[Leica] OT - oxidized Petri 35 battery compartment finally open

[leica at screengang.com (Didier Ludwig)]

John, Bob

Finally I got that little beast open! I had dropped quite a lot of strong 
penetrating oil (that costed more than the Petri which I had got almost for 
free) on the battery cover and tried to open it since two weeks - without 
success. I was mentally ready to accept the camera is gone, then I tried it 
this morning for the very last time - because the screwdriver/coin slot is 
completely weared out after so many attemps - and suddenly the cover came 
out as it would have never been stuck or corroded. And the other good news 
is - the inside of the battery compartment and the battery are almost not 
corroded - can't understand why the cover was so stuck.

Will get a battery this afternoon and pass a roll through for shure!

For those who have a similar problem I can only recommend to be patient and 
to let the penetrating work for 2 weeks or longer. 

Thanks again for your help
Didier



>At 19:29 23.06.2007, John Biava wrote:
>If you are in the USA, look for a very high quality penetrating oil as a 
>first choice.  But brand names differ in various geographic markets.  Here 
>we can get P  Blaster, which is very good.  An industrial supply store may 
>have KANO Kroil, which is the best I have ever used.  But it contains 
>chemicals which are restricted to industrial users.
> 
>Since the battery leakage was a very strong alkaline, a weak acid might be 
>helpful, but I would seek that advice from an experienced camera / 
>instrument tech.
> 
>the damage inside the battery compartment may require the efforts of a tech 
>as well.  If the rest of the camera is pristine, and the investment is 
>worthwhile to you, a parts camera may be in order here as well.


>Didier, the Petri Color 35 is a nice camera, so you want to work  
>slowly...If 
>its just battery acid, you might try a tiny drop or two of water on  a 
>Q-tip 
>around the battery cover and see if, after a minute or so, a Nickel  turned 
>clockwise doesn't loosen the cover...Next, also with a Q-tip you might  try 
>a 
>tiny drop or two of rubbing alcohol...Lastly, you might try the same with  
>Ronsonol lighter fluid...
>Once you get the cover off and remove the battery, you probably have  dried 
>green battery acid residue inside...Be careful how you clean it  because at 
>the 
>bottom of the hole is a round metal piece that might be eaten  away by the 
>acid and if it comes loose there are wires underneath...
>I hope this helps...regards, bob cole



>Didier Ludwig <> wrote:
>Does anyone know a good method to open an oxidated battery compartment? The 
>metal battery cover of a cute Petri Color 35 (which I just bought from in 
>the neighbourhood) should be opened with a coin, but does not move, even 
>with larger coins and rather much power. I guess it's strongly oxydated. 
>Can I operate with very small drops of acetic acid, or another acid? Or 
>penetrating oil? Unfortunately the battery compartment is inside the body, 
>so a treatment with liquids should be done very carefully. 
>Thanks in advance for any advice
>Didier