Is Your Filter Stuck?

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

Steve

Steve

Admin
Staff member
Supporting Member
Marketplace
Member's gallery
Ever have a filter get stuck to your lens? You try to unscrew it, but it won't budge. Arrgh!

Here's help :)

1. Try a rubber band around the filter ring and / or use all five fingers to keep even pressure as you turn.

2. Still stuck? Try keeping even pressure and unscrewing it with the palm of your hand. The harder you grab the ring, the more it can distort and that makes it tougher to get loose. Using your palm distributes the pressure evenly.

3. If #2 doesn't work, try using one of those rubber jar-lid openers between your palm and the filter.

4. Still here? OK, try a filter wrench like this one.

5. One more? Sure - it's my favorite and it's worked every single time - warm up the filter with a hair dryer. No kidding, it always seems to work - even with tough filters like polarizers. It's like when you're working on a car - if it's stuck dnd won't come loose, heat it up!

Have another way to remove a stuck filter? Share it below :)
 
Member's gallery
How about this? The filter is stuck on a 24mm prime. When I tried the first four methods the front lens element turned. Was going to send it in to Nikon but I'm told their service department is so backed up they cannot give an estimate on how long a repair will take.
 
Member's gallery
JPatton said:
How about this? The filter is stuck on a 24mm prime. When I tried the first four methods the front lens element turned. Was going to send it in to Nikon but I'm told their service department is so backed up they cannot give an estimate on how long a repair will take.
Click to expand...
Sadly, that does sound like a job for Nikon. One thought though - if yours feeling brave, maybe try to tighten it a little bit (so the front element part tightens too) and then go with the hair dryer and see if it comes loose. The freezer idea above might work too if the dryer doesn't. Let us know :)
 
Member's gallery
I was on a trip and my circular polarizer was hopelessly stuck on my Nikon 70-200.

All the usual fixes, including the filter wrench failed.

I finally went to a music store and bought a single round wound guitar string. I made a loop through the ball end and was able to secure it around the outside of the filter, allowing me to remove it. I wrapped a towel around my hand so the string wouldn't cut me.

The windings on the guitar string made good contact with the grooves on the outside of the filter.
 
Member's gallery
It's not particularly recommended, but as an ABSOLUTE last ditch effort if any of the above excellent suggestions fail and before you take a band saw to cut it off, there's a product called "Liquid Wrench Penetrating Oil". Get the liquid form, not the spray. A very sparing drop on the seam between the filter and the lens should do it, but be prepared to do a thorough cleaning afterwards to get the stuff out of the threads.
 
Member's gallery
Steve said:
Ever have a filter get stuck to your lens? You try to unscrew it, but it won't budge. Arrgh!

Here's help :)

1. Try a rubber band around the filter ring and / or use all five fingers to keep even pressure as you turn.

2. Still stuck? Try keeping even pressure and unscrewing it with the palm of your hand. The harder you grab the ring, the more it can distort and that makes it tougher to get loose. Using your palm distributes the pressure evenly.

3. If #2 doesn't work, try using one of those rubber jar-lid openers between your palm and the filter.

4. Still here? OK, try a filter wrench like this one.

5. One more? Sure - it's my favorite and it's worked every single time - warm up the filter with a hair dryer. No kidding, it always seems to work - even with tough filters like polarizers. It's like when you're working on a car - if it's stuck dnd won't come loose, heat it up!

Have another way to remove a stuck filter? Share it below :)
Click to expand...
I have found that a piece of flat PVC cable, like lamp cord, wrapped round the filter and held together where they meet, combined with a turning motion works well for me. Not distorting the thin wall of the filter is the primary object. Would be nervous about the freezer suggestion from possible condensation problems.
 
Member's gallery
Is Your Filter Stuck?

Only when I use it! 9 out of 10 times when I used an ND filter with a CPL they get stuck together. A pair of nitrile gloves works OK but I'll try the tricks mentioned above.
 
Member's gallery
Steve said:
Ever have a filter get stuck to your lens? You try to unscrew it, but it won't budge. Arrgh!

Here's help :)

1. Try a rubber band around the filter ring and / or use all five fingers to keep even pressure as you turn.

2. Still stuck? Try keeping even pressure and unscrewing it with the palm of your hand. The harder you grab the ring, the more it can distort and that makes it tougher to get loose. Using your palm distributes the pressure evenly.

3. If #2 doesn't work, try using one of those rubber jar-lid openers between your palm and the filter.

4. Still here? OK, try a filter wrench like this one.

5. One more? Sure - it's my favorite and it's worked every single time - warm up the filter with a hair dryer. No kidding, it always seems to work - even with tough filters like polarizers. It's like when you're working on a car - if it's stuck dnd won't come loose, heat it up!

Have another way to remove a stuck filter? Share it below :)
Click to expand...

I've found that the better quality filters with brass rings stick much less than the ones with aluminum rings, that and don't over tighten em. Ounce of prevention.
 
Member's gallery
I had that happen to me so many times that I finally went to the Xume magnetic filter adapters. Never have to worry about dropping a filter while trying to screw it on, or over tightening the filter. Love the system
 
Member's gallery
Take a pair of narrow pliers . Grab the filter ring at 90 degrees and twist it off . Dont worry about the threads these are hard anodised aluminium works every time.

PS. Always listen to old people,if you don't you will die in ignorance.
 
Member's gallery
Steve said:
5. One more? Sure - it's my favorite and it's worked every single time - warm up the filter with a hair dryer. No kidding, it always seems to work - even with tough filters like polarizers. It's like when you're working on a car - if it's stuck and won't come loose, heat it up!
Click to expand...

That's a surprise! :unsure: Heat causes stuff to expand. This has worked for me: Place a small saucer in the freezer with just enough water in it to freeze to a flat surface. Once frozen, remove from freezer and cover with a layer of food wrap. Place the lens filter down on the ice. Wait 1-2 minutes. Voila! (No wrenches, no liquids, no grease.)
 
Member's gallery
BobStone said:
That's a surprise! :unsure: Heat causes stuff to expand. This has worked for me: Place a small saucer in the freezer with just enough water in it to freeze to a flat surface. Once frozen, remove from freezer and cover with a layer of food wrap. Place the lens filter down on the ice. Wait 1-2 minutes. Voila! (No wrenches, no liquids, no grease.)
Click to expand...
I was skeptical too - but I have had polarizer (the hardest to remove) get stuck to my 70-200 and 24-70 more times than I can count. A minute with the hair dryer and it twists right off.
 
Member's gallery
I had a stuck filter one time and actually broke a filter wrench like the ones BCG Steve has a link to at the top on this forum. Being in the field for the day and it being near the end of the day I just gave up and decided to tackle it in the comfort of a motel room later that night. After supper I picked up the lens to see what I could do and gave the filter a try with my hands and came off easy as could be. I’m guessing the temperature of the lens and the filter had evened out making it easily come off.

I have since bought some new filter wrenches that are much more robust. Here’s a link to them.
 
Member's gallery
You might also take a look at the Camera Lens Vise from Amazon. It's a more expensive and more robust solution, but beats sending a lens for repair. It's also better than some of the high risk approaches such as using pliers or force.


This problem is not just with cheap filters. My most frequent stuck filter is a Circular Polarizer from B+W on my 70-200 f/2.8 lens. Thin filters can also be a challenge. For me, the flat palm on the filter does the job almost all the time. I too have broken a filter wrench trying to remove a stuck filter.
 
Member's gallery
Steve said:
I was skeptical too - but I have had polarizer (the hardest to remove) get stuck to my 70-200 and 24-70 more times than I can count. A minute with the hair dryer and it twists right off.
Click to expand...
Scientific explanation coming (so run now while you have the chance): Yes, heat expands BUT the two items being heated are different and expand differently, causing the infinitesimally small separation you need to loosen them. Why are they different? One threads into another so their size, shape, etc are slightly different. Also their metallurgical properties are likely slightly different (density, weight, etc) and they have different coefficients of thermal expansion. So, they don't have any choice, see? o_O🥵🤣👨‍🔧 Need proof? I don't have any. Trust me.
 
Member's gallery
EricBowles said:
You might also take a look at the Camera Lens Vise from Amazon. It's a more expensive and more robust solution, but beats sending a lens for repair. It's also better than some of the high risk approaches such as using pliers or force.


This problem is not just with cheap filters. My most frequent stuck filter is a Circular Polarizer from B+W on my 70-200 f/2.8 lens. Thin filters can also be a challenge. For me, the flat palm on the filter does the job almost all the time. I too have broken a filter wrench trying to remove a stuck filter.
Click to expand...
Great to see you hear Eric! And thanks for the link - I've never seen one of those before.
 
Member's gallery
JPatton said:
How about this? The filter is stuck on a 24mm prime. When I tried the first four methods the front lens element turned. Was going to send it in to Nikon but I'm told their service department is so backed up they cannot give an estimate on how long a repair will take.
Click to expand...
I've had that happen twice that I can remember and was able to use two of the filter wrenches that Steve linked above, one on the filter itself and one on the ring that screws on to hold the front element in place and was able to get the filter unstuck and off without taking the lens apart.

One trick I've used on stubborn filters when using the rubber band or kitchen grip methods Steve listed is to gently wiggle the filter as I'm trying to turn it. Sometimes just a bit of wiggle on the threads does more than using a lot of force. And of course once I get a stubborn filter off I make sure I carefully clean any dust or gunk out of both the lens' and the filter's threads with a chamois or lint free cloth.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Applying force to the filter ring may flex it make removal more difficult. Another method to remove a stuck filter is to flick the ring repeatedly with your index finger. Sounds crazy, but it does work and this method can be used when when you are in the field and don't have access to other methods.

Here is a short movie demonstrating the method.

Bill
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top