Fix for a large CP Filter Stuck on Lens

[jra35]

What do you do when you have a very large 105mm Circular Polarizer (CP) filter stuck on your brand new $3,600 lens?? Cry? (almost) Get Mad??! (more frustrated, but yes) How about just get your MacGyver on? I had this problem, tried several ways to get the necessary leverage (after having called local as well as far away authorized repair centers) and was almost resigned to send the lens in to the authorized repair center to have it possibly surgically removed until the thought hit me:

Take a thin (~ 1 - 2 cm) strip of Duct Tape and wrap it around the filter to join the freely rotating polarizer to the lens ring in order to join the two pieces together and provide more gripping surface. Go to your local Home Depot or hardware store and buy a Strap Wrench. I found a "Husky 8 inch Strap Wrench", whose strap is made of rubber that provides great grip and less likely to leave any marks. Affix the strap around the CP filter snugly and then gently apply pressure in the proper rotation (counter-clockwise if looking down at the face of the lens), and the filter should easily come free. If the filter is not locked too tightly on the lens, you may get enough leverage to free the filter with just the duct tape alone. If it still remains frozen, then get out the strap wrench.

Are there any other easy solutions to frozen filters out there that you've found works well? Please share...

 

[surapon]

Wow, THANKS, Dear Mr. Macgyver/ jra35.
That are a great Ideas. I will go to buy this "Husky 8 inch Strap Wrench" tomorrow.
Surapon

 

[Don Haines]

You can also try a thick rubber band around the filter..... that helped me get a stuck 77mm polarizing filter off.

 

[Jim Saunders]

I've used those wafer-thin plastic wrenches which look like nut-crackers to remove a few stuck filters. They take some finesse but they're thin enough to knuckle onto the thin part of a polarizer.

Jim

 

[DominoDude]

So far (knock on wood) I've been able to get mine off by using a suggestion I was given many years ago: Be sure to apply pressure from above, and not from the sides. It is quite easy to deform a filter and make it more oval and that way having it stick even harder onto the lens. An additional suggestion would be to buy a rubber cloth (or make use of ones old used condoms... Eww! ), and put that on top of the filter, so that it's easier to get a good grip without needing to pinch too hard.

 

[mackguyver]

In the field a camera or backpack strap pulled tightly around the filter will work and I've read that the rubber tread on your shoe can work, but I haven't tried that one. The other one that usually works for me is to stow my lens in my pack for a while to let it cool down as the "freeze" is usually from the expansion of the metal filter. Another trick I've used it to screw a step-up ring (or another filter) to the front of the filter and use that to get more surface area. The rubber strap wrenches do work quite well, however

 

[TexPhoto]

Wrap an extension cord around the filter. Hold both ends together and twist. Grab the cord ends with pliars if needed.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

So spraying WD-40 is not recommended? ;D

 

[RustyTheGeek]

All of these are great ideas, I keep a wide rubber band around my filter case for this reason. My B+W CPL is notorious for getting stuck really good. You could also try warming it up a bit in the hot sun or whatever safe method can raise the temp of the filter enough to slightly enlarge it and cause it to loosen up a bit.

I would stay away from duct tape however. The only tape I will put on my equipment is high quality gaffer tape. That won't leave any residue and sticks very well.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

What do you do when you have a very large 105mm Circular Polarizer (CP) filter stuck on your brand new $3,600 lens?? Cry? (almost) Get Mad??! (more frustrated, but yes) How about just get your MacGyver on? I had this problem, tried several ways to get the necessary leverage (after having called local as well as far away authorized repair centers) and was almost resigned to send the lens in to the authorized repair center to have it possibly surgically removed until the thought hit me:

Take a thin (~ 1 - 2 cm) strip of Duct Tape and wrap it around the filter to join the freely rotating polarizer to the lens ring in order to join the two pieces together and provide more gripping surface. Go to your local Home Depot or hardware store and buy a Strap Wrench. I found a "Husky 8 inch Strap Wrench", whose strap is made of rubber that provides great grip and less likely to leave any marks. Affix the strap around the CP filter snugly and then gently apply pressure in the proper rotation (counter-clockwise if looking down at the face of the lens), and the filter should easily come free. If the filter is not locked too tightly on the lens, you may get enough leverage to free the filter with just the duct tape alone. If it still remains frozen, then get out the strap wrench.

Are there any other easy solutions to frozen filters out there that you've found works well? Please share...

You can buy filter wrenches at amazon or b&h photo. Good luck!

 

[Old Shooter]

All of these are great ideas, I keep a wide rubber band around my filter case for this reason. My B+W CPL is notorious for getting stuck really good. You could also try warming it up a bit in the hot sun or whatever safe method can raise the temp of the filter enough to slightly enlarge it and cause it to loosen up a bit.

I would stay away from duct tape however. The only tape I will put on my equipment is high quality gaffer tape. That won't leave any residue and sticks very well.

Boy, that's what I thought Rusty! That duct tape goo would be almost impossible to get off!

I was thinking of that blue tape that has a mild adhesive and can pull off a wall without hurting the paint? You know what I'm talking about... Although I think a wide, large rubber band is a pretty slick idea! 8)

 

[RustyTheGeek]

All of these are great ideas, I keep a wide rubber band around my filter case for this reason. My B+W CPL is notorious for getting stuck really good. You could also try warming it up a bit in the hot sun or whatever safe method can raise the temp of the filter enough to slightly enlarge it and cause it to loosen up a bit.

I would stay away from duct tape however. The only tape I will put on my equipment is high quality gaffer tape. That won't leave any residue and sticks very well.

Boy, that's what I thought Rusty! That duct tape goo would be almost impossible to get off!

I was thinking of that blue tape that has a mild adhesive and can pull off a wall without hurting the paint? You know what I'm talking about... Although I think a wide, large rubber band is a pretty slick idea! 8)

Thanks Old Shooter! I'm familiar with the Blue and the Green painters tape and while I use them often and love them, I think it's too slick itself and it doesn't stick too well compared to the gaffer tape. Painters tape adhesive is designed to come off easily sort of like a post-it. Gaffer tape uses a butyl rubber type adhesive that is pretty tacky and slip resistant but still comes off well and the tape itself is rubbery so it offers some grip.

Warning: And I used to love painters tape even more several years ago and used it on so many things. Unfortunately, I discovered that the adhesive eventually breaks down and becomes a yucky goo that is disgusting if it is left on something too long, esp if it gets warm like in an attic or a car. Yuck! I was very disappointed so I am a bit more careful how I use it if it will stay on something long term.

 

[Joe M]

I've rarely had this problem but when I did, a thin piece of rubber that I could use on the edge (not sides) of the filter worked. I also had one stuck so well that I had to resort to cooling. You place the filter down onto some ice so that in theory, the metal contracts just enough that you get a fighting chance to get it off with a rubber grip. CPs are a different story though in that you'd of course need a rubber band or better yet, the one that comes with the rogue flash filter set. I believe that's silicone and it's really sticky.

 

[lintoni]

You can also try a thick rubber band around the filter..... that helped me get a stuck 77mm polarizing filter off.

+1