TargetTalk

The leaves on my Vargas Iris got stuck together, so I had to disassemble it to clean them. I'm now a little stumped on how to reassemble the iris. Any tips or suggestions?

I have no idea but I have a more or less close up picture of mine...

What did you clean them with?

Argh.. that was my response up!

I cleaned them with rubbing alcohol. I would like to put a light protective and lubricating coating on them, but I'm not sure what to use.

Have you got it back together yet?

Mine self-disassembles (!) from time to time because there's too much clearance between the circlip and the rotating ring that it retains. One day, I will make a shim out of plastic shimstock.

Reassembly is tedious. I place the pin of each leaf in the fixed ring holes, laying them in a full-open position, then lower the rotating ring onto the opposite set of pins. Then it's a matter of gently poking things into alignment with something like a dental probe or a sharp bamboo BBQ skewer. Cursing and swearing is sometimes necessary...

Don't use any lubricant or anti-corrosion preparation that leaves a wet film. Surface tension will cause the leaves to 'stick' together, preventing movement and causing an 'involuntary disassembly'. I know because...

As to what to use, I don't know - my iris is slowly corroding...