Zenobia lens cleaning

I just bought my first "classic" camera, a Daiichi Zenobia pocket

camera. The unit is in great shape and the front lens element is

quite clear. The rear of the lense has some sort of glazing(?)

I removed the rear of the lens to clean it and realized that the

funk is on the inside of the rear element. The piece has spanner

notches which lead me to believe that it can be disassembled.

Can anyone give any insight into what the internal glazing may be?

Also, is this a job for a pro or could it be done by a do-it-

yourselfer?

Second qustion...on the front of the lense housing at about the 7-

O'clock postion is an external devise that has a smal spring loaded

plunger. Anyone know what it is?

Thanks in advance!

I look forward to going retro and using this little jewel for nature

photography while on wilderness mountainbike journeys.

Ronnie P

The haze could be several things. It can just be that exposure many years worth of pollution have left a film on the inside element. This is the best case. My old Rolleicord had this problemm. I took the lens apart, cleaned the inside, and it was clear again. If your careful. you may be able to take it apart and clean it and see if that takes care of it.

It could also be a coating that has gone bad and turned opaque, or fungus has covered the element. These would not be user fixable, and would probably delegate the camera to display only status as the cost of repair may exceed the value of the camera.

The haze is on the inside of the rear doublet and is a natural result

of exposure of some glass types to moisture in the air. Unfortunately

it can not be just cleaned off, it must be polished off after removing the element from the barrel. Now for the

good news! The surface is flat (at least on the lens that I just fixed), and so a polishing tool is not necessary. I just put a little

polishing powder (from a telescope mirror project) on a piece of cotton sheet and laid it on a piece of flat glass and gently rubbed

while rotating the lens. The haze was completely gone in about 20 minutes and the lens is now very sharp and clear. If you don't want to

try it yourself I may consider doing it for you.