Stuck on filter

[Barbie Heid]

Oh, boy, I really made a mess! I tripped walking through the woods with a 150-600 on the camera. Fortunately, the hood caught the brunt of it, but my skylight filter is now crooked on the threads, and I can't get it off. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

 

[PentUp]

Try blowing hot air from a hairdryer on the filter edge to heat it up . It should expand sufficiently for you to unscrew it safely.

 

[Barbie Heid]

Try blowing hot air from a hairdryer on the filter edge to heat it up . It should expand sufficiently for you to unscrew it safely.

OK, thanks! I'll try it.

 

[Yar1971]

First, check if the filter ring or objective barrel near the filter thread are damaged in any visible way (bent, with dents or so). Check carefuly surface (local dents) and general shape of the ring (oval instead circle). In that case no home method will help, I'm afraid. Especially with dents. Very slight oval can be workable, I think...
If no visible damage, You may use methods like hair dryer described in PentUp post. I would first heat the whole thing, then cool only filter ring (a cold surface? some object removed from fridge?), as we want both threads (on lens and filter) to separate - the cannot shrink/expand simultanously! Note that filter thread is inside lens filter, so it must cool first or the lens barrel must expand first to reach the goal.
You may just use rubber gloves for better grip or rubber band around the stuck filter. The increased force must be applied equally around the perimeter of the filter ring, otherwise it will bent causing more trouble.
Using lubricants like WD40 is also very risky as it may contaminate the optics, but in theory it may work if only You would dose absolutely microscopic amounts with sharp wooden stick and clean up immediately after. But this is rather "last measure" at Your own risk.
In worst case You would need costly professional service, but I guess You know this. I have only once stuck filter (by itself, without being hit or so), but it gave up in the field after some trials with bare hands, fortunately.
Regards,
-J.

 

[Barbie Heid]

First, check if the filter ring or objective barrel near the filter thread are damaged in any visible way (bent, with dents or so). Check carefuly surface (local dents) and general shape of the ring (oval instead circle). In that case no home method will help, I'm afraid. Especially with dents. Very slight oval can be workable, I think...
If no visible damage, You may use methods like hair dryer described in PentUp post. I would first heat the whole thing, then cool only filter ring (a cold surface? some object removed from fridge?), as we want both threads (on lens and filter) to separate - the cannot shrink/expand simultanously! Note that filter thread is inside lens filter, so it must cool first or the lens barrel must expand first to reach the goal.
You may just use rubber gloves for better grip or rubber band around the stuck filter. The increased force must be applied equally around the perimeter of the filter ring, otherwise it will bent causing more trouble.
Using lubricants like WD40 is also very risky as it may contaminate the optics, but in theory it may work if only You would dose absolutely microscopic amounts with sharp wooden stick and clean up immediately after. But this is rather "last measure" at Your own risk.
In worst case You would need costly professional service, but I guess You know this. I have only once stuck filter (by itself, without being hit or so), but it gave up in the field after some trials with bare hands, fortunately.
Regards,
-J.

Thanks! I'll try that. Sure hope it comes off.

 

[barondla]

Any luck?
Thanks,
barondla

 

[Barbie Heid]

Any luck?
Thanks,
barondla

No, still working on it. Tried the hair dryer; now I'm going to try that and a cold pack.

 

[Yar1971]

Remember, You have to heat/cool connected elements differentially/sequentially to separate them. Which is by definition very hard technically as they are tightly connected. The only way is to do it very rapidly, to minimise heat transfer between them which tries to equalise their temperature in any given moment - but we want temperature difference between them as big as possible. Keep in mind, which of them should expand/cool first (outer/inner thread). Filter ring is an inner element relative to lens barrel thread. These are critical factors in that method. So I suggest using hot/cold surface rather then just blowing heater/cooler only, as You can direct heat (or remove it from) more precisely just for one lement. So I would heat the whole thing with hair dryer first, then put a very cold surface to the filter ring only. Put cold pack or some thick metal/ceramic/glass bar or plate into a kitchen freezer and use it later for the task. After rapid cooling try quickly to unscrew the filter. Latex/nitrile glove will help here too.
Could You show us some close-up photos of the stuck filter? One from the front and 1-2 from the side (at least from the side where there was an inpact)?
Anyway, good luck in Your efforts. Regards,
-J.
PS. There was an old huge thread about removing stuck filter on dpreview.com in MicroFourThirds Talk Forum, as far as I remember. I'm not sure if I can find it now...

 

[Barbie Heid]

Remember, You have to heat/cool connected elements differentially/sequentially to separate them. Which is by definition very hard technically as they are tightly connected. The only way is to do it very rapidly, to minimise heat transfer between them which tries to equalise their temperature in any given moment - but we want temperature difference between them as big as possible. Keep in mind, which of them should expand/cool first (outer/inner thread). Filter ring is an inner element relative to lens barrel thread. These are critical factors in that method. So I suggest using hot/cold surface rather then just blowing heater/cooler only, as You can direct heat (or remove it from) more precisely just for one lement. So I would heat the whole thing with hair dryer first, then put a very cold surface to the filter ring only. Put cold pack or some thick metal/ceramic/glass bar or plate into a kitchen freezer and use it later for the task. After rapid cooling try quickly to unscrew the filter. Latex/nitrile glove will help here too.
Could You show us some close-up photos of the stuck filter? One from the front and 1-2 from the side (at least from the side where there was an inpact)?
Anyway, good luck in Your efforts. Regards,
-J.
PS. There was an old huge thread about removing stuck filter on dpreview.com in MicroFourThirds Talk Forum, as far as I remember. I'm not sure if I can find it now...

Thank you! I'll try it that way. I'll post a pic, but it doesn't look abnormal just to look at - very slight tilt to it.

 

[barondla]

Is the filter ultra expensive? If the filter is built with a retaining ring, to hold glass in, it might be possible to unscrew it and remove the glass. Two small flat head screwdrivers or, even better, a spanner tool would do the job. Then you could lift filter glass out and perhaps contort the ring enough to remove it. Obviously, this is more of a last ditch effort and you might be better to take the lens to a specialist.
Thanks,
barondla