• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

How do you clean your bins (optics)? (1 Viewer)

kristoffer

Used Register
Hello. I wonder how you clean your optics. I usually rinse the bin under the tap then let them dry and perhaps wash of some remaning stain with a micro fiber tissue. I used to use an air-blower to remove dust before I started to clean with the tissue but even the smallest particle could damage the coatings and annoy me like hell, so now I try to avoid rubbing the surface of the bin with anything. How do you do it?
 
Hi Kristoffer, earlier this year I was caught in a tropical downpour and my bins had water inside them. I took all the lenses out carefully cleaned them with my lens cleaning kit,cleaned as best I could the prism with cotton buds, dried it all reassembled the bins and now they as good as new, it did me a favour getting them wet because I didn't realise how dirty they were. Regards from Nick
 
Kristoffer:

Cleaning can be done without any fear of scratching coatings. Many methods have been described on the forum. The way I clean is the same way that Leif described cleaning (where is Leif nowadays, anyway?).

I have NEVER used a lens pen, microfiber cloth, or lens tissue. I use cotton balls that you buy from any pharmacy. I never apply any pressure to a ball when it is in contact with a lens. Instead I use it like a tiny mop.

I use lens cleaning solution made for eyeglasses, which you can also buy at a pharmacy or discount store. A few years ago I bought some large bottles at a discount place, and when I mentioned it in a thread, one or two posters went on about how the cheap stuff would destroy coatings forever. The truth is that it is merely a wetting agent and is removed before the cleaning process is completed.

I also use distilled water, and occasionally 99% Isopropyl Alcohol (not the 94% or 97% that you buy at a grocery; 99% is available at a pharmacy).

I tear apart cotton balls as I use them, using only a third to a half of one at a time.

I start by wetting a piece of cotton with lens cleaning solution and wiping it gently over the lens. Do not apply any pressure against the lens. Again, use the cotton as if it is a tiny mop. I repeat this several times. I then do the same using distilled water, and then use dry cotton, repeating until the swirls of water haze evaporate cleanly.

Two flaws may remain at this point: (1) a tiny spot of tree sap or hardened organic liquid, which sometimes falls from the leaves of deciduous trees, or (2) swirls that don't go away. The spot can almost always be removed with the alcohol. At least in my experience every such spot has come off with alcohol. I use the alcohol the exact same way, with cotton. It will not hurt any modern coatings, though it and other solutions may be harmful to coatings on some vintage binoculars. After using the alchohol, you have to repeat the process with lens cleaning solution and distilled water.

Swirls generally mean that the lens is still not clean, so you repeat the process until you succeed.

You need to be patient and take your time. But you will not hurt your lenses.

Some other possibilities. On a few occasions my bins have gotten terribly dirty in a dust storm. I rinsed the (waterproof) bodies under slowly running water and poured tap water from my cupped hand over the lenses several times, shook them off, wiped off the bodies, and then proceeded to clean the lenses as above.

I clean lenses as infrequently as I can get away with, but as often as necessary. Even moderately dirty oculars can reduce contrast and resolution, and the smaller the exit pupil, the more the dirt affects your view.

I have cleaned all my lenses this way for years. If I examine their surfaces in open sunlight with a 10X magnifier, I still cannot find the tiniest scratch or cleaning mark on them. They are virtually perfect.

I cringe when I see people using microfiber cloths, dragging grit around on the surfaces of their lenses. And I usually go slack-jawed when I see people use their breath and t-shirts to clean lenses. I know two birders who do this to their Ultravids.
 
Last edited:
Any opinions about the "LENS PEN"?
I bought them, they are wonderful! Even my chinese binos have their eyepieces VERY cleaned now.
But.. do these lens pen damage the lens? Because it is kind of a rubber...
 
spray on D&A lens cleaner then wipe carefully with a proper lens cleaning cloth using a gentle circular motion. This works for me!
 
I have NEVER used a lens pen, microfiber cloth, or lens tissue. ............

I use lens cleaning solution made for eyeglasses,......................

I cringe when I see people using microfiber cloths, dragging grit around on the surfaces of their lenses.

Great description of what you do Jonathan. I especially like your recommendation to not use too much pressure; I will remember this. I too use 'coated lens cleaner' that I get from the optician. It's a spray on one that is expensive but you don't need much and it lasts for ages. But before I do that I use a fine soft artists brush to brush off dust. I don't use this brush for anything else and it is covered when not in use.

I'm puzzled by your dislike of microfiber cloth. I can understand your view if people reuse the same piece and keep it in their grubby pocket when not in use. Or is it the actual microfiber cloth that is the problem? I buy little rolls of disposable microfiber cloth, tear off a piece, use it once and throw it away. I get it from a camera shop and it seems perfect. Am I missing something?
 
lots of great advice here!

this has probably been posted elsewhere, but for removing grit and grime the "rocket blower" has worked well for me. it has a lot more moving air power than a regular bulb blower, and in most all casess sends any particulates flying off the ocular or objective surface. there are two sizes; the bigger one is sorta large to pack in the field, so i usually carry the smaller one.

i also have decided on cotton balls, the sterile ones are more expensive, but a carton of these lasts a long time, and like the poster above typically i tear them into 1/2's or 1/3's.

also most likely recommended in other threads, "ROR" or "residual oil remover" is in my view WAY better than any other liquid for oil, smudge an f/print erasure. a bit pricey at $7 for a small spray bottle, ROR is the only solution i've tried that evaporates cleanly w/out the need for additional rubbing or polishing. the above two step process has worked fine w/out a lot of time or additional equipment, and is esp handy in the field.

like the poster above i have at times washer waterproof 'nocs in the sink, which is nice for cleaning 'em up following a face down encounter w/ a muddy trail! i started doing this many years ago when i just couldn't figure any other way to take encrusted mud off a bin, and have never marred a glass surface.

regards,
utc
 
For any really stubborn spots there's always a Zanussi top loader with hand-wash setting and a leaf-blower in the shed you can borrow.
 
Great description of what you do Jonathan. I especially like your recommendation to not use too much pressure; I will remember this. I too use 'coated lens cleaner' that I get from the optician. It's a spray on one that is expensive but you don't need much and it lasts for ages. But before I do that I use a fine soft artists brush to brush off dust. I don't use this brush for anything else and it is covered when not in use.

I'm puzzled by your dislike of microfiber cloth. I can understand your view if people reuse the same piece and keep it in their grubby pocket when not in use. Or is it the actual microfiber cloth that is the problem? I buy little rolls of disposable microfiber cloth, tear off a piece, use it once and throw it away. I get it from a camera shop and it seems perfect. Am I missing something?


I can't say that use of microfiber cloth according to the directions of optics manufacturers is harmful, but I am skeptical about the safety of its frequent use to wipe dust/grit from lenses. So I simply don't use it and have come to rely on a wet cleaning method. I don't know if anybody has studied the long-term effects of cleaning methods on lens coatings, and that information would probably be useful to many people who follow this forum.
 
I can't say that use of microfiber cloth according to the directions of optics manufacturers is harmful, but I am skeptical about the safety of its frequent use to wipe dust/grit from lenses. So I simply don't use it and have come to rely on a wet cleaning method. I don't know if anybody has studied the long-term effects of cleaning methods on lens coatings, and that information would probably be useful to many people who follow this forum.

This isn't science Jonathan, but I cleaned my 10x42 Trinovids for 13 years with soap suds and water, then windex, a thorough final rinsing with water, and in later years wiping dry with a micro fiber cloth. At the time I sold them the lenses looked like brand new. Flushing with water is the key.

Non waterproof optics are more complicated of course. Compressed air is where I start there, moving on to a light touch with either a cotton ball or white, unscented Kleenex with a little lens cleaning solution. Once you are convinced any dust is gone, fogging the lens with your breath and wiping (circular pattern) with a micro fiber cloth works brilliantly. :t:
 
This isn't science Jonathan, but I cleaned my 10x42 Trinovids for 13 years with soap suds and water, then windex, a thorough final rinsing with water, and in later years wiping dry with a micro fiber cloth. At the time I sold them the lenses looked like brand new. Flushing with water is the key.

Non waterproof optics are more complicated of course. Compressed air is where I start there, moving on to a light touch with either a cotton ball or white, unscented Kleenex with a little lens cleaning solution. Once you are convinced any dust is gone, fogging the lens with your breath and wiping (circular pattern) with a micro fiber cloth works brilliantly. :t:

I too have used breath as a last step, while wiping away the last wisplike swirls. But I'm almost afraid to admit that, since another forumer was once skewered for saying that. What, with all the dangerous chemical compounds in our bodies, the coatings would shrink and flake off.

I do wonder about some old coatings. Some WWII-era bins were issued with warnings about not using liquids to clean the lenses. That seems counterintuitive, since some were Navy issue.
 
I too have used breath as a last step, while wiping away the last wisplike swirls. But I'm almost afraid to admit that, since another forumer was once skewered for saying that. What, with all the dangerous chemical compounds in our bodies, the coatings would shrink and flake off.

I do wonder about some old coatings. Some WWII-era bins were issued with warnings about not using liquids to clean the lenses. That seems counterintuitive, since some were Navy issue.

Don't worry about getting skewered Jonathan. There will always be people around with strong opinions founded on little knowledge.

Regarding old (as in old binoculars) coatings, that is potentially a different story alright. I would be extra careful with them and frankly wouldn't know the best way to clean them. I'm thinking of 70s era and prior myself, but I suppose it might vary quite a bit between manufacturers. I really don't know.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 15 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top