers. DAG, Sherry, etc. always come to mind.

The good thing is that M3 is totally mechanical, so there's no electronics to be ruined forever.

julianphotoart said:
A mini-tragedy happened. My M3 got dunked into the Pacific Ocean. It wasn't left swimming for its life but it did go underwater in the surf (which means some sand too).

So, who should this go to to get cleaned out and working smoothly? I'm currently in Southern California but I'll mail it wherever it has to go, preferrably in North America.

Julian
Click to expand...
 
Urgently, a really good flush with fresh water, then get it completely submerged into a bath of methylated spirits or denatured alcohol (I don't know what they call it in the US - maybe methanol). The fresh water is to remove as much of the salt as possible, then the methylated spirits will absorb the water. I'd keep it submerged in the meths as long as possible, until you have a repairer lined up who can work on it immediately.
 

Doesnt the M3 have a clothe shutter? Another considiration might be a leather covering if it has one, you dont want to be soaking leather in water. I dont have that camera but I can concur that saltwater is a bad deal. Outside of those issues and unless someone tells you otherwise the best way to get salt off anything is just taking it apart, put it in a bucket and turn on the water and let it go "Thats the way I clean salt water fly fishing reels". After a period of time flush sevral times with bottled water. After that hit it with air but not normal compressed air, Use air from a scuba tank or a oxygen bottle should be ok. Salt and Fungus are my worst nightmare. Good Luck and tell us what you end up doing.
 
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Won't alcohol shred the shutter and vulcanite?

I agree though that it will be important to get the camera dry again, after you've flushed it...it is made of brass and such things after all. The bright side of brass on the other hand is that it won't really corrode, so much as patina.

Now anybody with an M6 with a magnesium top plate probablly has nightmares of dropping their camera in the salt water!

By the way, I think you mean "ethyl alcohol." Methanol is what they burn in race cars.
 
The important thing first up is to arrest the corrosion that started as soon as air hit the surfaces that were wet by salt water. I'm not sure about the effect of alcohol on the shutter curtain and the vulcanite, but they can be replaced. You need to immediately arrest the corrosion that will weld all the small metal parts into a single fused blob. By washing the mechanisms with fresh water that should remove the salt. Following that a bath in alcohol will remove the water. Pure alcohol will dry itself very quickly and not leave much residue. It will probably remove all the lubricants too. Maybe, and it's a big maybe, this procedure might allow the camera to be saved, but nothing will save it if corrosion sets in. Don't be in a hurry to get the camera dry - that's when the corrosions starts in ernest. Give it a really good flush, then into the alcohol bath. Keep it in the alcohol until an expert is ready to disassemble the camera down to component parts for a complete clean and rebuild. Sorry to sound pessimistic, but I've seen what salt water does to delicate mechanisms. Talk to a dive shop about what happens to Nikonos cameras when the seals fail.

Using this approach I've even managed to save electronic devices (a mobile phone and a car-alarm remote control) that took a swim. The car-alarm remote spent the whole night on the beach with the waves washing over it - it is still working to this day, 12 months later! With electronics remember to remove the batteries asap.
 
Hmm, if it was anything but a camera, I'd soak it in a light weight oil like WD-40 after the fresh water bath. The oil will cling to the metal and float the water off the surfaces. I still might do it if I could remove the rangefinder optics and presume the shutter curtain is a lost cause anyway. I could then remove the oil with an alcohol bath. BTW, methanol is commonly used for cleaning parts; ethanol is the stuff you drink.
 
That must be a long term affect; I use it on aluminum all the time and have never had a problem but it will attack some polymers. A standard high vac parts bath will be acetone, methanol, and water followed by baking.
Pure ethanol would be difficult for a consumer to find but isn't denatured alcohol simply ethanol with a little methanol thrown in to make it toxic?
 
I wouldn't worry about any leather or vulcanite being in fresh water. First, that is the least of your worries. Second, leather shouldn't be damaged too badly, if at all, with an immediate and thorough air drying. I don't think direct sunlight would be helpful, however.
 
I would also say move back to Toronto away from the sea...

Goodluck that sounds like it could be a tragidty.. I hope not ...
Good luck again
 
Julian, it must have hurt to submerge your camera into the (fresh) water!

I'd just keep it in the water (refreshing it every few hours). Get it to a repairer as fast as you can.
 
Use distilled water ... at least that's what they told me years ago when my Yashica RF suffered a similar fate in the Atlantic (Peggy's Cove). I'd rinsed it with tap water but apparently distilled is much better. My camera didn't survive.

Peter
 
greyhoundman said:
As alcohol is hydroscopic. You could take a tupperware container just large enough to hold the camera, and then pour in a bottle of Everclear.
It is as pure an alcohol as you can buy over the counter.
The alcohol will combine with the water and be easy to remove by the repair guy.
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Tastes better too, I guess. I remember the liquor stores outside of Ft Bragg selling that some 40 odd years ago. I am told there were some strange side effects. I guess it is better left for camera cleaning. 🙄
 
Holy cow, what a bunch of mad scientists 🙄 Dunk it in a bucket of fresh water, dump the water and refill a few times, then seal it in a bag or container of fresh water and then overnight it to DAG with a big note on the outside of the shipping box DO NOT ALLOW TO FREEZE . If it can be salvaged, it will be.
 
Distilled Water, alcohol and drying

Distilled Water, alcohol and drying

For all practical purposes, distilled water has the same reactivity as tap water. Distilled water does not contain salts (CaCl2, etc.) and would be better than tap water to rinse this camera. Most grocery stores sell bottled water with low or no salt content. This would be good substitute for distilled water.

I second everything G-Man said about methanol. It is a nasty chemical. I would rather use Everclear. Both alcohols will burn, so no open flames, and use a well-ventillated space.

If you could find some dessicant (auto supply store?) then you could take the camera out of the water and carefully dry it with a heat gun (barely warm air only). Then you could place the camera in a sealed container with the dessicant. The dessicant will absorb all the water out of the camera. This would avoid any complications fron using alcohol. Dessicant can be recycled by heating it in an oven. So you could repeat this process several times.

Good luck!

Willie
 
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