How to set up a safe environment to clean inside an old lens?

Question

I have a couple of old lenses from film SLRs that I picked up at an opp shop a few weeks ago. A few of these lenses are in pretty good shape, except the fact they have fungus growing inside the lens that I can't reach.

I'm going to try and disassemble them to clean the inside as best I can (I've previously used WD-40 to clean fungus off with great results).

I'd like to know if there's any suggested ways of doing this in order to minimize the amount of dust that will be entering the lens during cleaning? Is there any way I can 'simulate' an (almost) clean room to work in? Even if its a small self-contained environment or something, any suggestions or guides would be helpful.

Answer 1

Unless your room is very dusty, you should be fine. I did my PhD in microbiology, and from my experience, the main source of dust or dirt are (1) air currents and (2) you yourself.

1. Avoid any air currents (opened windows, AC, ventilators).
2. When disassembling the lens, put the elements in covered clean plastic containers (like tupperware or something).
3. Minimize the time that you spend with the objective opened.
4. Work on a table covered with a large sheet of clean paper.
5. Do not use tissues or other materials that produce lint or dust.
6. If you have long hair, you might want to wear a cap (seriously)
7. Wear gloves and keep your tools clean. I repair (hobby, not for a living) old lenses, one of the problems is fungus -- one should take care not to infect new lenses with the fungus from old ones. However, I don't think that this will be your problem.