Very dirty Nikon microscope, what to do?

[viktor j nilsson]

Personally, I use NyoGel for everything, as I have their hobbyist kit (light and heavy oil, general purpose grease) and their 765A dampening grease. But honestly, there are much cheaper options that will get the job done and last for a very long time. Check out Carl Hunsingers' BH2 repair guides at the link below, he uses a bunch of over-the-counter oils and greases and he has put a lot of thought into his choices:

http://www.alanwood.net/olympus/downloa ... bh2repairs

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I use old white lithium grease. Don't use moly it can scratch i think? Also silicone grease is not preferred a true pain to try to clean off glass. It's not super duper critical to get the exact specific grease, just some things to think about.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

I cant remember why to not use moly now.

[BramHuntingNematodes]

OK, so , i tmay be that moly grease seperates or maybe it doesn't, but moly is also extremely difficult to clean (this is also the reason it is desirable as a lubricant). I have recommended silicone grease for plastic gears before as it usually doesn't attack plastics. These greases will work fine for the mechanical components I think but if you do end up using them just be extra careful to not get them on your glass.

[Dubious]

I use (sparingly):

Liberty Oil $8
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CW ... UTF8&psc=1

Nyogel 767A Synthetic Damping Grease $15
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084H ... UTF8&psc=1

[Sanderguy777]

I ended up with the Nyegel 767a grease.

Will that work for all the parts, or just the inter-pupillary distance adjustment slides? Specifically, will it work on the plastic gears?

Out of curiosity, is there anywhere I could get really metal gears to replace the old plastic ones?

[littlejackal]

I’m going to hijack this post for a second as we’re talking about cleaning scopes and grease. My Zeiss came with a turret whose rotation can only be described as “crunchy”. I disassembled everything, threw it in the sonic bath with mild detergent to get rid of years of solid grease, and did a (very) low temperature bake to dry off any residual moisture, but now I’m a bit at a loss for what to throw in that would be a safe for the bearings. I don’t have any preference for “feel” as far as turret rotation goes, so selecting a grease based on intended dampening effect would be way over my head. Is something like the 767A a safe bet? Is white lithium grease a safe bet? The lithium grease can easily be found (in fact I may have some in my garage) whereas the other seems to be somewhat expensive in Canada, but I don’t want to cheap out if it means potentially breaking a (somewhat) historical scope component.

[Dubious]

I'm more confident about the 767A, only because I use it, but I think either should work fine. Ohers have mentioned using white lithium grease (see Bram in this thread above); and it should last a long time and not run or drip, which are probably the main things. If you search the forum on "grease" you will find discussion of these and other inexpensive alternatives that should be available in local auto supply and hardware stores.

[Hobbyst46]

I find the Nyogel 767A useful for the focusing block.

For the objective turret, I overhauled one a year ago, and found white Lithium grease to be suitable.
AFAIK black Moly grease should not be used on microscopes, but can't remember why. Perhaps it is incompatible with brass.

[littlejackal]

Thanks gang. I had a tube of white lithium in the garage and did use it for the turret after reading this. Much smoother. Still not as buttery smooth as my CH-2 but it looks like there is a little wear in the brass bearing surfaces so I think this is as good as it’s going to get. I might try to source some 767A down the road and re-do the job just to see if it makes ANY difference but I suspect it won’t be much. Apologies for the hijack, excited to continue reading Nikon progress

[PeteM]

Nyogel damping grease really isn't the proper lube for a nosepiece.

If it's rough, you might want to clean out the old and perhaps hardened grease and any bit of grit that might have migrated inside. Be mindful not to lose the 100 or so tiny ball bearings that many nosepieces have.

A medium-light grease that stays in place (and captures those bearings for reassembly is good). Even better is a modern synthetic with very low chance of migrating, separating, or outgassing. However, best to clean all the old stuff out before switching grease formulations.

The detent (holding the objective in place) might be one place a sticky viscous damping grease might be OK -- or the same non-damping grease as used elsewhere in the nosepiece.

[Sanderguy777]

My turret is fine (maybe the SLIGHTEST bit not smooth), but absolutely the SMOOTHEST of any of the parts on it.

I was about to use red 'n tacky on it, but I won't now lol. What modern synthetic do you recommend, and what should I use to remove the old stuff? It's more like the consistency of oil at the moment but I don't know if the innards are covered in some hardened part of it.

[Sanderguy777]

It's done! Great image quality too!

One issue is that I'm getting two images. One is above and a little to one side of the other. Any idea what happened to cause this? I'm hoping I don't have to go in and re-align everything. Could this just be me at an odd angle or something?

[dtsh]

It's done! Great image quality too!

One issue is that I'm getting two images. One is above and a little to one side of the other. Any idea what happened to cause this? I'm hoping I don't have to go in and re-align everything. Could this just be me at an odd angle or something?

When I have encountered this it's been due to misalignment of the head prisms. Different heads will have different locations for the adjustments, not having any experience with a Nikon, I'm ignorant of the details.
I have however, done such adjustments on a couple of heads from other manufacturers; best I can suggest is adjust in tiny increments and test frequently - patience and perseverance.

[Sanderguy777]

That's what I was afraid of. I wish they would have not made that adjustable!

[dtsh]

That's what I was afraid of. I wish they would have not made that adjustable!

I have a head in which they aren't adjustable, be glad it's a fix and not replace
I've not done it a lot and I'm not saying that it's the problem you're having, but it sounds like it could be. It was intimidating, but not really difficult when I set myself to it and since I considered them a total loss already, didn't see the harm in trying.

[Sanderguy777]

I'll try working on it today, but in the mean time, what would I need to get a camera onto the photo tube?
Just the inside diameter of the photo tube?

[Sanderguy777]

It's done! It's FINALLY DONE!!!
Aligned, and all.

Thank you all for your help and support