Sorry, forgot about the mirror. Very, Very, Very gently with good lens cleaner (be sure it doesn't say "not for mirrors") and lots of Q-Tips. Wet it and gently clean, only the weight of the swab for pressure. Then use one swab after another with NO pressure at all until dry. If it streaks a little just use your breath and several more swabs. Gentle, Patient and not after several cups of coffee! ;-) The coating is on the TOP side of the mirror, so you are cleaning the coating itself, not glass. Don't use canned air on the mirror, a little accidental squirt of the propellent can damage the coating.
Don > -----Original Message----- > From: Andrew Bingham [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 7:14 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Hello List - MX Mirror Foam / Mirror & Focusing Screen > Cleaning. > > > Well, first I'd like to say hello to everyone here on the list! I'm > in my third month as a Pentax user, and I've got a few questions ;) > > So far I've accumulated a few pieces of Penatx gear (enough to get a > good start in photography, anyway): > > Pentax P30t body & 35-80mm f/4-5.6 lens - $62 shipped (excellent > condition) > Pentax 50mm f/2, Focal 28mm f/2.8, Focal 80-200 f/4.5 lenses - $36 > shipped (good-excellent condition) > Pentax AF200T flash - $30 shipped (like new, with manual and > leather pouch!) > Pentax MX - $50 > > The P30t, lenses, and flash are all in good shape, although I don't > know about the quality of the Focal zoom (seems a little soft at > times) it's good for me to start with. My plan is to get a good bag > to put all this stuff in, a decent tripod, and milk if for all it's > worth until I am technically proficient and know what I want in a new > camera. > > The MX needs to have the mirror foam replaced, and there are a few > bits of the foam already collected on the mirror surface. Also, there > is a dark smudge on the focusing screen when looking through the > viewfinder - nothing major, but a little bit annoying. Looking at the > screen itself it looks like someone might have tried to clean it and > damaged it, or maybe smudged it with some kind of cleaner. Whats the > best do it yourself way to replace that little piece of foam? How to > safely clean the mirror/focusing screen? > > The shutter speeds and meter seem fine, mechanically the camera is in > excellent condition, so a full CLA seems a little overboard. Also, > its got a couple small dents on the bottom from someone overzealously > screwing in a tripod, and the hot shoe sits a little crooked from a > small dent (hence the price). My plan was to use the MX for wide > field astrophotography during the winter, so I didn't need a 100% > perfect specimine, and I would rather give a slighlty worn camera a > good home ;) > > Thanks in advance for your suggestions, > > -Andrew >
