Ansco Super Memar /(Agfa Super Silette)

[FallisPhoto]

I got an Ansco Super Memar in the mail today and the focus adjustment is frozen. I understand this is a common problem and that this is the same camera that was sold in Europe, by Agfa, under the name "Super Silette," So I looked up the instructions for unsticking a Super Silette. First the instructions said to remove the focus ring. I did that. So far, so good. Then it says "Having removed the focus ring, take out the front element by unscrewing it." and that is where I am stuck. That lens element won't budge. It is in there solid as a rock. I've soaked it in lighter fluid to loosen it, but at least so far that has been to no avail. Has anyone else run into this problem? Have I missed something? Were the instructions I was following incomplete, or is it just stuck? I thought it would be a good idea to ask around before I resort to the padded pliers and trying to force it and risk breaking it.

[FallisPhoto]

Okay, after being underwhelmed by responses to this and other posts, I used the pliers and finally got the lenses out; apparently some of that green grease Agfa used had strayed where it shouldn't have gone. Now I'm soaking the two lenses, attached semi-permanently to one another by the infamous green grease, in a film cannister full of lighter fluid.

[literiter]

Okay, after being underwhelmed by responses to this and other posts, I used the pliers and finally got the lenses out; apparently some of that green grease Agfa used had strayed where it shouldn't have gone. Now I'm soaking the two lenses, attached semi-permanently to one another by the infamous green grease, in a film cannister full of lighter fluid.

I should have responded, but I was sure someone else would have.

Should you pursue this adventure into camera repair may I offer these suggestions:
-look for the fantastic books by Thomas Thomosy on camera maintenance and repair.
-Go to the Micro Tools site for some basic tools such as lens spanners etc.
-The green grease can be hard to remove, I have had no luck with lighter fluid on this stuff. Try scraping with your fingernails or carefully with a wood stick.
-stay away from pliers! Pliers scratch cameras.

[MartinP]

I didn't see the original post. If the lighter fluid doesn't do the trick, then try a tiny amount of acetone, as described in various places on these two sites. I managed to be lucky enough not to need it, but that was sheer chance. Good luck :)


http://www.davidrichert.com/AGFA%20rebuild/agfa.htm

http://www.ph.utexas.edu/%7Eyue/misc/AnscAgfa.html

[FallisPhoto]

Well, I got them apart, but the lighter fluid was ineffective. What finally worked was putting the lenses on a table, outdoors in the sun, on a hot day. The heat softened the grease enough to get them apart and THEN the lighter fluid worked for cleaning them up. All that is left to do is to calibrate the lenses.

[FallisPhoto]

Well, here it is: