Just realized old lens fungus can eat into coatings after a job in Portland

I was cleaning a vintage 50mm for a client last week and found this weird haze that wouldn't budge. Turns out fungus had been sitting on the coating for years and actually etched it. Has anyone else seen permanent damage from old fungus like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_coleman2827d ago

Are you sure it was really the fungus that did it though... I've seen plenty of old lenses with coating damage that was just from age or poor storage, not active fungus. A lot of times people blame fungus for everything when it's really just normal wear and tear on a 50 year old lens. The haze you couldn't wipe off could have been internal separation or even just old lube that evaporated onto the glass. I've cleaned plenty of lenses with minor fungus that came right off with no marks underneath. Maybe it's more about how long it sat and what the humidity was like rather than the fungus itself.

caleb_sanchez28d ago

Dried up a lens with a hairdryer on low for a couple minutes and that got the worst of it off. But yeah, the coating was already pitted underneath so it still left these little dull spots. Had a Nikon 35mm from the 70s that looked like someone took sandpaper to it after cleaning. Never did get it fully clear. What worked best was just telling the client straight up that the glass would never be perfect again and offering a discount on the cleaning. Better to manage expectations than promise a miracle.