Optics brush

[Nick-In-Ireland]

In the book "The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide, Third Edition" its says to use a camel hair brush to remove fine dust and debris from your

optics, i know it is not good practice to clean your optics often so i wont, the secondary mirror on a newt needs the occasional waft with

a brush now and again because of its possition, i just wondered what you guys use and where did you get it from?

[jetstream]

A Giottos Rocket blower works well. I wouldn't brush any optics personally.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/259157-REG/Giottos_AA1900_Rocket_Air_Blower.html

[wxsatuser]

I use the brush in the Lenspen after a good blow with a rocket.

I clean optics as often as I think it needs it, have'nt hurt any yet.

Not worried as what some say about cleaning, if dirty clean.

[glowjet]

A soft artists brush is ideal for loosening the odd particle that is not cleared by a good photographic blower. Best to keep your brush head covered, as to not attract dust and dirt, also a thorough wash and clean occasionally, depending on use. Most optical manufactures of filters and lens`s put a hard coating on the final surfaces, as they expect them to be cleaned because of handling issues. No one is perfect at avoiding the odd finger smear and the damp night air can hold all sorts of nasty's. Baader produce a Wonder fluid cleaning kit, which is a worthwhile investment and used by a good number of forum members. It is not likely that you could cause enough damage to your optics, with careful handling, that would have any effect on its observation quality

[Tinker1947]

i have these,camel hair brushes plus  microfibre clothes and Baader Wonder Fluid.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Large-Area-Multi-purpose-Brush-Set/dp/B000XZEG8Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420222016&sr=8-1&keywords=camel+hair+brush

[jefrs]

An old "ROWI" camel-hair lens brush which lives in a tube with a cap. Camel hair is softer than the usual squirrel hair artist's brush.

Polyester is related to protein and therefore absorbs grease, therefora a polyester lens cloth.

Lens tissue also sold as industrial "precision wipes" e.g. "Kimwipes" are super-dry tissues that feel harsh but are not.

There are two types of air-duster, compressed air (best) and cheaper propane/butane which can jet freezing liquid all over the place.

Iso-propyl alcohol is used as lens cleaner but cheaper in 500ml can. It should evaporate without leaving any residue, safe on most surfaces.

[Nick-In-Ireland]

Thanks guys, i think i will get a blower and 1 of those lens pens, they look the job.

[Steve Ward]

All of the above suggestions are fine for eyepieces but I would highly recommend avoiding ANY form of brush or cloth on a Front-surface mirror such as your secondary ... 

The surface is far too easily damaged by contact and damage WILL occur at some point , better to rely on a blower-brush with the brush removed to blow the offending dust away ... 

[Peter Drew]

Blowers are fine for dust but you can't blow off finger marks, dew stains or other contaminants. These can be removed, after blowing loose dust off, by using a swab of BP standard cotton wool dipped in luke warm water to which a drop of washing up liquid has been added. Stroke the cotton wool across the surface with just its weight, repeat using a fresh piece each time until the marks are removed. Rinse in the same manner with distilled water. A secondary can be cleaned in situ with the tube horizontal.

[Fish]

This is just for glass optics not mirrors but my cleaning method is , rocket blower first if anything that looks like a lump is still stuck to the surface I then use a lens brush followed by the magic Baader wonder fluid and cloth which work wonders. If i get any grease / eyelash gunk / tree sap etc on my lens I clean it off sooner rather than later as the dirt on the lens stands more chance of damaging the coating than cleaning will. I once had an old coated eyepice with the older type coatings that they say were easy to damage , as an experiment i attempted to remove the coating with a cleaning cloth , it was not easy..... IMHO best practice is to keep your eyepieces clean.

[Dave In Vermont]

I use the brush in the Lenspen after a good blow with a rocket.

I clean optics as often as I think it needs it, have'nt hurt any yet.

Not worried as what some say about cleaning, if dirty clean.

I'll second the Lenspen. These come in both a regular size, and a micro. The micro is perfect for eyepieces. They also make a special one with a tilting-tip for cleaning CCD-chips in cams.

These are the perfect addition to your carry-bag. Look around for the best prices. They are made in Canada by Parkside Optical and are available all over the world.

Clear & Clean Skies,

Dave

[wxsatuser]

At first glance the Lenspen may scare some people.

I have used the various sizes on eyepieces, Canon L lenses, all my LP filters, Borg fluorite, and even did both elements of my SW 80ED.

As well as the Lenspen I use Rosco Tissues with Rosco cleaning fluid and also keep and use the Baader fluid.

If cleaning is done carefully and in the correct order everything will be ok.

There is nothing like a Lenspen and some breath to get a lens squeaky clean.

[Steve Ward]

Please remember that the OP was asking regarding a secondary mirror on a reflector , not an eyepiece , a Lenspen is a very , very bad idea for this application ... 

[wxsatuser]

Please remember that the OP was asking regarding a secondary mirror on a reflector , not an eyepiece , a Lenspen is a very , very bad idea for this application ... 

I think it would be obvious that no one in their right mind would try to clean something as large as a mirror with a Lenspen.

Considering the title was Optics brush, then the Lenspen has a very neat brush.

[Steve Ward]

Regardless of the title the question was about cleaning a secondary mirror ... 

Agreed that no-one that knows better would try and clean their secondary mirror with a Lenspen , but as the OP does not know better , hence his question , I think it needed pointing out ... 

[Dave In Vermont]

There are some folks out there who won't even consider using an optic's brush on a primary or secondary. I'm not one of them. Done so many times and never had a problem. The trick, though, is to always have the OTA angled downward. This way if you drop the brush somehow - it will land on your foot. Not on the mirror!

Clear & Dust-Free Skies,

Dave

[jefrs]

I would not consider using water on any mirrored surface because water is the chemist's universal solvent, it reacts with everything and the mirror is mostly aluminium, a very reactive metal and would be oxidised by the air if it was not given a very thing protective coating. Contact with air or water will instantly turn aluminium into alumina Al2O3, also known as sapphire or emerald, one very hard and utterly useless mirror.

I have eletroplated and sputtered enough stuff (including gold plating safety specs, don't ask but there was a good reason) to know to only use good iso-propyl alcohol or one of the new didgital camera sensor cleaners on such delicate surfaces with a very soft grit-free mop. And that's only if the blower and camel hair didn't shift it. You should not be able to get grease on the mirror: Sod's Law and Murphy's Law say otherwise.

Probaly better to leave a speck well alone than scour the mirror trying to remove it.

If you must handle a mirror lens then wear cotton 'museum' gloves (cheap at industrial PPE stores) because rubber lab gloves (available in blue or tranlucent white) can and will deposit their plasticiser precisely where least wanted. The same industrial PPE shop will also sell you as many rubber gloves as you can eat.

Post war some of our chaps got their hands on some German U-boat schnorkel lenses and one now nameless lab tech helpfully washed them in water. Only to find that the clever chaps at Leitz had made then from common salt NaCl, oops.

[jetstream]

Coated mirrors are washable in water using care and a few drops of dish soap, followed by a rinse with distilled water.  It is misleading to say other wise IMHO http://www.loptics.com/articles/mirrorcare/mirrorcare.html

[jefrs]

Coated mirrors are washable in water using care and a few drops of dish soap, followed by a rinse with distilled water.  It is misleading to say other wise IMHO http://www.loptics.com/articles/mirrorcare/mirrorcare.html

Coated mirrors ok but distilled water is even more corrosive than tap water and the latter will leave a residue.

Distilled water has no salts in it to act as a buffer and so it can act as acid and alkali at the same time OH- & H3O+ and it is very, very corrosive, it will eat stainless steel, which is why it is only carried in plastic containers

De-ionised water is different again, it is what we put in batteries and steam irons..

Soaps and detergents are ionising surfactants and can and will find any scratches in your coating through to the shiny aluminium and it's goodnight Vienna.

I've made mirrors and coated them in the lab. Aluminium has to be coated immediately or it magically turns into sapphire (ok alumina then) I'd stick to the iso-proply alcohol.