Optics cleaning best practices.

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dan Forrester

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2003
Messages
907
Location
FL
How does everyone here clean your optics? I did my annual PVS-14 cleaning and did the usual rinse with distilled water and then cleaned the lenses with 99% isopropyl and cotton balls and blew off with compressed air.

Also cleaned some telescope eyepieces too using the same process but no rinse. Is this the best way for me to be doing this? What about other optics like red dots and thermal sights?
  • I would assume most of you are using alcohol right? Isopropyl or ethanol? What percentage? 70% 99% or something else?
  • What are you using for a cloth? Clean cotton? Cotton balls?
  • What’s is your basic cleaning procedure?
  • Anything special precautions I should be taking with germanium lens on a thermal sight or on my PVS-14?
Looking forward to everyone’s responses.

Thank you,

Dan
 
rabid wombat: That B&H photo article was great! Reminds me that I really need to purchase is a blower and a lens pen. The comments at the bottom of the article were helpful too. The article really emphasized not over cleaning your lens.

berettaprofessor: I actually have some of those disposable Zeiss wipes that my wife bought a few years back. I’ve always been reluctant to use them. Because they feel like paper soaked in alcohol. I have it in my mind that anything for cleaning a lens should be soft like cotton. But who am I to second guess a company like Zeiss. They are just sitting there so I guess I should use them.

I appreciate the info!

Thanks,

Dan
 
I use a Giotto Rocket puffer and a Nikon lens pen for regular maintenance.

Binoculars get cleaned the same way as eyeglasses -- with water and dish detergent (Dawn, Palmolive) -- and then blown dry with a puffer or compressed air (a towel for the non-optical lens body). Q-tips work around the edges to get any water or contamination stuck along there. Rotate or roll the Q-tip to lift stuff out and discard before its been around 360.

It's vital to remove grit before any rubbing. A rinse of water is better for this than just a puff of air and most sport optics are waterproof (not so with all optics for photography and astronomy). If I had a dirty riflescope that I didn't want to dismount, I would hold the rifle upside down and use a Nalgene squeeze bottle with the angled nozzle tip, but I use flip-up lens covers and have never had a rifle optic that dirty. Do watch out shooting prone with the muzzle over dusty ground, especially with a muzzle device.

I have a big box of the Zeiss lens wipes with isopropyl alcohol. They're convenient but they can be hard on plastic eyeglass lenses (Trivex, polycarbonate, CR-39). For glass sport optics, I'd still want to be sure the lens coatings were free of grit before I wiped them with the lens wipes. I'd at least use a puffer or the brush on the lens pen. The alcohol is ok for removing sebum deposited with fingerprints or from around the eye, but it's not good for dust and dirt. The charcoal pad on the lens pen is also good for removing the greasy spots.
 
Last edited:
westernrover said:
I use a Giotto Rocket puffer and a Nikon lens pen for regular maintenance.

Binoculars get cleaned the same way as eyeglasses -- with water and dish detergent (Dawn, Palmolive) -- and then blown dry with a puffer or compressed air (a towel for the non-optical lens body). Q-tips work around the edges to get any water or contamination stuck along there. Rotate or roll the Q-tip to lift stuff out and discard before its been around 360.

It's vital to remove grit before any rubbing. A rinse of water is better for this than just a puff of air and most sport optics are waterproof (not so with all optics for photography and astronomy). If I had a dirty riflescope that I didn't want to dismount, I would hold the rifle upside down and use a Nalgene squeeze bottle with the angled nozzle tip, but I use flip-up lens covers and have never had a rifle optic that dirty. Do watch out shooting prone with the muzzle over dusty ground, especially with a muzzle device.

I have a big box of the Zeiss lens wipes with isopropyl alcohol. They're convenient but they can be hard on plastic eyeglass lenses (Trivex, polycarbonate, CR-39). For glass sport optics, I'd still want to be sure the lens coatings were free of grit before I wiped them with the lens wipes. I'd at least use a puffer or the brush on the lens pen. The alcohol is ok for removing sebum deposited with fingerprints or from around the eye, but it's not good for dust and dirt. The charcoal pad on the lens pen is also good for removing the greasy spots.
Click to expand...

If you don't have a Nalgene squirt bottle handy, just stab a bottle of water through the cap to make a single use squirt bottle to flush your scope.

Definitely remove any dust dirt or debris before wiping.
 
I have a big box of the Zeiss lens wipes with isopropyl alcohol. They're convenient but they can be hard on plastic eyeglass lenses (Trivex, polycarbonate, CR-39).
Click to expand...

Which is why I always insist on glass in my eyeglasses ;) Got my first eyeglasses at about 12 years old. Within a year of wiping them on my shirt or a towel, they were a foggy mess. Next pair was glass and I've always worn it since; never scratches.
 
westernrover said:
I use a Giotto Rocket puffer and a Nikon lens pen for regular maintenance.

Binoculars get cleaned the same way as eyeglasses -- with water and dish detergent (Dawn, Palmolive) -- and then blown dry with a puffer or compressed air (a towel for the non-optical lens body). Q-tips work around the edges to get any water or contamination stuck along there. Rotate or roll the Q-tip to lift stuff out and discard before its been around 360.

It's vital to remove grit before any rubbing. A rinse of water is better for this than just a puff of air and most sport optics are waterproof (not so with all optics for photography and astronomy). If I had a dirty riflescope that I didn't want to dismount, I would hold the rifle upside down and use a Nalgene squeeze bottle with the angled nozzle tip, but I use flip-up lens covers and have never had a rifle optic that dirty. Do watch out shooting prone with the muzzle over dusty ground, especially with a muzzle device.

I have a big box of the Zeiss lens wipes with isopropyl alcohol. They're convenient but they can be hard on plastic eyeglass lenses (Trivex, polycarbonate, CR-39). For glass sport optics, I'd still want to be sure the lens coatings were free of grit before I wiped them with the lens wipes. I'd at least use a puffer or the brush on the lens pen. The alcohol is ok for removing sebum deposited with fingerprints or from around the eye, but it's not good for dust and dirt. The charcoal pad on the lens pen is also good for removing the greasy spots.
Click to expand...

The Zeiss wipes are safe for all lenses and coatings, provided they are used correctly.
The correct way is; open the package, gently drag the edge of the not-yet-unfolded wipe across each lens to capture any light dust or dead skin cells on the lens. Then, unfold the wipe and gently, with no pressure on it, wipe side to side on the front and back of each lens, flipping the side used between lenses.
If there is heavy dust and dirt, it's best to run the lenses under running water first.
 
For optics I use the WAY overpriced Zeiss spray lens cleaner solution which is basically isopropyl alcohol and distilled water and micro fiber cloth. For multi-thousand dollar camera lenses and rifle scopes it is worth it to me to WAY overpay for the lens cleaner.

For my eye glasses I have an ultrasonic cleaner filled with grocery store distilled water, isopropyl alcohol and a drop of Dawn dishwasher detergent kept at about 100 degreed F. To clean my coated Trivex lenses I will run them in the ultrasonic cleaner for 1 minute then promptly remove my eyeglasses, shake then dry with a microfiber cloth.

Pretty much all lens coatings will soften if left in water for an extended period of time and heat makes them soften faster. But the heat helps remove my skin oils from the glasses and the ultrasonic blasts the crud out of the crevasses very quickly.

The proper time to wet clean optics is when they are dirty and a blast of air won't remove what ever is on the lens... no sooner.
 
Last edited:
westernrover: Thank you for the detailed description of your cleaning technique and tips. That was extremely helpful! I just picked up a rocket puffer and a Nalgene bottle to keep distilled water in.

I also have a lens pen that’s been hanging around for years that I never used. I really need to start using that.

entropy: Thank you for the proper instructions on how to use the Zeiss wipes. I guess I should read the instructions on the package.

MikeInOr: Do you wash your microfiber cloths in the laundry or just toss them and buy new ones occasionally? Thanks for the advice on when not to clean. Seems like that’s equally as important as the cleaning part.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond!

Dan
 
I wore poly lensed progressive bifocals for many years and never scratched or messed up any of them with the Zeiss wipes. Evidently I was using them correctly and dust is a huge problem here. Now I wear only ordinary Ray-Ban sunglasses when outside and use the free cleaner and microfiber cloths provided by my optician. I used to use the wipes on my scopes and binoculars but now they also get the free stuff treatment.
 
I found some unused film camera liquid (water) lens cleaner and an eyeglass cloth. That works better than anything so far. Otherwise I will use Zeiss eyeglass spray cleaner too.
Clean your soft cloth with dawn type dish soap only, rinse and hang to dry. Any other soap will leave a residue and smear your glass.
 
I use a soft brush or canned compressed air to remove particles from the lenses before I touch them with a microfiber cloth. This practice minimizes scratches in the lenses and coatings. I just use lens cleaner spray and a microfiber cloth.
 
I use a camera lens cleaning kit. Soft lens brush, blower, lens cleaner, and camera lens cleaning cloths. Not that expensive.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
How waterproof is a PVS-14?
Replies
4
Views
642
Steve762us
S
A
  • Locked
Cleaning dirty optics
Replies
12
Views
1K
benEzra
benEzra
chicharrones
  • Locked
Best optic money spent in quite some time.
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
chicharrones
chicharrones
W
  • Locked
imaging sensors as aiming devices?
Replies
20
Views
543
Mk-211
M
2
  • Locked
Springfield Armory Scopes
Replies
0
Views
1K
2/9 Manchu
2
Back
Top