Focus Ring Whiteness

<p>Is there a product that can turn the grayish-white rubber back to black?</p>

<p>LIke on my 300/4 AF-S.</p>

<p><img src="http://dlaab.com/photo/300AFS.b.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="689" /></p>

<p>Personally it would'nt bother me at all. But auto parts stores have all sorts of products for restoring the look of plastics and rubber in car interiors. Anything you use should be applied very sparingly -- any liquid or gel or goo getting into the workings of the lens would cause much bigger problems than the color of the ring.</p>

<p>Great question, my 80-200 looks exactly like that too. I can't wait to see the solution!</p>

<p>Buy new rubbers.</p>

<p>Nikon will not sell me a replacement focus ring, which kind of peaves me.</p>

<p>... Rub it with some kind of *hard* brush? (e.g. from an extra hard nylon teeth brush to an extra soft brass one). Or a very small piece of green or even dark red scrubber with the aid of tweezers. <br /> The idea is to remove the oxidiced rubber (or whatever it is) from the surface in that whitened areas. It needs to be like precision surgery to avoid damaging the shape of the grip.<br /> <br /> I suspect any kind of oily fluid will turn it black in a while, but I wonder if it is a good (durable) solution.</p>

If the material contains rubber, you should not use oil, it will weaken the material.

<p>Stiff toothbrush and liquid dish soap works well for me. I usually take an old toothbrush and trim the bristles so they are only about 5mm or 3/16in long. Mix up a soap and warm water solution in a small jar. Not much water, generous dollop of dish soap, then shake it up. Using the toothbrush, wet it with the soap bubbles only and scrub a small area of the grip, then wipe clean with a damp cloth. Rinse toothbrush under hot water, re-wet with soap bubbles, repeat as necessary until entire grip is clean.</p>

<p>Dan: You might also try 'Armor All' ... auto store stuff. Do not spray on, but put some in a dish and apply carefully with a Q-Tip. Have a soft cloth at the ready to wipe off any and all excess. Careful not to let it ooze into the workings of the lens. It's silicone, not oil. Will not harm rubber, but actually replace what has 'cooked off', or 'out-gassed', over time from the original rubber (or probably a rubber compound). </p>

<p>Thanks guys, some good ideas. I will cautiously try them.</p>

<p>BTW, my goal is to clean it up so I can sell this lens.</p>

<p>I was going to say armor all as well but rub it with a cotton cloth very well after as it will leave a light oily film and that will bother with finger friction grip. both my 70-200VR1 and 17-55 AFS are the same with that whiteness.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1223464/0?keyword=rubber#11650005">This thread</a> on another site recommends the use of 303 Aerospace Protectant ahead of Armorall.<br>

<br>

C</p>

<p>I had a Tamron lens that did this on both the focus and zoom grips. I called Tamron and they sent me a new set of rubber grips, free of charge. I was very happy.</p>

<p>Then the same thing happened to one of my Nikon lenses. I called Nikon, expecting similar results (or at least an option to pay a few dollars for a new set of grips). Nope. "We don't sell parts for our lenses, but if you send it in to our service center, we'll be happy to replace the grip for you. For $125. Plus shipping and insurance."</p>

<p>So my Tamron lens looks brand new, and my Nikon lens looks like it's been through a war.</p>

I think I've found a solution. It's a cleaning pen to remove white stain/oxidation marks on lens rubber rings.

 

 

I tried it on my Leica Summarit_M 90mm. It works like a charm.

 

You can find it at LensPotion.com

I used a little windex and a new toothbrush -- better but not great. I would not use Armor All. Used it in one of my cars and it left a greasy feel for months. Mark, thanks! Looks like a great find!

I would not use something like automotive black wax to restore whitening of lens grips. Some may actually prefer and pay more for natural look that appears in low use lenses.

Both rubber grips on my 70-200mm VRII went white and loose, ie rotated independently of the actual lens barrel.

 

I know I have 'aggresive' sweat/skin oil. Blued gun barrels would almost rust as I watched!

 

I managed to find a pair of genuine parts on the bay and now have a happy and functional lens again.

 

The actual ribbed grip structure makes it tricky to fully wipe down properly at the end of the day. No easy way to get to all the valleys where grub collects.

 

When changing the rubber grip, i came across the socket for the electronic fault diagnosis/firmware update port. Very interesting!

Another resurrected 2013 thread? (With, i admit, useful information.)

 

Just checking, since we've been burnt recently... Mark, do you have any affiliation to LensPotion?

I used a little windex and a new toothbrush -- better but not great. I would not use Armor All. Used it in one of my cars and it left a greasy feel for months. Mark, thanks! Looks like a great find!

Yes, it's a bad idea to use tire wax on precious lenses. The wax will make the rubber slippery.