[Leica] Guerrilla Filter Removal

[Frank Filippone]

Not GORILLA, guerilla.

A few weeks ago I write up my problems in removing a filter from my lens.

Well, today, I have a new, different, solution:

You can purchase removal tools for this....   It is usually either a single piece of material  (plastic of metal)  that closes like a pair of 
pliers... pinching the filter in its jaws, around the circumference.  You need 2 to make this tool work  Or it is a silicon or hard rubber tool that 
has a thick rubber or metal back that allows you to turn the filter off, by using equal pressure around the entire rim of the filter from the front of 
the stuck filter.  The first one sometimes works, the second almost always works.

But, if you are in the jungle ( someplace not home) getting to a tool to helps is almost impossible.  But wait, here is the new solution:

Go to a hardware store or a plumbing store.  Ask for a flapper valve replacement seal (gasket).  It is doughnut shaped item, usually made from 
silicone, about a tenth of an inch thick.  Find one that is bigger than your filter... they usually come in different models in different sizes.  Find 
the right one. (cost is usually $5 or less....).  You really want a silicone one, not a rubber one.  Silicone is usually almost transparent, but may 
have a color cast.  Light will not pass through a rubber ring.

Place the ring on a flat surface (table top?), put lens with stuck filter on this ring (everything is upside down,)  and turn the lens as you apply 
light downward pressure.  ..... the filter will loosen.

Silicone has the right properties to stock to the filter as it is turned.

-- 

Frank Filippone
BMWRed735i at Gmail.com