How to clean a lens cover?

Question

I own an all-in-one camera: a Canon Powershot A710.

I'm not aware what happened exactly, but now the automatic cover (the thing that opens when you turn on the camera and the lens pops out) is sticky and it doesn't always open I have to either wait or push it.

I've tried using alcohol and some cotton tip, and it works for a little while, but then it gets sticky again. Are you aware what trick could I use to fix this?

Another option would be to open the lens and check what it is that gets it sticky again, but I don't see an easy way to open the lens in this camera.

Any suggestion is very welcome

EDIT: Finally I discovered it was indeed a sticky substance. To discover that I played with the side that got stuck when closed and pushed slightly so the edge touched the rail on which it's mounted. Doing this I discovered that a section of the rail was indeed sticky, it didn't feel like dust, because the stickiness was only on a small portion of the rail, after that portion the cover moved normally. So I applied a bit of alcohol with a tip in the section of the rail (this is, cleaning the rail, on the side of the lens entry, not directly on the cover nor on the lens of course) that had the stickiness and it's been working correctly for a few hours now, which had never happened before.

Answer 1

Based on your description, it sounds like whatever sticky stuff got on the lens cover ended up getting inside the camera body when you opened the cover. Each time you opened the cover, I'm guessing some of the sticky substance rubbed off on the rim around the lens and cover. You might try getting some pre-packaged wet wipes designed for cleaning camera lenses, and see if you can slip the corner underneath the edge of the rim around cover while it is closed. Keep the corner underneath the rim, and wipe around the whole circumference of the lens cover. You might need to do this a few times to really clean it up.

If that does not work, you might need to take the camera into a Canon dealer that offers a repair service, and see if they can pop the camera off and clean the inside for you.

Answer 2

I've been there - I have a A530 and one other camera with a similar two-piece automatic cover and had periodic problems with sticking exactly as you describe.

In my case, the stickiness was always due to dust, not a sticky substance of some kind. So, I would not start with wet cleaning materials.

To get it to "go" if it's stuck, often tapping or flicking the side of the lens when extended would make the lens cover complete its opening or closing. Sometimes power-cycling would also help. Usually the camera went through sticky and not-sticky periods.

For cleaning, I'd try blowing it vigorously with a hand blower, both with the cover open and closed. The goal is to dislodge the dust particles which are causing the stickiness. The Giottos Rocket (there's a few variations) is very well regarded. Don't use the compressed air in a can - it's too strong and you can get goop in the camera - nor your breath, as you will invariably blow in tiny particles of saliva.

Prevention, however, is the best cure. When I started religiously keeping the camera in a case when not in use, the problems pretty much went away.