INON UFL-G140 removal/reduction of a scratch

[Elvandar]

As in the title, I scratched my lens while I was changing to the other one underwater, dropping on a rocky bottom.
The result is a smudge on the footage, that move around in the image due to the stabilization happening. I would love a way to reduce the impact on the taken video, but not spending too much.
Here is an image of the damage circled in red:

 

Do anyone had a similar problem with inon lens? I am afraid to use the few method I found online, since the method are usually for acrylic dome witouth the multy-layer coating that is present on this lens.

Any reply is apreciated

 

Edited May 27 by Elvandar

[Davide DB]

Hummm it seems a huge damage. Scratch removal methods used on acrylic, usually don't work on glass which has its own techniques and methods.

Even on a lighter scratch it's difficult or impossible to completely remove it but you can smudge it and that one it's a huge one.

Regarding the coating, I'm nearly sure it's on the inner part of the lens, not on the outside.

[Elvandar]

I read again the description on the inon official page, and it seems that the multi coating is in fact on the inner side, with an hard coating externally, but now i am not sure if the external dome is glass or acrylic 😅

Reading the manual, it should be acrylic:

And if it is the case, as I saw online, it should be good news for me

[Davide DB]

Yes from what they write, the front dome is acrylic and the coating is internal.

So this is a good news. Acrylic surfaces can be polished easily.

 

I have always used Novus liquid, but I doubt that such a scratch can be removed completely. Surely by rounding the edges the defect will be much less until it disappears once immersed in water.

 

https://www.ebay.it/itm/253646751131

Be careful to work on almost the entire surface to avoid ruining the curvature of the dome too much. 
I have always done it by hand with great effort and hours of work. Perhaps you can help yourself with a Dremel or drill and a soft disk at very low speed without overheating the surface.
If you use the Novus, you will always work with liquid 3 and only as a last pass will you use liquid 2. Keep in mind that liquid 1 is basically just a cleaner for glass and plastic surfaces.
Judging by the extent of the damage you could also start with a regular polish for car headlights.

[Elvandar]

Thanks, I will get the novus kit, it was featured in one of the dome restoration video, and it worked really well.
I'll post the result once done, hoping for improvement and maybe to help someone else with the same lens 

[Davide DB]

keep in mind that the Novus is very delicate. I mean that with the “heavy scratch remover” it takes quite a long time to thin a minimal scratch.

[Elvandar]

I contacted the shop where I bougth the lens (FmFotoVideo) and they suggested me to swap the frontal lens as the novus kit would not work on this type of lens.
I also contacted Inon and they suggested the same thing.

Since buying the novus kit from ebay would cost me around 60€, and the replacement of the lens including labor cost is 80€, I opted for the lens swap.

[humu9679]

9 hours ago, Elvandar said:

ISince buying the novus kit from ebay would cost me around 60€, and the replacement of the lens including labor cost is 80€, I opted for the lens swap.

It's nice to see a solution that isn't too expensive! Very good.

[Elvandar]

The repaired lens came back yesterday, now is like new again

 

the only small problem I had wiht the swap, is that some dust was trapped between the inner and outer lens, but after contacting the repair shop, I was able to remove the outer dome, clean every spec of dust, and close it again, and after a test underwater, now is perfect again!

 

Here the video before and after the dust clean:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

 

[Mitus]

I am in a similar situation. Basically, I've got a few scratches on my UFL-G140, which are very clearly visible in the videos. I do not know how it happen because I take a lot of care but I guess it is unavoidable.

 

Elvandar, I saw you wrote to Inon as well as to the shop. How did you reach Inon? I have sent an email to info@inon.jp but I did not get any responsein 10 days 😔. I have written to the shop where I bought the lens and they says that it is possible to change the front but the lens should be sent to Japan, was it the same for you? The price is also a little bit higher.

 

Mitus

[Davide DB]

One year ago I sent a RGBlue light in Japan for repair. Shipping and custom duties were really expensive. 

Try to contact FMfotovideo in Italy and ask them to quote the dome swapping.

Second option: try for yourself with a scratch remover as Novus or similar. I repaired my polycarbonate domes several times with perfect results.

 

[Mitus]

Thank you @Davide DB. I have finally sent the dome. Shipping was not very expensive (15€ + 18€ for roundtrip) but the overall cost is over 150€. However, I have requested the original damage piece so I can test with it. My idea is to try to see if I can polish it.

 

it would be very useful if @Elvandar could share how to open the lens.

[Davide DB]

It depends on how the scratches are deep but believe me, polishing a polycarbonate dome is really easy. Just try once it come back.

[Dave_Hicks]

48 minutes ago, Davide DB said:

It depends on how the scratches are deep but believe me, polishing a polycarbonate dome is really easy. Just try once it come back.

Not all scratches/dents will polish out. If the hit is hard enough the flaw goes deeper than the surface in the acrylic. I've polished many of my dome ports successfully. However, I have a Kraken Wet/Wide KRL-09s and had a "scratch" that would not polish out. Like the OP, I ended up sending it for a replacement of the acrylic element for a reasonable cost.

[Davide DB]

Of course Dave, that's why I wrote that "it depends on the scratch."

Sometimes it goes away completely, sometimes it is visible to the naked eye but the polishing operation rounds the edges and in water it is no longer visible. Other times you have to throw it away but in my experience I always happened to be in the first two cases with very good results. That's why I would have tried before changing it.

 

Now maybe we could help him understand how to replace the dome. I have no idea.

 

[Elvandar]

16 hours ago, Mitus said:

Thank you @Davide DB. I have finally sent the dome. Shipping was not very expensive (15€ + 18€ for roundtrip) but the overall cost is over 150€. However, I have requested the original damage piece so I can test with it. My idea is to try to see if I can polish it.

 

it would be very useful if @Elvandar could share how to open the lens.

I sent to you on pm the list of authorized repairs shop for inon, from their website, but a bit too late, since you already sent the lens.

 

To open the lens, is pretty simple, you need to unscrew the 4 little screw of the lens hood, then there is another even littler screw, you need to remove it. After that, you can open the lens like a jar, with the outer metal part that unscrew from the main body. This metal ring, is what keep the outer lens in place.

[Mitus]

14 minutes ago, Elvandar said:

I sent to you on pm the list of authorized repairs shop for inon, from their website, but a bit too late, since you already sent the lens.

 

To open the lens, is pretty simple, you need to unscrew the 4 little screw of the lens hood, then there is another even littler screw, you need to remove it. After that, you can open the lens like a jar, with the outer metal part that unscrew from the main body. This metal ring, is what keep the outer lens in place.

Thank you @Elvandar. I have just read your PM. Inon is also going to do a pressure test, which should test that the seal is correct. I hope they do not put dust inside this time 🤞.

[Elvandar]

On 8/19/2024 at 3:25 PM, Davide DB said:

One year ago I sent a RGBlue light in Japan for repair. Shipping and custom duties were really expensive. 

Try to contact FMfotovideo in Italy and ask them to quote the dome swapping.

Second option: try for yourself with a scratch remover as Novus or similar. I repaired my polycarbonate domes several times with perfect results.

 

Inon replied to me that the novus product would not work because the dome it's not just acrylic, but it has also a coating layer, that would be stripped away during polishing.

I don't know how bad the lens would be after total or partial removal of this coating.

[Nando Diver]

Hi...

My AOI UWL-03 was scratch on first or second day of diving...dont know where.

Is not visible in poor visibility conditions, but in average/good visibility its noticeable.

Once you know its there, you can't unwatch anymore 

 

External service dome replacement is 100€ + 24€ shipping..i ended buying another lens (200€ ) and keep both.

 

Theres a lens hard cover for AOI UWL-03 PRO with reference  AOI DHC-02 but are not available anywhere.

 

https://www.aoi-uw.com/media/wysiwyg/AOI_UWL-03_PRO_Specifications.pdf 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Davide DB]

It doesn't seem a serious scratch. 

Now you have two lens so just try to polish the scratch with Novus.

You could print a cap for yourself or just trying to find a kitchen cap of the right measure...

[Elvandar]

There is also a neoprene cover for the inon lens, I bought it after the repair, you could also make one yourself with some extra neoprene, or search a similar one, the inon lens is a bit smaller than the aoi, i don't know if it would fit. 

I bring it underwater and remove it only after the the first dive check, to avoid new scratch while not having the camera as main focus.

 

https://www.fotosub-shop.com/3617-inon-inon-cover-neoprene-per-ufl-g140sd.html

 

[Nando Diver]

21 hours ago, Davide DB said:

It doesn't seem a serious scratch. 

Now you have two lens so just try to polish the scratch with Novus.

You could print a cap for yourself or just trying to find a kitchen cap of the right measure..

 

 

The PFD specs from AOI UWL-03 says the following: 

 

Front Dome Element in Polycarbonate with Hard Coating

 

In the video below the method to remove scratch from Polycarbonate is with heat gun blowing at 600 degrees, the lady in the video say the material will not bend because is thick, but Applying the same process in the 4mm Polycarbonate will bend but will return to its position.

 

Not sure if i want to try this on AOI lens 🙂

 

 

 

Edited September 28 by Nando Diver

[Nando Diver]

Please Note: 

Theres acrylic domes and Polycarbonate domes 

 

Nauticam in their Maintenance and product care says the following : 

 

• For minor acrylic scratches, the port can be polished by micro mesh acrylic
optical liquid when properly used.
• Glass dome ports are heavier than acrylic dome ports, and they yield better
image quality thanks to their superior optical properties.
• Very minor glass scratches can be polished by mild cleaner for car windows
with a dedicated towel, such as: Eco Touch car glass cleaner. Please avoid
using cleaners contain harsh solvents, ammonia and alcohol which can
potentially damage the glass.
• For wide range of deep scratches/cuts on the dome surface, it is
recommended to replace the optical element.

 

https://nauticamindonesia.com/nauticam-product-care-maintenance-tips.pdf

Edited September 28 by Nando Diver

[Nando Diver]

22 hours ago, Davide DB said:

It doesn't seem a serious scratch. 

Now you have two lens so just try to polish the scratch with Novus.

You could print a cap for yourself or just trying to find a kitchen cap of the right measure...

 

Ive ordered the Novus kit.... i will try to removed the light scratch and share the results..

[Dave_Hicks]

30 minutes ago, Nando Diver said:

 

Ive ordered the Novus kit.... i will try to removed the light scratch and share the results..

You also should also get a pack of MicroMesh wet sandpaper. This works better on acrylic domes than Novus in my experience for substantial scratches. Novus is good to finish after sanding.

 

https://a.co/d/bsMyxhb