Touched my Televue

[bernsel]

I accidentally touched the top lens of my new Televue Ethos with one finger. Not a disaster, I know, but would still like to get some advice at this point. Do I just leave it (I can't really see any trace of grease or dirt the finger would have made), or do I try and wipe it off with a lens cleaning cloth, with the risk of making it worse?

[rwilkey]

Hi Bernsel, if you cannot see any grease/marks, I would leave it.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi 'bernsel' and welcome to SGL.

As per Robin / 'rwilkey' suggested, (he is in my opinion, SGL's e/p guru). If you are paranoid about it, then maybe some Baader Optical Wonder Fluid; http://www.firstlightoptics.com/misc/baader-optical-wonder-fluid.html; applied to the tip of an cotton wool earbud, (do not spray it directly to the eyepiece), follow the instructions and apply very light pressure. It worked for me. Other SGL members may suggest something else.

[ronin]

Just to upset the balance I would always clean a lens if touched.

So really it is up to you.

[bernsel]

After closer examination (daytime instead of night-time) I discovered I could see a fingerprint quite clearly on the lens surface (sad). So today I cleaned it with the Baader Optical Wonder fluid (that I luckily had at hand), and also the Baader Micro Fiber Cleaning Cloth that I had as well. I can't see the grease/fingerprint anymore, but when I breath onto the lens, I do think I can see the outlines of where the fingerprint was. The mishap happened yesterday early evening, and I didn't clean it until now. Could it already have been damaged for good because of this (acid in the fingerprint)? Or can I clean it some more? Or should I leave it now that nothing can be seen when the eyepiece lens is dry, and I can only see "something" when the lens is covered with moist from breathing on it? Maybe that doesn't matter?

[scarp15]

Search for -  Tele Vue: Cleaning eyepiece and telescope optics - for best procedure.

[CodnorPaul]

Leave it - don't over clean, and if you can't see it then its not there. It will be fine

[spaceboy]

Hi 'bernsel' and welcome to SGL.

As per Robin / 'rwilkey' suggested, (he is in my opinion, SGL's e/p guru). If you are paranoid about it, then maybe some Baader Optical Wonder Fluid; http://www.firstlightoptics.com/misc/baader-optical-wonder-fluid.html; applied to the tip of an cotton wool earbud, (do not spray it directly to the eyepiece), follow the instructions and apply very light pressure. It worked for me. Other SGL members may suggest something else.

I would not recommend this method as there is a glue of sorts that holds the cotton on to the ear bud and applying any kind of cleaner to the cotton bud is going to start to dissolve that said glue which will then end up on your optics. You can use ear buds on optics but only when dry and really only for lightly lifting bits of dust that won't dislodge when using a rocket blower.

Get some optical tissue from Jessops or similar camera store and apply the badder wonder fluid to that allow it to evaporate a little then gently wipe across the lens applying little if any pressure. Despite many advising otherwise particularly in the photography scene I often just breath gently on the optics and wipe with optic tissue to remove greasy finger / eyelash marks from optics jus make sure you don't try it after eating a vindaloo

[RT65CB-SWL]

Search for -  Tele Vue: Cleaning eyepiece and telescope optics - for best procedure.

Here is the link...

http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=103#.VB7g3qNNtkg

[Dave In Vermont]

A very popular tool for safely (or safer) cleaning delicate, coated optics over here is the LensPen. It consists of a very soft brush that retracts into the body of the device, and a carbon-compound tip that one gently uses in a circular fashion on the optical surface. No liquids or throw-away cotton-based pads. And they work very well indeed. They come in 2 sizes, a regular and a micro. I have both.

Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenspen-NLP-1-LensPen/dp/B007G5NNOW

I'm an end-user, not a seller. I thought you might like to try one of these out. It will likely end up your preferred method of cleaning a touched lens. Or one with your eyelashes adhering to it.

Clear & Clean Skies,

Dave

[Charic]

As  rwilkey says, if you cant see it, leave alone, but if it bothers you,  just clean it.  You won't wipe the glass or its protective surface away! .  If they were prone to damage that easy, would you even buy a  TeleVue, I know I wouldn't.   http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=103#.VB7qaPldV8E

I use Zeiss single use cleaning tissues all the time. Even the link above treats the situation almost as if its a surgical procedure? Just  take care, and work in a clean well-lit room and clean away.

[John]

I used the Baader fluid and micro fibre cloth on my Tele Vue eyepieces. Sometimes a "huff" of breath on the eyelens then a wipe with the micro fibre cloth works wonders too.

[Fish]

I would not worry about it now, if it becomes a well used eyepiece then it will require cleaning sometime again in the future. I just follow the instructions that come with the Baader microfibre cloth and spray directly on the cloth then a quick but positive wipe, works wonders. I think you would have to go some to destroy a modern day coating.

[Ruud]

Fingerprints and pollen may react with the coatings. It's better to remove them.

Eyepieces are designed with cleaning in mind.

blow off any particular matter with a blower

moisten a cotton ball with some alcohol or whatever you prefer

clean the glass - the coating on an eyepiece eyelens is quite hard, but still be gentle

dry the glass with kleenex regular

If you see rainbow streaks, fog the glass with your breath and wipe off the lens with a new kleenex tissue.

For the cleaning and drying it is recommended that you use a new cotton ball or tissue  for each wipe, and that you use a rolling motion that will lift up any particles that might be on the glass. I do that for the objective of my refractor, but for my eyepieces it seems exaggerated. With an Ethos though, you might want to be extra careful.

[bernsel]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will definitely get the one time cleaning tissues, as even though the Baader micro fibre might be useful, I am still worried about getting new dirt or scratching particles onto the lens by using the sema piece of cloth repeatedly.

I will also get a blower - any recommendations for the best blower on the market?

[Fish]

Rocket blower gets my vote .... Used for years.

[nicks90]

Best blower?

Your breath. Blow hard or soft as you require and your going to clean the lens afterwards anyway...so any micro drops of saliva will be removed by your fluid/cloth combo.

[Charic]

I have the Giottos Rocket blower. For storage, i depress the red nozzle into the body. cant remember how much I paid for mine, although one here. Just shop around. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Giottos-GTAA1900-Rocket-Air-Blower/dp/B00017LSPI

[Stu]

I got a good one for £2.00 off Astroboot recently. They also have some soft 'lipstick' brushes which work well.

I tend to use the blower quite thoroughly to remove any grit, then brush gently around the edges and blow again. Then Baader fluid on a Microfibre cloth. Sometimes a quick breath and wipe at the end clears any remaining smears. I renew the cloths quite frequently to avoid them getting too grubby.

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[John]

Those big blowers are great Stu

I got one of the old Astroboot a couple of years back and use it all the time - really has quite a powerfull "puff"

[Alien 13]

+1 for the lens pen i use one on camera lenses no mess no streaks and its shape is ideal for getting right to the edges.

Alan

[Ruud]

Thanks for all the good advice. I will definitely get the one time cleaning tissues, as even though the Baader micro fibre might be useful, I am still worried about getting new dirt or scratching particles onto the lens by using the sema piece of cloth repeatedly.

I will also get a blower - any recommendations for the best blower on the market?

I avoid reusable materials for just the worry you mention. Surgical cotton balls and Kleenex regular are my choice.

The Giotto Rocket blower has a permanent place in my eyepiece case.

[alan potts]

Do not do this but I was in Vietnam and was staying at a nice hotel, in the lobby was a massive collection of film gear, I mean lenses costing thousands each.

A guy was cleaning them, very carefully as I saw, when I came back down to eat he was still at it. He must of found a stuck on piece of dirt as he then spat on the lens and continued to rub with what was s duster of some type, I don't think micro fiber clothes were on the market in 2001.

Maybe the coatings on camera gear are stronger.

I am glade it was not my lenses.

Alan

[bernsel]

Amazing how many great tips and advice (and different ways) there are for cleaning lenses! :-) Thanks to all that have contributed - I am happy to report that my Ethos is now back in shape, and that I was able to see some nice stars yesterday night as well! 

[laservet]

When I bought my first nice eyepiece, a Nagler 20 t2, first night out we were running a public observing session at NASA Langley and after I told the first person in line, a teacher, not to touch the glass, she said, "You mean this here?" and stuck a big greasy finger in the middle of the eye lens. I just about had a stroke. I was taking a trip back to Company 7 where I bought the eyepiece the next day so I brought it along for them to clean. They cleaned it for me then told me I needed to get over it and learn to clean it myself.

Now I'm one of the obsessive eyepiece cleaners, both in the field and after each observing session. I find the smallest amount of eyelash oil or dirt has a dramatic deleterious effect on the image contrast. I've been carefully following this procedure for many years and the coatings on my eyepieces are pristine, no scratches or signs of wear. I always use the following:

1) Blow off any particulates with a large ear bulb syringe, much bigger so much bigger blast of air than the blowers made for camera lenses.

2) Lightly brush off any stubborn particles with a sable artist's brush.

3) Blow off again to remove anything released by the brush.

4) My primary cleaning solution is Kodak lens cleaning solution. It's a known entity with a long track record of safety on very expensive coated camera lenses. I also use Zeiss cleaning solution if the Kodak doesn't remove the gunk. You may find that one solution may be more effective than the other on certain contaminants. If neither are effective acetone, isopropyl alcohol 90%, or methanol are others I use until I find the right solvent for the material.

4) Use surgical roll cotton, extremely soft with no particulates. Very inexpensive, available from drug stores or medical supply stores.

5) Avoid using too much cleaning solution. You want to prevent any solution wicking around the edge of the eye lens into the innards of the eyepiece. An old photog taught me a trick -- shake the Kodak cleaning solution so it has a head of suds, then hold the bottle _upright_ and dispense a dab of foam onto the cotton. It is the perfect amount of fluid.

6) Roll the cotton against the direction of movement across the glass, so the leading edge lifts any particles off the glass and doesn't rub them across the glass surface. Replace the cotton after one complete rotation. Use zero pressure, only the weight of the cotton.

7) I make my own q-tips by twirling a wooden applicator stick (can be purchased at medical supply stores, same place as surgical roll cotton) while dipping the tip lightly into the surgical roll cotton. Once you have picked up a dab of cotton with the tip, roll it between your fingers to shape it. With a little practice you can make them look like they came out of a factory and can customize the size to whatever is appropriate for that particular eyepiece. You can make one the size of a fist for corrector plates or objective lenses if you wish. For those tiny eye lenses in short fl orthos, you can snap an applicator stick in half and use the fine point to twirl up a dab of cotton to make a q-tip as small as 1 mm.

8) Final puff of air to remove any lint left by the surgical cotton.

9) If there are any faint swirls left I use surgical cotton and acetone.

Roland Christen had the following to say about dirt on eyepieces in the Yahoo AstroPhysics users group:

"Eyepieces are mega-mucho far more affected by tiny sleeks and surface contaminations than telescope mirrors or objective lens surfaces. The images are highly concentrated and pass through only the tiniest fraction of the eyepiece lens element. A tiny defect on that surface will be very large compared to the image. A dust grain will be a mountain on Mars. Anyone who has seen the effect of a mote of dust on a CCD chip cover plate will know instantly what I'm talking about. That same dust mote or sleek will have zero effect at the front objective."

I can't bring myself to use one of those lens pens, just can't see rubbing anything across the coatings. All it would take is just one tiny bit of grit... A friend who owns a camera shop uses them all the time on lenses but I've used a loupe to examine the surface of a lens he cleaned with a brand new lens pen and it was covered with little carbon particles, not clean at all.

Tree sap can leave shiny reflective spots that can be particularly difficult to remove. For this, saliva on the (clean) pad of the thumb works really, really well. Just make sure you follow it quickly with acetone before the saliva dries, otherwise the dried saliva leaves a difficult to remove stain of its own.

Paul Gustafson