Very muddy camera

[Tony]

So, on Sat I was walking around a castle on muddy slope and i ended up on my backside, well, in all truth I ended up flat on my back and was covered with mud from shoulders to bum, then my knees as i struggled to get up with my feet not being able to get any purchase, It was rather like i'd been playing rugby on a muddy field in the rain, so if you'd been there it would have been very funny

The downside is that I was carrying my Sony a6000 and it got platted into the mud as well, the back of it for the most part, so my question is from you experienced people, who may have done this yourself (could be some good stories?) or just be in the know, how do I go about cleaning it well, the mud is in the push buttons, the turning buttons and generally caked, I removed a lot of it there while it was wet but didn't want toward on it and make matter worse while it was wet, so now it's dried out and i'm planning on working on it.

At the moment my plan is to take off all the easy stuff, then use a damp cotton bud and any little scrapers etc I need to clear things out. I don't really want to put it into the shop for a clean but I know that might be the advice so I'm open to it.

Any help and thoughts (on the camera rather than my muddied torso...and arms, hands...) would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
T

 

[Ogri the trog]

I'd do exactly that Tony,

Remove the lens and fit a cover, and open any flaps or covers.
Make sure it was as dry as possible
and then set about very carefully removing any large accumulations with a soft plastic pick, short bristle brushes (old toothbrush for example) gradually working smaller & smaller until a damp cotton bud becomes the last step.
Photographic shops used to sell canisters of air for dusting off cameras - but I really would not want to use a compressor as it might damage the internals with such a powerful blast.

Good luck with it.

Oh and if there are no photo's, it didn't happen!

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Macaroon]

If I was doing it I'd take the time to set up a vacuum cleaner so that the work could be done very gently but right next to the working extractor; grains of silica and suchlike particles will kill it quick if they get in anywhere.

I'd hoover and hoover with a soft brush to get as much loose stuff away before starting, too. I'm all for diy, but I think for a decent camera and lens I'd swallow the cost of a professional clean-up

 

[Klenchblaize]

It’s the reason I use a hiking staff when stalking and always un-shoulder the rifle before descending a gradient. The saddest sound in the word is piece of highly figured maple or walnut cracking at the pistol grip as you fall on top of it!



K

 

[Arya]

Good luck with cleaning it! Luckily, most cameras have a strong survival instinct, so it will probably be okay
If there is warranty on it still, I would´t take anything apart. I would rather send it to a professional cleaner/lab, and at the same time have them clean the mirror. Two bugs in one swat and all that...
That reminds me that I should get my own mirror cleaned very soon

 

[Stew]

I would follow a similar method that they used cleaning the staffordshire hoard - hawthorn thorns as picks!

 

[mountainm]

Gadget putty

Here's the official stuff
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyber-Clean-Home-Office-Pop-Up/dp/B00375JBL4

But silly putty or blue tack may also work.

Sent from my UMI eMAX using Tapatalk

 

[Nomad64]

Good luck with cleaning it! Luckily, most cameras have a strong survival instinct, so it will probably be okay
If there is warranty on it still, I would´t take anything apart. I would rather send it to a professional cleaner/lab, and at the same time have them clean the mirror. Two bugs in one swat and all that...
That reminds me that I should get my own mirror cleaned very soon

I believe that having the mirror professionally cleaned on a Sony A6000 (and similar cameras) is usually quite a cheap job!

 

[Drain Bamaged]

Something that may sound a little silly but is actually quite useful at times is a little ‘keyboard vacuum cleaner’ I got from one of the £ shops….About the size of a small torch and runs off usb (cable supplied) not terribly powerful but it is useful to hold against things when dislodging dried sand/dust/fish slime etc. it at least helps ensure the bits don’t fall back into the works.
Oh! And it can also be used for cleaning keyboards.

D.B.

 

[Nomad64]

I don't really want to put it into the shop for a clean but I know that might be the advice so I'm open to it.

Any help and thoughts (on the camera rather than my muddied torso...and arms, hands...) would be greatly appreciated

I feel for you but as a (former) underwater photographer, whatever others say, truly the saddest sound in the world is the whimper made by someone realising than an O ring has failed on the underwater housing of an SLR resulting in the unhappy meeting of saline, electronics and optics early in a trip to a beautiful diving location where even the wealth of Croesus would not get you a replacement.

If you are in any doubt whether grit has penetrated any of the seals around buttons, switches etc. it might be worth checking your home insurance policy and getting the work done professionally and guaranteed rather than finding that intermittent faults start happening 6 months down the line.

Good luck with whatever you do.

 

[Adze]

I've no experience of cleaning cameras, but other consumer electronics I've plenty. I'm not overly fond of the word 'damp' when it comes to Q-tips/cotton buds and cleaning electronics, I'd be extremely careful with water anywhere near it if I were you. Isopropyl alcohol or, at a push, pure acetone (test ALL plastic bits before using either - worthwhile checking the manufacturers instructions re cleaning with solvents) will lift the fine grains almost as well as water and draw any moisture from the mud that's there.

Rice, funnily enough, is about the best moisture reducing household item. Do be sure to securely wrap the camera in something absorbent before packing in rice as it really will get everywhere.

 

[Tony]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice guys, I've gone ahead and done it, couple hours work and it's all good, we'll at least I think it's all good, used plastic scrapers, cotton buds, compressed air (blown across at an angle not directly into the camera ;D) and tooth pick, the toothpicks I shaped into bendy slithers, points, scrapers etc.

I think it's going to be ok...

 

[Arya]

I believe that having the mirror professionally cleaned on a Sony A6000 (and similar cameras) is usually quite a cheap job!

Funny I don´t know the Sony brand, and obviously made a wrong assumption about what type of camera it was
Thanks for pointing it out! I learned something new today after all.

 

[John Fenna]

Erm - pictures, or it did not happen......?

 

[Nomad64]

Funny I don´t know the Sony brand, and obviously made a wrong assumption about what type of camera it was
Thanks for pointing it out! I learned something new today after all.

Apologies, I couldn't resist. FWIW, even on digital SLRs (which have a mirror), it is usually the sensor that needs an occasional clean rather than the mirror.

 

[Arya]

Apologies, I couldn't resist. FWIW, even on digital SLRs (which have a mirror), it is usually the sensor that needs an occasional clean rather than the mirror.

Now you are just being a nitpicker. As if you didn´t understand what I meant...

 

[Tony]

This is after about 15 minutes of taking mud off and trying not to push it into the camera any more

And this one is after 3 hours of cleaning

 

[Big G]

Done a there Tone.. cleaned up great.

 

[Dean]

Was you jumping in muddy puddles again Tony, good job though.

 

[Tony]

Ha ha, no i was being really cautious because I knew it was slick, didn't do me any good though