Cleaning (1 Viewer)

ali travers · Sep 30, 2006

hi all
I ve made the leap and purchase a high end pair of binoculars, leica trinovids.
and there grate, can anyone give any tips on keeping them clean and in good order. tried with cleaning kit given to me with the bins but it seems to smear a lot and take ages to clean what are the best products and where can I get them.

cheers all.

Tero · Sep 30, 2006

Congratulations. I have no special tricks, but I would just leave them dirty until you figure it out.Try a camera store. The less often you need to clean them the better. The slight dirt does not affect your view all that much.

scampo · Sep 30, 2006

ali travers said:
hi all
I ve made the leap and purchase a high end pair of binoculars, leica trinovids.
and there grate, can anyone give any tips on keeping them clean and in good order. tried with cleaning kit given to me with the bins but it seems to smear a lot and take ages to clean what are the best products and where can I get them.

cheers all.

I think it's impossible to clean a lens easily using a cloth. So much depends on the cloth soaking up all the "dirt" and that's unlikely by the laws of physics, probably.

I use on of those large puffers to get rid of any surface dirt then, use isopropanol bought from my local chemist's in combination with ear buds and two microfibre cloths.

That said, I'm also sure another perfectly safe way would be to take advantage of the entirely waterproof nature of the bins and hold the lenses under gently running water before using the isopropanol. I would guess that a soft-haired clean paint brush could even be used with a non-detergent based soap (like Ecover) to get rid of grease marks. The important thing is to make quite sure that even micro-particles of grit are removed before wiping with a cloth - the puffer brush and running water should achieve this.

There was a long thread on BF about this about a year or so back - you could search for htis.

ceasar · Sep 30, 2006

I read recently that Leica has stopped recommending using running water under pressure for cleaning their Trinovids and Ultravids. Complete submerging of the binocular is OK, but ONLY IF (Leica stresses this) the diopter wheel is completely locked.

I have found the little cleaning kit Zeiss sells very useful. It has a micro cloth and a spray bottle of cleaning fluid that evaporates quickly.
Cordially,
Bob

mook · Sep 30, 2006

'I use on of those large puffers to get rid of any surface dirt then, use isopropanol bought from my local chemist's in combination with ear buds and two microfibre cloths.'

I'm 100% with scampo on this method of cleaning the lenses.....blow off any particles, soak the tip of the cotton bud, swirl the bud gently on the lens (start in the centre and work towards the edges), then use a nice clean microfibre lens cloth to wipe off (again centre out to the edge). I often put the cloth over a dry cotton bud to do this as you can get right into the edges of the lens. You dont need to use the fluid everytime, you can also just breathe lightly onto the glass and use the cloth. If you've got smudges after using the fluid, then just breathe on the lens and use the cloth or cloth/cotton bud combo to wipe over again - this usually removes any smudges or residue.

Any lens cleaning fluid will do (isopropanol) - Jessops or your local photo shop will have it for a couple of quid. They'll also have decent microfibre cloths too.

I've never run a pair of binoculars under a tap before - I usually clean the body/rubber with a damp soapy cloth & dry it off. I have found that the coatings on Leica & Zeiss binoculars are very durable - just make sure there's no grit on the optics before rubbing a cloth over them! This is where those 'cleaning marks' happen!

Hope this helps.

Mook

scampo · Sep 30, 2006

ceasar said:
I read recently that Leica has stopped recommending using running water under pressure for cleaning their Trinovids and Ultravids. Complete submerging of the binocular is OK, but ONLY IF (Leica stresses this) the diopter wheel is completely locked.

I have found the little cleaning kit Zeiss sells very useful. It has a micro cloth and a spray bottle of cleaning fluid that evaporates quickly.
Cordially,
Bob

I was not recommending the use of a pressure washer...

(-;

(just a running tap)

JohnnyH · Sep 30, 2006

ali travers said:
hi all
I ve made the leap and purchase a high end pair of binoculars, leica trinovids.
and there grate, can anyone give any tips on keeping them clean and in good order. tried with cleaning kit given to me with the bins but it seems to smear a lot and take ages to clean what are the best products and where can I get them.

cheers all.

Hi Ali,

Try this, http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/care_of_optics.htm One word of caution when using Alcahol to clean your optics, make sure you don't allow it to make contact with the rubber armouring or eyecups as it can warp & discolour the rubber.

Cheers,

John.

scampo · Oct 1, 2006

JohnnyH said:
Hi Ali,

Try this, http://www.kayoptical.co.uk/care_of_optics.htm One word of caution when using Alcahol to clean your optics, make sure you don't allow it to make contact with the rubber armouring or eyecups as it can warp & discolour the rubber.

Cheers,

John.

Although I do it on occasion, I have never felt quite convinced by simply breathing on a glass. This action provides such a tiny level of moisture - and often none if the air conditions cause immediate evaporation. I find myself liking a couple of drops of isopropanol as this provides sufficient liquid to dissolve and dilute whatever contaminant is on the glass surface (and dissolving and diluting are the only real ways in which way cleaning works - followed by absorption onto a cloth or rinsing). That said, although I rarely do it, I suspect the safest route, if the optic is waterproof, would be to allow water - preferably distilled or ionised - to run over the lens surface gently before a final careful circular wipe with a fibre free lens cloth or lens tissue.

Tero · Oct 1, 2006

Yes, all those are possible. I have used gentle running water for some visible specs. But the cleaning can affect coatings, so don't do the thorough cleaning too often. Plain water and the proper microfibre should take most dirt. I'm wondering how long it will take to rub off coatings. I have some coatings on my eye glasses and I clean them daily But I get a new pair in 3 years or less.

scampo · Oct 1, 2006

Tero said:
Yes, all those are possible. I have used gentle running water for some visible specs. But the cleaning can affect coatings, so don't do the thorough cleaning too often. Plain water and the proper microfibre should take most dirt. I'm wondering how long it will take to rub off coatings. I have some coatings on my eye glasses and I clean them daily But I get a new pair in 3 years or less.

You surprise me about the longevity and durability of coatings. I was under the impression that glass coatings (not those applied to plastic spectacle lenses) are very hard? I've never had any problems - but I do agree that infrequent cleaning is a good idea. That said, leaving smeras and dirt on a coated glass is surely risky, too - the dirt and smearing itself might react chemically with the coating.

tom24 · Oct 1, 2006

Don't run your leicas under a tap.It does create enough pressure to get into the bins.
I did it with a pair of trinovid 8x32 which had sand in the eyepiece area and a couple of days later saw moisture in one.
However,sent to leica for repair and back in my hands exactly seven days later.
Tom.

danehower · Oct 1, 2006

Have any of you folks checked out the nikon lense pen ?http://nikon.binoculars.com/products/nikon-lenspen-21040.html?gclid=CIyx_t7p2IcCFQeZHgodDngZqw - my brother got me one of these and it works great . Especially for the corners of the lense where it is a little bit difficult to get the edge clean. In addition I have found breathing on the lense works great especially if you have been drinking large quantities of scotch whiskey the night before - it adds an alcoholic cleanser to the vapor !3

- lol - sorry-

Tero · Oct 2, 2006

Sure, glass will be more permanent than plastic lenses.

I only mentioned the water as a solution since I get dirt in the eye cup end of binoculars, and in the threads of the cups as well. I have found running water in the sink to be sufficient to wash out bits of organic matter from trees etc. I screw the cups in and out as I am rinsing the dirt out under the tap. I screw the cups in and let them dry, gently wiping the lenses with my eye glass cloth.

scampo · Oct 2, 2006

tom24 said:
Don't run your leicas under a tap.It does create enough pressure to get into the bins.
I did it with a pair of trinovid 8x32 which had sand in the eyepiece area and a couple of days later saw moisture in one.
However,sent to leica for repair and back in my hands exactly seven days later.
Tom.

My, I am surprised. It can't be much of a seal then?

postcardcv · Oct 2, 2006

scampo said:
My, I am surprised. It can't be much of a seal then?

Leica (and I believe other makes) are only waterproof to depths of 5m, or put another way 0.5 bar resistant. This does not allow for much water pressure and even a gently running tap will have significantly higher water pressure than a bowl of water. Personally I'd never risk puttting my bins under a tap.

When I clean my bins I use a blower and then a brush to remove any large bits and then use the common method of breathing on the lenses and cleaning in a circular motion. I clean my bins as infrequently as I can, only doing so if any marks start to effect the image they deliver.

scampo · Oct 2, 2006

postcardcv said:
Leica (and I believe other makes) are only waterproof to depths of 5m, or put another way 0.5 bar resistant. This does not allow for much water pressure and even a gently running tap will have significantly higher water pressure than a bowl of water. Personally I'd never risk puttting my bins under a tap.

When I clean my bins I use a blower and then a brush to remove any large bits and then use the common method of breathing on the lenses and cleaning in a circular motion. I clean my bins as infrequently as I can, only doing so if any marks start to effect the image they deliver.

The pressure at 5m is really quite great, I'd say. A gently running tap can't come close to that kind of pressure, surely? I suppose ideally a lab type squeezy bottle of distilled water would be ideal.

Ah well - better be safe than sorry, but I've never yet had a problem.

tom24 · Oct 2, 2006

I believed that running tap water over the bins was advocated by leica and others,but when mentioned what was wrong with the bin to those where i bought it,they asked if i had indeed put them under a tap?
Just won't do that again with any bins,but i've certainly had both swaro and leicas out in heavy rains w/out any problems.
As for lens pens,i've used them for years w/out any bother after ensuring that the lenses are as free of particles as far as i can see.

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