[marting]

Hello all

I spent last night cleaning my optics. I use an air brush to get rid of dust or particles that can scratch the lens and then clean them with a lens cloth but this can take some time when they have got particually dirty. So how do you all clean yours?


Cheers
Martin

[mak]

marting

The best way to clean optics is to use a blower to remove particles, then carry on as you are doing.

Do not use normal tap water should your lenses get muddy, as this can damage the lens coatings (over a period of time), if you are using water, I would suggest distilled water.

Also before using the cloth (which should be a suitable lens cloth, preferance is a microfibre cloth) if you are not using a suitable lens agent, then breath on the lens as you should not clean a dry lens, so to speak.

You say it takes time to clean the lens, bear in mind, depending on which binoculars you own a new lens could cost you quite a bit of money.

[Michael Frankis]

If you've been seawatching or other coastal birding with an onshore wind, beware of tiny salt crystals - can't see them, but they're hard enough to scratch glass if wiped off dry. Make sure they're dissolved in water first by wetting the lens before wiping.

Michael

[Leif]

Personally I wouldn't use a lens cloth as it will retain dirt form previous uses. So you will just grind dirt into the lens coatings. I prefer to avoid cleaning lens surfaces. A little dirt does not do much damage. Once a year is ample unless the optics are exposed to salty air which can damage lens coatings. If I do clean them, I use pieces of fresh cotton wool, with lens cleaning fluid, and throw each pice of cotton wool away after one wipe.

[mak]

Leif

Good point about changing the cloth or in your case, cotton wool.

The lens cloth under normal conditions should be o.k. for a short while, but I agree, it should be changed regually.

The cotton wool method is used by a lot of manufacturers, especially after they have serviced binoculars.

[marting]

Thanks for some good advice, mine were covered in salt from a sea watching trip. I never thought of the salt crystals damaging the lens. I use a Pentax microfibre lens cleaning cloth which is washable. They cost around 3 pounds and well worth a try.

Martin

[IanF]

I use a blower brush for the lose stuff anf then Bouchard Optical Wipes - they work a treat.

[Andrew]

A bit of advice, never be tempted to wipe your bins with your fleece sleeve. I did and there are two teeny scratches. Not bad ebnough to ruin them thankfully. I carry folded sheets of kitchen roll in all my birding coats and just press them onto the lens to soak up the moisture without actually wiping them.

[Andy Bright]

Amazing! I was all set to start a thread today on cleaning lenses and low and behold this happens :-)
My own philosophy is that, unless you've got some very dirty lenses, you're better off leaving the glass alone.
When I do clean the lenses, it's a blower brush then a bit of moisture from my breath and a gentle buff with a lens cloth (washed carefully in warm water without detergents).

BTW, does anyone know the insect repellant (or chemical contained in it) that can damage the coatings on glass?
Andy

[Ragna]

Iuse a thing called a lens pen for my bins its got a brush at one end and a self cleaning pad at the other £3 from 7dayshop for my scope iuse optical cleaner and a soft lens cloth or the lens pen if front of scope is very dirty after seawatghing i sometimes use opticlean this is for cleaning camera lens, you paint it on with a brush let it dry then peal it off your len is as clean as when your scope was new, can be a bit tricky to use thow.

[Andrew]

Andy, I have used a repellant that was 50% Deet and some warned me it could melt rubber but the casing of the Swaro ATS did alright. Maybe it's neat Deet (pardon the pun!) that causes damage. Mind you it was strong enough to burn my neck!

[wizard]

if the stuff burnt your neck i would throw it in the bin. check out online exactly what is in it & side effects, it is probably banned in half the states. i have a lens pen but reluctant to use it much & prefure the micro cloth washed regular so it is always clean & i breath on the lens before cleaning. they are much too expensive to take a short cut with and just give a quick wipe with a cloth. you will pay in the long run if care is not taken.
as for melting rubber................ why do we use such crap!

[Felipe]

I just bought the wide angle and telefoto acessory lenses for my Coolpix 5700 and Nikon reccommends using 100 % ethanol to clean the lenses.

Felipe

[Blincodave]

I use a Hoya skylight filter on my Nikon ED fieldscope. It provides protection, doesn't apparently degrade the quality of the image and can be easily removed for cleaning. I bought it second hand from a camera shop for £10. When I do clean it I use a Pentax micro fibre cloth which can be washed.

Dave Griffiths

[roadrunner]

My birding retailer recently advised me concerning my new Leica: submerge it in water. Horrors! Like accidentally dropping my camera into the ocean. Can that possibly be true?!

Clean optics = clear sight,
roadrunner

[Beverlybaynes]

I once attended a talk on optics given by Pete Dunne, birder and storyteller extraodinare. The man gets incredible optics thrown at him constantly by Swarovski, Leica, Zeiss, etc., for testing purposes. So he knows a lot about optics.

This same question was posed to him during the Q&A. His answer:

"I use spit and my shirttail."

After the laughter died down, he did speak more seriously about it, and made many of the same suggestions as you all have.

[helenol]

Is it ok to used those wipes one can buy for cleaning glasses etc?

[salty]

Originally Posted by helenol

Is it ok to used those wipes one can buy for cleaning glasses etc?

yeah, i think they would be fine. i have some lens cleaner for spectacles- its in a small aerosol, but when i looked at the instructions for use, i noticed it is made by zeiss! so its probaly fine for optics, same as the chamois leather cloth i got for my specs. thats what i use anyway.

[helenol]

Originally Posted by salty

yeah, i think they would be fine. i have some lens cleaner for spectacles- its in a small aerosol, but when i looked at the instructions for use, i noticed it is made by zeiss! so its probaly fine for optics, same as the chamois leather cloth i got for my specs. thats what i use anyway.

Thanks Salty, hopefully that'll do nicely for my Zeiss bins then

[salty]

all you need is a soft chamois leather- and give your bins a gentle wipe before you put them away each night! no need for anything fancy- overcleaning is just as bad as not cleaning from my experience.

[Bill Atwood]

Originally Posted by Andy Bright

BTW, does anyone know the insect repellant (or chemical contained in it) that can damage the coatings on glass?
Andy

I got some on my eyeglasses which have a Zeiss antireflective coating and it did take off the coating. I am much more careful now when using spray repellent around optics.

[Jonathan B.]

Where I live it is often very dry and dusty, especially during the drought we have been in for the past six years. In the few riparian areas where I often bird, I find that in hot summer weather tiny droplets of moisture fall onto my eyepieces. In any case--hot and dry, cold and dry, or hot and humid--I find that I need to clean my binocular lenses as often as every other month.

I use a very soft lens brush and my breath to remove loose dust particles. I do all other cleaning with cotton, which I buy in bags of cotton balls. I find that the cleanliness of the cotton varies from brand to brand. I think that residues remain in cotton from processing and cleaning, and some brands tend to leave more residue on lenses than others. The cleanest brand I have found is under the label Western Family, which is a low-priced brand of all types of bathroom-cabinet items. In my experience, more expensive "sterilized" cottons leave more residue.

I wash my hands thoroughly before starting and work on a clean surface. While I work, I split each ball into two or three smaller wads. I NEVER apply any pressure from behind when touching the cotton to a lens. I start by dipping a ball in distilled water and squeezing out some of the excess. I mop the surface with the wet cotton, wiping only once and discarding the wad. I repeat this until I have wiped the entire surface. I then repeat this two or more times using good quality lens cleaning fluid. In the U.S., Sam's Club has been selling 8-ounce bottles of fluid in pairs for $5.99, which is a great buy. This certainly beats the typical 1.25-ounce bottle of Kodak or other cleaner at a photographic store for almost the same price.

After wiping with cleaning fluid a few times, and while the lens is still slightly damp, I take a clean, dry wad and wipe very lightly (again, without pressing on the cotton--instead using it like a mop) moving the wad in a circular motion until the fluid has evaporated. A few tiny swirls of purplish, hazy residue sometimes remain, regardless of the brand of fluid. These are most often around the edges of the lenses, but they are harmless and wipe off with the next cleaning. These swirls have no effect on optical performance, at least not as far as I can detect.

On occasion I have had tree sap or other tough deposits on lenses. For those I have used USP grade isopropyl alchohol, which can be purchased at almost any drug store. After cleaning with alcohol, I always clean again with lens fluid. Before using this type of alchohol, you might want to experiment to be sure it does not dissolve any plastics or other materials. I have never had to resort to a stronger solvent, and I would probably e-mail the manufacturer before using acetone or other solvents.

My method is not perfect, but I have never gotten even the tiniest scratch on a lens by using it. It does not take more than ten minutes to clean the lenses on a binocular.

The only scratches on my lenses have come from using micro-fiber lens cloths, which I quit using two years ago. I used to cringe every time I used one, even if I had just washed it. I no longer worry about scratching lens coatings.

[Alan M.]

Originally Posted by Ragna

Iuse a thing called a lens pen for my bins its got a brush at one end and a self cleaning pad at the other £3 from 7dayshop for my scope iuse optical cleaner and a soft lens cloth or the lens pen if front of scope is very dirty after seawatghing i sometimes use opticlean this is for cleaning camera lens, you paint it on with a brush let it dry then peal it off your len is as clean as when your scope was new, can be a bit tricky to use thow.

Recently, here in the US I spoke with a rep at Swarovski over the phone who suggested avoiding using the lens pen since it had caused problems for some users while cleaning Swarovski binos, problems serious enough for the repair department to be aware of them. I did not ask for any information in detail since it was enough warning for me to throw away my lens pen.

Secondly I find it amusing that different manufacturers suggest different ways of cleaning binos. There are different ways suggested to rid the lenses of dust (some suggest a camera lens brush, others dusting using crimped up lens paper, etc.), and different ways of preparing the lens before wiping with a lens cloth sometimes supplied by the bino manufacturer. Pentax, for example, suggests using their Clear View liquid, Swarovski suggests fogging the lenses with one's breath, and only using a liquid preparation if fogging is not sufficent, and so on. Since I own Swarovskis and find their method the simplest, I use it. In addition, I have found that liquid preparations sometimes leave a film around the edges. A bino salesperson told me to use a q-tip (for those who don't know what that is, it is a short stick with cotton wrapped around one end) for getting rid of this film. I have not had to try that yet. so can't report if it is effective.

[Bill Atwood]

Originally Posted by Alan M.

Recently, here in the US I spoke with a rep at Swarovski over the phone who suggested avoiding using the lens pen since it had caused problems for some users while cleaning Swarovski binos, problems serious enough for the repair department to be aware of them. I did not ask for any information in detail since it was enough warning for me to throw away my lens pen.

In addition, I have found that liquid preparations sometimes leave a film around the edges. A bino salesperson told me to use a q-tip (for those who don't know what that is, it is a short stick with cotton wrapped around one end) for getting rid of this film. I have not had to try that yet. so can't report if it is effective.

The Lenspen has 2 cleaning elements, the brush on one end and the small felt pad on the other. I can't imagine the brush being the issue. I imagine the rubbing with the felt pad is what may cause any problems. The suggested method od use would grind any foreign material right into the glass.

There is a liquid pump spray called ROR (Residual Oil Remover) that does a great job of cleaning and doesn't leave any streaks or film, unlike every other liquid cleaner I've tried.

[Pileatus]

This is experience talking.

I recommend you do not use lens pens. I repeat, I recommend you do not use lens pens on your binocular optical coatings.

I'll say more about how I clean my delicate SE's eyepiece coatings later.

John