RZ67 AE Prism Finder - is this mold or oxidation or something else?

[ivan_vaschenko]

<p>They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Anyway, I have a finder that I used for a couple of years and didn't see a spot of anything inside. Then it sat for about a year in a closet with the rest of my gear. No other cameras/lens I have ever came up with a case of mold, so I'm hoping that's not it. Looks a bit like oxidization, can I just take it apart and clean out myself (I tried to loose the screws and broke my driver - these cameras are really built like tanks)?<img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8v4g3n5z5z65x7/P1100428.JPG" alt="" /><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/juq7sm7n6ct2775/P1100429.JPG" alt="" /><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/oy4fpi59t5938lk/P1100431.JPG" alt="" /><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/sg19gitilhngff6/P1100432.JPG" alt="" /><br>

Not sure what's going on with the pictures... Here are the links, just in case:<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8v4g3n5z5z65x7/P1100428.JPG<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/juq7sm7n6ct2775/P1100429.JPG<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oy4fpi59t5938lk/P1100431.JPG<br>

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sg19gitilhngff6/P1100432.JPG</p>

[thirteenthumbs]

<p>Looks like fungus to me.<br>

Put it under a strong UV light source so that the UV is hitting the suspect area and leave it there for a day or so.<br>

<br />Stanley 6 piece Jewelers Screwdrivers work well on cameras.<br>

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-66-039-Jewelers-Precision-Screwdriver/dp/B00002X29G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376594020&sr=8-2&keywords=jewelers+screwdriver+set</p>

[theo_bern]

<p>Ivan,<br>

Unfortunately what you see is Silver separation on the prism. There is no way of fungus in the prism, as it is a block of glass.<br>

What happened is that the prism sides which are covered in a special silver paint, began to separate from the glass. It is like the method that they use to house mirrors and it is not something that you can do yourself.<br>

Apart from the annoying look through the prism, there is no other issue, and definitely it will not affect your lenses.<br>

Try to find someone that can resilver it for you or use it as is. </p>

[ivan_vaschenko]

<p>Hi Theo,<br>

Thanks a lot for the explanation!<br>

Unfortunately, or fortunately (I am not sure yet), I took it apart and found that the silver has started to oxidize. The culprit is the foam which turned into gunk and penetrated through the black paint that was covering the silver.<br>

I made the matter even worse while investigating, so now there's no going back. Do I have to resilver the whole thing or can I just do those spots? Also, any suggestions on replacing that foam? It looks like it's not really required in some places but might be needed in others.<br>

Thanks again.</p>

[ivan_vaschenko]

<p>Found a place that agreed to resilver the pentraprism - I'll post back when they're done.</p>

[ivan_vaschenko]

<p>Well, they hinted it would not be cheap and it's probably easier to toss it...</p>