Laborious but necessary: Keep tools and workplace clean

When working on photographic equipment, you quickly come into contact with lubricants that can be solid or liquid, partially depending on the aging process.



Helicoids in lenses for example are a good source of lubricants, as are gears in cameras and motor drives.

Here I had washed out the old grease in a Minolta telephoto lens with Zippo lighter fluid.



Particularly treacherous are the remains of decomposing foam, which sticks to everything it comes into contact with as a sticky mass.

So work surfaces and tools quickly become dirty, which also affects the parts you are working on.

Cleaning is therefore not only important after work.

Even if you wear gloves, which saves you having to wash your hands every now and then by changing them, you don't want to come into contact with sticky or greasy tool handles.



To keep tools, parts and the work surface clean, I do the following:

• Clean dirty tools with isopropyl alcohol, which gently dissolves grease and oil.
• Sticky residues of rotted foam can be removed with lighter fluid. Acetone works best, but must be used with caution in the presence of plastic, which it dissolves.
• Where things get greasy, I put paper or tissues underneath.
• I clean my gloves from time to time or change them.
• After work, the silicone work mat goes in the washing machine.

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A word of caution



Solvents such as alcohol, lighter fluid and acetone are volatile, harmful to health and highly flammable.

This should never be forgotten and precautions should be taken, especially if used extensively.

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All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.

Silicone mats are very practical, but I find it difficult to get the dust off them. I mean dust that is in the air and collects on the mats after a few days. If it has to be really clean, I've also used adhesive tape to remove the smallest particles from the surfaces, but I find that quite laborious.

Washing machine is a tip. I wouldn't have thought of that.

tjwspm said:

Silicone mats are very practical, but I find it difficult to get the dust off them. I mean dust that is in the air and collects on the mats after a few days. If it has to be really clean, I've also used adhesive tape to remove the smallest particles from the surfaces, but I find that quite laborious.

Washing machine is a tip. I wouldn't have thought of that.

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After a cycle in the gentle wool and silk program with some detergent, they come out of the washing machine completely dust-free. Only any built-in magnets or magnetic strips can rust or break.

I remove dust from antistatic mats, cameras, table etc. using the Swiffer feather duster:

Andreas Thaler said:

After a cycle in the gentle wool and silk program with some detergent, they come out of the washing machine completely dust-free. Only any built-in magnets or magnetic strips can rust or break.

I remove dust from antistatic mats, cameras, table etc. using the Swiffer feather duster:

Swiffer® Dusters™ Cleaner Starter Kit | Swiffer

Swiffer 180 Dusters TRAP + LOCK dust & allergens*. Made with specially coated fibers that grab onto dust & don't let go.

www.swiffer.com

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Great tip. I've just tried it out. It works great. Now I finally know why we have them in the house

tjwspm said:

Great tip. I've just tried it out. It works great. Now I finally know why we have them in the house

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Because I'm too lazy to vacuum, but also suffer from the dirt ...

Swiffer dusters are awesome.

Keeping the work surface is important, for sure. Keeping it as clutter free as possible during repair work also helps in the cleanliness.

I have 2 sets of tools, one for " dirty " jobs while another set for " clean" jobs(e.g. lens cleaning) . The tools never get mixed.

Besides I do vacuum each time after a job.

kl122002 said:

I have 2 sets of tools, one for " dirty " jobs while another set for " clean" jobs(e.g. lens cleaning) . The tools never get mixed.

Besides I do vacuum each time after a job.

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I'm always a bit scared of vacuuming because of small parts that I haven't missed yet.

I recently dropped a 3 mm long spring on the floor. I only missed it the next day when I went to reassemble the camera.

tjwspm said:

I'm always a bit scared of vacuuming because of small parts that I haven't missed yet.

I recently dropped a 3 mm long spring on the floor. I only missed it the next day when I went to reassemble the camera.

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That's why I do the vacuum. The one I am using is a very small and handy one, which won't take up too much in one time and I can use it to get the small parts from the corners.

I am especially careful to put screws and other small parts in small glass containers with other space-ally related parts.

Dust is an issue of course. No perfect way to deal with it without making one of those laminar flow booths I don't think. I have a large older static dust brush type thing. You shake it around and it makes a crap ton of static that sucks up whatever dust it comes near. I think it was made for cleaning tvs and such back in the day. I also have one of those small Dyson hand vacs that works pretty well for general cleaning of the area I am working in. I've found it helps to run one of those Hepa air cleaners for a while on high as well.

I use an ultrasonic cleaner for older grease on helicals or whatever else I need to get grease off of. Gouge out the grease with a toothbrush or toothpicks if it is stiff then pop it in the ultrasonic cleaner with degreaser. You don't need a fancy one. One that is made for jewelry works fine for most things. Only way to go in my opinion. Saves a boatload of time and you don't end up with grease all over your tools and hands.

I usually take apart things with small parts over a towel. Things don't roll off towels or bounce around. I'll use the bottom of a paper box too sometimes. For storing parts, one of those containers that hobby jewelers use for beads works great and is cheap. Keeps things organized especially if you want to come back later. Otherwise I use masking tape stuck to the table then stick the parts on it in the order I take them off. The one advantage of that is I can use a Sharpie to label the parts, and I can also keep them in order. Sometimes there is a smaller or larger screw and that can mess you up if you forget.

If I drop something on the floor like a little spring, I'll use a string of small rare earth magnets to sweep across the floor to find it. The other option is to use a women's stocking over the attachment for a vacuum cleaner. That is a last resort though. It is better to work in silence when dealing with springs. Those things can really fly sometimes. Sometimes I've been saved by hearing them ping off of something so I know where to look. I've used blue tack on springs before to keep them from flying if I can.

I usually store ball bearings on magnets so they don't get lost.

Thank you for the many practical tips.

I could add a tip for finding small parts. My tiled mosaic floor is a nightmare when small pieces fall off. If it does happen, I hold a strong lamp as flat as possible over the floor to create strong drop shadows. I often find the piece again, for example this tiny 2 mm long M1.4 brass screw (ceiling light only on the left, lamp on the floor on the right):

tjwspm said:

Thank you for the many practical tips.

I could add a tip for finding small parts. My tiled mosaic floor is a nightmare when small pieces fall off. If it does happen, I hold a strong lamp as flat as possible over the floor to create strong drop shadows. I often find the piece again, for example this tiny 2 mm long M1.4 brass screw (ceiling light only on the left, lamp on the floor on the right):

View attachment 386427

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We have a similar hard floor here. Falling metal pieces jump off of it in all directions like fleas.

With a strong bar magnet I sometimes manage to catch something. Or with a small broom and shovel. The remaining things disappear forever in secret corners ...

I am reminded of an incident at a place I used to work. I was in a hallway carrying a small cup with 21 M0.6 screws in it, and I spilled it. This was a crisis because we did not have any spares at the time and without the full set of 21 production stopped. The screws were non magnetic, so I could not just do a simple magnetic sweep of the floor. I roped off the hallway and turned off the lights. Then using the method previously described of a bright light at a raking angle I carefully searched every bit of the hallway and after an hour of so I had found them all. After that I did what I should have done all along and only transported the screws in a sealed container.
Bruce

Individual One said:

I am reminded of an incident at a place I used to work. I was in a hallway carrying a small cup with 21 M0.6 screws in it, and I spilled it. This was a crisis because we did not have any spares at the time and without the full set of 21 production stopped. The screws were non magnetic, so I could not just do a simple magnetic sweep of the floor. I roped off the hallway and turned off the lights. Then using the method previously described of a bright light at a raking angle I carefully searched every bit of the hallway and after an hour of so I had found them all. After that I did what I should have done all along and only transported the screws in a sealed container.
Bruce

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A nightmare with a happy ending!

Individual One said:

I am reminded of an incident at a place I used to work. I was in a hallway carrying a small cup with 21 M0.6 screws in it, and I spilled it. This was a crisis because we did not have any spares at the time and without the full set of 21 production stopped. The screws were non magnetic, so I could not just do a simple magnetic sweep of the floor. I roped off the hallway and turned off the lights. Then using the method previously described of a bright light at a raking angle I carefully searched every bit of the hallway and after an hour of so I had found them all. After that I did what I should have done all along and only transported the screws in a sealed container.
Bruce

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Great! That really is the best method. Thank you for this vivid experience.