Canonet tear down

[Creagerj]

Is there anywhere that I can find a tear down guide for the canonet QL-17 GIII? I'm mostly having trouble taking off the film advance knob. I've got some flash contacts I want to fix, and I have had the sudden urge to repaint. Perhaps the Gman has this information somewhere?

[tomtodeath]

its easiest if you use a rubber band or tape to grip on to it, it unscrews counter-clockwise. be sure not to lose the washers underneath and remember the order they go in, otherwise it wont feel right ever again...

[dmr]

When I first had to do this, I tried everything. Tape, rubber jar opener, washer. Nothing would make it budge.

I finally ended up taking the Dremel tool (a small hand-held motorized drill thing, if you don't know what that is) and drilling 2 very small holes, actually indentations, into the surface. Then it came off with a lens spanner. Even then it took a bit of "oomph" to make it break loose the first time.

[ruben]

I went crazy too, until out of nowhere the idea it is a simple screw to unscrew landed in my flat head.

[ben lloyd]

rick oleson has this:

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-30.html

[Creagerj]

Well, I was able to get the camera apart and with little difficulty. All I had to do was wrap some rubber bands around a pair of pliers. It worked like a charm. I was able to fix my flash contact with ease. Turns out there is a little contact spring that moves with the PC door. It apparently serves the purpose of switching between the hotshoe and the PC sync. It was bent that was all. Now all I need to do is decide if I want to take it all the way apart to paint it.

Does anyone have a first hand account as to how difficult the lens dissasembly is?

Also I was try to decide between colors. What do you guys think, white and pink or black and pink?

[dmr]

Originally Posted by Creagerj

Does anyone have a first hand account as to how difficult the lens dissasembly is?

I've had the lens and shutter assembly apart in pieces, but never took the whole thing out. I understand that it will come out more or less in one piece but it requires peeling back the leatherette. I guess if you're serious about refinishing it, you already considered this.

Also I was try to decide between colors. What do you guys think, white and pink or black and pink?

Well, I like mine the way it is, stock matte chrome. The factory black ones do look very nice, but the ones that have been repainted black look strange, since they very seldom refinish the focus and f-stop rings.

I don't think that pink (or any other non-neutral color) would look good on a Canonet. That's just my opinion.

[Creagerj]

My plan is to refinish everything, including the F-stop and shutter rings thats why I was wondering about how difficult taking apart the lens would be.

I guess I should clarify on how I wanted to refinish. Everything that was crome will be either black or white, and everything that was black will be pink or maybe blue or red.

[Creagerj]

Yes I've been doing some research and I've pretty much been scared off the subject.