Lubricant on filter threads

<p>I've seen a couple of YouTube videos recommending regular lubrication of filter threads so filters don't get stuck on lenses. Does anyone here do that to their lenses/filters? What do you use to lubricate threads? WD-40, vaseline, etc...? Thanks</p>

<p>Rub filter thread with a Pencil (graphite) ....I would not recommend "WD-40, vaseline"</p>

<p>Quite a few links out there suggesting graphite, as Anthony suggested.<br />WD-40, vaseline or anything oily is gonna attract more dust and sand. Those that live near the beach know how hard it is to keep sand off their gear. If I drop my lens cap in the sand, I can usually blow the sand off. If I miss some particles, I'm guessing the oily lubricants would act like a magnet for sand, dust etc... <br /> <br /><br /><br /></p>

I don't but if I did I'd use a dry Teflon lubricant.

<p>Plain candle wax is another option.</p>

<p>I do not put anything on filter threads. If I would put something to filter threads to reduce friction, I would apply talcum powder with fine brush.</p>

<p>Much better to use filters with brass mounts, but, on the basis that any lubricant should not be runny or generate dry particles, l would think the best answer would be a very small amount of graphite grease. Cork grease as used by clarinet and saxophone players would be quite good, too.</p>

<p>I think to use anything know as "lubricant" is a bad idea. They will always run out, either in powder or fluid form, with the risk of contaminating other delicate parts.</p>

<p>Never had a stuck filter, never lubricated the threads. Brass rings (e.g. B+W) are apparently less prone to this, but can't say I've had a problem with aluminium. Be careful not to over-tighten.</p>

<p>I have a couple of lenses which I purchased used which had dented filter rings, which I worked back into round, but still the filters were sometimes a little tough to mount and dismount. I very lightly put a touch of white grease on one spot and rubbed it off...and the filters mounted and dismounted much more smoothly.</p>

<p>I use a silicone spray. It works well, have had no problems.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>I've never used anything and rarely had a stuck filter, even with cheap filters. Maybe a couple times in 40 years? A rubber band or rubber grip like the bottom of a mousepad has always been adequate to get them off. I'm in the school of any kind of lubricant I might use is more likely to cause more problems than it solves.</p>

<p>I've never used anything, never any problems. As far as potential lubricant: a bit of nose oil?</p>

<p>As previously suggested graphite using a "carpenter's pencil" which is relatively soft and a good size -:)</p>

 

This is a true too-much-time-on-our-hands topic. ;-)<br>Where is the problem that is desparate for a solution?<br>It really doesn't matter whether you lubricate a filter mount or not, nor if you do what you use to lubricate a filter mount.

<p>Get a dental dam. a small piece of rubbery material that weighs essentially nothing. It will enable you to release stuck filters without putting something gooey on the threads.</p>

 

<p>+1 to candle wax. Non-liquid and therefore doesn't run or creep (unless you let your lenses/filters get ridiculously hot!). Just rub the filter thread into the side of a candle, blow off any stray flakes and then screw the filter onto a lens and work it a little to smear the wax evenly.</p>

<p>WD-40 or Vaseline? No, no, no, no, noooooo! And anyone who's never had a stuck filter is extremely lucky, especially if you use reversible hoods that screw into the front filter thread. FWIW: It's not usually the threads as such that stick, but the flat mating faces of lens and filter. So a thin PTFE or polythene washer would work, but it'd be a devil to cut and fit.</p>

<p>Candle wax is also excellent for lubricating woodsaws and drawer runners BTW.</p>

<p>I'd use a soft pencil for lube..<br>

WD-40 is NOT a lubricating oil! NOT a rust/penetrating oil either..<br />It is an anti-rust oil made for Minuteman Missiles..<br>

3in1 is all of the above..<br>

I use Armor All on a rag to clean my cameras and lens, works wonders on old film cameras..<br>

</p>

 

<p>I personally would be very hesitant to use any kind of lubricant on the filter threads. But since some of my AI/AIS lenses date to the early 80's the beginning of each month I take them all out, run the focus from minimum to infinity several times, cycle the aperture ring and loosen and tighten the filters. It is just good preventive maintenance, which you should perform on anything mechanical. In all my years of using those lenses, and all have Hoya HMC UV (0) filters on them except my 300mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 AIS which use the 39mm drop in filters.</p>

<p>I learned a neat trick a couple weeks ago if you have a filter stuck on a lens, especially polarizing filter. Just place a rubber band around the filter and twist with minimal pressure on the filter. It worked for me. </p>

Re tricks: Not that i have had many opportunity to do so over more years than i would like to admit to, but i never encountered a filter that wouldn't budge when pressed against the (rubber) sole of my shoes while twisting the lens.<br>Though that will indeed not work with a polarizer.<br>As you will all know, the thing is that when you grip a filter firmly (as you would when it is stuck), you deform it slightly, but enough to make it stick even more. A grip evenly along the entire rim will minimize that. A band all around the filter, or the filter pressed against a grippy surface, will do the trick.<br><br>And all those years i never thought it necessary to lubricate a filter thread. On the contrary, i have been struggling with loose filters now and again.<br>I still think this is a solution looking for a problem.

<p>I hope you haven't stepped in anything (you know what) before pressing the filter rim against the sole of your shoe!</p>

:-)