Cleaning Lenses And Camera Optics

robbins.photo · Feb 13, 2017

Trever1t said:
I use the inside of my t shirt.

I do the same thing. Whenever one of my lenses gets dirty, I use the inside of Trever's T-shirt. Must be the fabric softener he uses.. but there is just no better way to clean a lens.

smoke665 · Feb 13, 2017

@robbins.photo I hope Trevor has a lot of T-shirts LOL

jcdeboever · Feb 13, 2017

The best microfiber towel you can buy is made buy 3M or Meguiars. You can buy them in any Automotive paint stores and they are more expensive. If you decide to wash them, NEVER use fabric softener or fabric softened laundry soap, or place them in the dryer. IF you absolutely feel the need to throw them in the dryer, do not use a dryer sheet. IF you laid out various brands and looked at them under magnification, it is very apparent in the loop and fabric structure. Sams club sells a 24 pack that are a very good value and good quality, just not as precisely manufactured as the 3M or Meguiars brand, even though they probably don't make them themselves. This is more critical in the paint refinish sector because the clearcoat takes roughly 72 hours to fully case harder and often times, the vehicle comes out of bake, cools down, and is quickly detailed for imperfections while the paint is still relatively in a softer stage.

dasmith232 · Feb 13, 2017

You can clean lenses? I thought you just had to buy a new one... :1219:

I use whatever I get my hands on first. Sometimes that's a microfiber cloth. Sometimes LensPen (brush first, but I've also never had a problem with the carbon pad for lifting oil - fingerprints). Sometimes, a quick blow and t-shirt treatment. I have a Rocket Blower but it sits at home after getting tired of carrying too much other stuff. (I definitely use the blower for cleaning sensors.)

petrochemist · Feb 13, 2017

With mine it depends very much on the nature of the dirt, the lens & where I am.

Out on a shoot my shirt has been used on many occasions to mop up rain drops etc.
More stubborn marks (I have some VERY cheap lenses) are often treated to iso-propanol (rubbing alcohol) via a q-tip/cotton bud (after a puff with a blower). recently the edges of one old lens rescued from a friends garage had the edges cleaned out with the wooden handle of a broken cotton bud.
One element of another un-coated lens ended up having a short treatment with hydrochloric acid to shift some stubborn fungus (not something to try on modern lens).
Being a chemist & working in a lab gives me ready access to many things not normally available, and often at much higher purities.

smoke665 · Feb 13, 2017

petrochemist said:
short treatment with hydrochloric acid

Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!

table1349 · Feb 13, 2017

I am not a micro fiber fan. Once dirty they do not get clean again in a typical washing machine. They will hold onto little particles of dirt etc.

The best practice with micro fiber cloths when cleaning lenses, be it a camera lens or eye glasses is to hand wash them very often because they trap debris so effectively. Hand-wash the cloth using lotion-free dishwashing liquid and clean water; allow the cloth to air dry.

petrochemist · Feb 13, 2017

smoke665 said:
petrochemist said:

short treatment with hydrochloric acid

Click to expand...

Yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hydrochloric acid does not effect glass, I wouldn't want to get it on any metal bits though, and it might be harmful to coatings!
IIRC hydrofluoric acid is about the only acid that eats glass at any significant rate.

smoke665 · Feb 13, 2017

@petrochemist but what about the coatings?????

table1349 · Feb 13, 2017

dasmith232 · Feb 13, 2017

petrochemist said:
...Being a chemist & working in a lab gives me ready access to many things not normally available, and often at much higher purities.

For some reason, I'm thinking of the TV series Dexter...

SuzukiGS750EZ · Feb 13, 2017

I use sandpaper and bleach on the rear element and i do the same for the front but i also add fiberglass insulation to get rid of the rest of the dust after the sandpaper.

dasmith232 · Feb 13, 2017

Here's a good video (because pictures are better than words)...

smoke665 · Feb 14, 2017

SuzukiGS750EZ said:
I use sandpaper and bleach on the rear element and i do the same for the front but i also add fiberglass insulation to get rid of the rest of the dust after the sandpaper.

You might want to borrow my sand blaster. Much faster!

petrochemist · Feb 14, 2017

'@petrochemist but what about the coatings?????'
In my experience nothing you can do to an uncoated lens will effect the coatings!
Perhaps you missed that bit of my first post.