Lens Cleaning

[RalphLambrecht]

I recently taught myself how to clean lenses to factory-fresh, pristine conditions. I stood pretty much with all the common advice, such as blowing off loose dust and debris first and using only professional lens cleaning fluid, but I made one exception: I do not exclusively use dedicated lens tissue but also use, God forbid. wood-free soft toilet paper. It is my experience that as soon as it is moist from the cleaning fluid, there is no longer a risk of scratching the glass or coatings. What is your experience?

 

[mshchem]

Old 100% cotton men's undershirt. Fresh from wash and dry. I use a tiny bit of ROR lens cleaner. ROR ( residual oil remover) really does a nice job. Obviously you never spray directly on the lens or filter. Just marginally dampen the cotton cloth.

 

[Taylor K Nankervis]

God forbid. wood-free soft toilet paper.

What's good for your bum is good for your lens, or so it seems...
My regime for cleaning filters (never the front or rear lens element if and when I can avoid doing that) is Zeiss lens cleaner (or 100% IPA, in a pen-shaped microatomizer in each pack) and a microfibre cloth, of which each camera pack/system has several in dry bags. Nothing else, ever.

 

[images39]

What's good for your bum is good for your lens, or so it seems...
My regime for cleaning filters (never the front or rear lens element if and when I can avoid doing that) is Zeiss lens cleaner (or 100% IPA, in a pen-shaped microatomizer in each pack) and a microfibre cloth, of which each camera pack/system has several in dry bags. Nothing else, ever.

Wow, my favorite brew can also be used for a lens cleaner, woo!

Dale

 

[mshchem]

Alcohol doesn't dissolve fats and oils. Isopropyl alcohol is polar, similar to water, so good for dissolving similar compounds and fast to evaporate.

I've not been impressed by the wipes that bear the Zeiss branding.

 

[Taylor K Nankervis]

I've not been impressed by the wipes that bear the Zeiss branding.

The wipes are barely good for cleaning a baby's bum! But the Zeiss cleaning fluid is beaut. Antifog wipes for specs also work a treat; used on viewfinder eyepiece, right-angle finders and of course the all-important spectacackles, without which I am batshit crazy blind.

Modern filters, as opposed to modern lens elements, can be cleaned with anything you can think of that is ready to hand, being pretty much idiot-proof by way of their tough coatings (NiSi, B+W, Hoya, etc) ... unless you niggle them with sandpaper! To be sure, even a snot rag will do.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I recently taught myself how to clean lenses to factory-fresh, pristine conditions.

I just use an old cotton T-shirt.

People stress too much.

 

[Petrochemist]

Alcohol doesn't dissolve fats and oils. Isopropyl alcohol is polar, similar to water, so good for dissolving similar compounds and fast to evaporate.

I've not been impressed by the wipes that bear the Zeiss branding.

'Alcohol' describes a large class of compounds many of which (such as decanol) will dissolve most oils/fats.
isopropanol has both polar & non-polar potions (more of the non-polar than ethanol) it is 100% miscible with heptane, benzene & other light hydrocarbons as well as with water. IIRC it's one of two compounds used in liquid chromatography that is fully miscible with all the other such compounds. The other acetone is too aggressive with plastics to be a wise choice in cleaning lenses.

 

[Petrochemist]

Wow, my favorite brew can also be used for a lens cleaner, woo!

Dale

I have to say I prefer iso-propanol to indian pale ale, though I wouldn't usually drink either. I prefer less hoppy ales. I have loads of jobs lined up for isopropanol now I no longer have free access to it

 

[RalphLambrecht]

my main interest was in other people's experience with the use of soft papers such as toilet paper, which is blamed for scratching, but with me using it extensively (moist to clean and dry to softly wipe off cleaning fluid residue) I've never noticed any scratching of glas or coatings.

 

[gbroadbridge]

my main interest was in other people's experience with the use of soft papers such as toilet paper, which is blamed for scratching, but with me using it extensively (moist to clean and dry to softly wipe off cleaning fluid residue) I've never noticed any scratching of glas or coatings.

Even those old packets of tear off lens tissues (remember them?), will scratch a lens if used dry.

They all required moistening with a drop of some type of lens cleaning solution - typically back then, just soapy water in a bottle

 

[snusmumriken]

I reckon the main downside of toilet tissue is its propensity to snag on the notched rings that hold the lens elements in place. Lens tissue rarely does, presumably because it’s made of longer fibres. Other than that, I find lens tissue quite stiff even when wet, so am careful to use a very, very light touch.

 

[xkaes]

If you do it right, you never need to clean the glass on a lens. OK, you might need clean off the UV filter that you have on the front, or blow off some dust on the rear element before you put on the rear lens cap, but that's it.

 

[snusmumriken]

If you do it right, you never need to clean the glass on a lens. OK, you might need clean off the UV filter that you have on the front, or blow off some dust on the rear element before you put on the rear lens cap, but that's it.

In terms of cleaning technique, what’s the difference between cleaning a filter and cleaning the front of the lens? Of course there’s less at risk with the filter, but if your cleaning technique is good, there’s no worry.

 

[xkaes]

Since I normally use a lens cap on the front, I hardly ever need to clean my UV filters either, and when I do, a puff of air or a camel hair brush will get rid of any dust, etc.

The only time I've had to get serious about cleaning lens elements directly was when I've bought -- or more likely given -- a used lens in BAD shape. One, a 300mm lens, just had a filter on the front with broken glass -- so that really doesn't count as "cleaning". A few weeks ago, however, I got a lens that had what looked like a large, serious, one inch square, scrape right in the middle of the front element -- a Sony 75-300mm AF a-mount. I decided to see if I could at least "clean up" the scrape -- maybe someone would want it for parts. All I used was a wet paper towel. Much to my surprise, the "scrape" dissolved almost immediately. It was like a piece of candy or goo had ended up in the middle of the lens somehow. More astounding, the lens coating was completely untouched when cleaned. It looks like new!

 

[BLEX]

Some toilet papers leave lint behind, starting a never-ending cleaning cycle =) I prefer the little cloths for cleaning glasses, but I'm sure lots of things work well

 

[warden]

I don't clean lenses, but I do keep filters on front and I clean the filters with whatever is handy. (usually Zeiss cleaner & wipes)

 

[Petrochemist]

Even those old packets of tear off lens tissues (remember them?), will scratch a lens if used dry.

They all required moistening with a drop of some type of lens cleaning solution - typically back then, just soapy water in a bottle

Even dry the fibres in things like lens tissues will be far too soft to scratch glass elements. Plastic lens elements are a very different matter.

Using old bits of tissue/cloth does run the risk of introducing small bits of grit which certainly can scratch glass.

 

[Bob Merlin]

I use Ultra-Soft Kleenex. So far I've just cleaned filters and my 18" Achromatic Meniscus Portrait Lens.
So far no problems, no lint.

 

[mshchem]

'Alcohol' describes a large class of compounds many of which (such as decanol) will dissolve most oils/fats.
isopropanol has both polar & non-polar potions (more of the non-polar than ethanol) it is 100% miscible with heptane, benzene & other light hydrocarbons as well as with water. IIRC it's one of two compounds used in liquid chromatography that is fully miscible with all the other such compounds. The other acetone is too aggressive with plastics to be a wise choice in cleaning lenses.

The real trick is adding an ether and a tiny bit of water to go with the IPA. ( not India pale ale) mixed solvents are awesome.

Kodak old version of movie film cleaner was CFC-113 and heptane. Oh my the banned chemicals.