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Ugly spots on my new SW 120ED front lens ????

Daniel Brousseau

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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Not sure why you felt a need to clean a brand new scope but try Baader Wonder Fluid. Sometimes these sorts of marks are easy to clean with a misting breath and polishing with a micro fibre cloth. All very gently and after ensuring there's nothing solid still on the surface.

Such marks have zero effect on views.

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Stu

Stu

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Was there a problem with the lens before you cleaned it? Were you trying to remove the spots or did they appear after you cleaned it?

I know it doesn't help you but I would not have cleaned a brand new product!

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Stu

Stu

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4 minutes ago, Daniel Brousseau said:

Well I got lot  of dew that let some dirt even with the lens open afterway.

I used to clean my Televue 85 for years without problem.  AstroPhysic suggest effetively saliva but say these silvery spots are difficult to remove.

Thanks for help.

Saliva definitely works for stubborn stains, I removed some snail trails from a corrector plate that way.

As Shane says, just ensure you blow away any grit with a jet lower or better still use a vacuum nozzle held near to (but not touching) the objective, focusing on the edge where the dust and grit collects.

I only clean objectives when necessary, and then with great care to avoid scratches.

The method you used seems to have left a fair amount of residue in the form of smears on the surface.

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Louis D

Louis D

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It's probably tree sap that drifted through the air and onto your lens.  I'm surprised the alcohol didn't remove it.  You could try mineral spirits, WD-40, Goo-Gone, or even Goof-Off on a microfiber cloth if they annoy you tremendously.  Personally, I wouldn't bother because they aren't going to affect your views at all.

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Peter Drew

Peter Drew

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This is the difference. If the telescope arrives brand new with the spots on the objective you send it back for replacement. If the spots appear during your care then you either decide to try cleaning them off or ignore them. If the latter case, I would ignore them.   :icon_biggrin:

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I would leave it well alone. 1) because it probably will not make the slightest bit of difference to the views and even if it did I doubt very much indeed that the human eye would pick up on it. 2) you went from a new lens with a bit of dew on it, to one that has smears and flecks all over it. Think what is going to happen if you now try to clean off the flecks.

For the record I have seen these silvery flecks before on scopes and even on new very expensive camera lens so I would try not to loose sleep over the whole aesthetics of it and just enjoy using the scope. I know it is easier said than done but from what I am lead to believe multi coatings are harder than the glass they are applied to so it probably looks worse than it is.

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jetstream

jetstream

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Iso alcohol and acetone only remove the "grease" portion of the dirt, not organic compounds. Plain,blue Windex works on both, I got this one from Televues site years ago.

The spit for cleaning was brought up in Roland Christens no longer available "essays" from years ago.

If optics are left uncleaned and there is any organic material on them, it can etch the coatings, sometimes pretty fast.

edit- refactors and reflectors are different to clean, I would never use Windex on a mirror...

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Waldemar

Waldemar

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On 27-9-2016 at 16:52, Louis D said:

It's probably tree sap that drifted through the air and onto your lens.  I'm surprised the alcohol didn't remove it.  You could try mineral spirits, WD-40, Goo-Gone, or even Goof-Off on a microfiber cloth if they annoy you tremendously.  Personally, I wouldn't bother because they aren't going to affect your views at all.

Wd-40 ????? That leaves a thin film that is very hard to remove....  It is a lubricant not a cleaner. Great for SS and alluminum but lenses?  Goo Gone contains citric acid... Sorry, but I do not think that is good advice...

I.m.h.o. here: http://arksky.org/asoclean.htm#mirrors you can find the right way to clean your optics. It says mirrors, but it is not just about mirrors. 
You can use the same technique with Baader cleaning fluid.

Waldemar

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Louis D

Louis D

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43 minutes ago, Waldemar said:

Wd-40 ????? That leaves a thin film that is very hard to remove....  It is a lubricant not a cleaner. Great for SS and alluminum but lenses?  Goo Gone contains citric acid... Sorry, but I do not think that is good advice...

I.m.h.o. here: http://arksky.org/asoclean.htm#mirrors you can find the right way to clean your optics. It says mirrors, but it is not just about mirrors. 
You can use the same technique with Baader cleaning fluid.

Waldemar

Just saying, if they annoy you that much, they'll remove the spots.  I never claimed there wouldn't be any side effects.

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

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Quote

Just saying, if they annoy you that much, they'll remove the spots.  I never claimed there wouldn't be any side effects.

To be honest, I think this is pretty irresponsible! Taking your argument to extreme, steel wool would remove the spots but the 'side effects' would be very bad. Please think of the possible consequences before you offer advice like this in future.

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Chris

Chris

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Posted
1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Just saying, if they annoy you that much, they'll remove the spots.  I never claimed there wouldn't be any side effects.

Is it acceptable to give advice that you know could dig the OP into a deeper hole?..... **Absolutely Not**.

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RikM

RikM

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Just saying, if they annoy you that much, they'll remove the spots.  I never claimed there wouldn't be any side effects.

If you are trying to make a joke, please include emoticons, otherwise someone could end up making a very costly mistake because of your 'advice' :icon_salut: 

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Waldemar

Waldemar

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Posted
15 hours ago, Louis D said:

Just saying, if they annoy you that much, they'll remove the spots.  I never claimed there wouldn't be any side effects.

Very irresponsible... First try it on your own equipment before you advice somebody else! 

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RayD

RayD

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I had similar spots to these on my lens after inadvertently having a coughing fit when standing in front of it!  I wasn't able to clean it right away, so when I did get round to it, they didn't just wipe away.  However, as mentioned above, the Baader cleaning solution from FLO is excellent, and when used carefully with the cleaning cloth it's very gentle and with a couple of applications I'm sure will remove those spots as did I.

Good luck and go gentle, I'm sure they are just liquid residue and will come off with some care and patience.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-optics-cleaning-protection/baader-optical-wonder-fluid.html

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  • 4 weeks later...
glowjet

glowjet

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Posted

Although the issue, concerning the removal of silver spots on refractor object lenses was raised in September by the OP. For those interested, here is a little further information on removing this silver spot phenomena from the glass, published by Astrophysics, http://www.astro-physics.com/products/accessories/cleaningproducts/optcs-instructions.pdf Para 5 refers.

Probably, like a lot of others, I was not aware that ones own saliva was a powerful cleaning agent to use in such cases, no doubt fingers should be spotlessly clean before attempting this procedure. I am indebted to fellow Mod Michael ( Michaelmorris ) who quoted this pdf in a recent thread, under a separate topic :) 

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

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I wouldn't normally have bothered to chime in on a thread so old, but the WD40 commentary lit a fire under my backside:

Do NOT use WD40 on a coated lens, mirror, etc. ever! Ditto for 'Mineral Spirits' (turpentine)! As an organic-chemist, even I haven't a clue what the ingredients in WD40 could/would do to the differing optical-coating used on one's lens or mirror - which can vary from type & brand. Turpentine comes from Pine-Trees - as does tree-sap. And there is no attempt made to make it clean, pure, not leave behind a residue, or anything what-so-ever. Either way, the use of either of these is tantamount to inviting a disaster to befall your fine optical-instruments.

And here's a bit of truth that very few people are aware of about WD40: It isn't meant to be used as a lubricant. In fact, what little oil (petroleum distillates) that is present in it is a very light fraction of oil, which is made to evaporate rather quickly, rather than being persistent like a good lubricant should be. Unless you find it a good thing to have to keep adding it much more often (£££) than something made to be a lubricant. Now get this:

The 'WD' stands for 'water dispersant.' The '40' is for it being the 40th formula that was tried at the laboratory that was tasked with finding something that could be used to fix a problem. The problem was noted by the Boeing corporation in Seattle, Washington (The Aircraft company) - USA, and the problem was with having water get into the electronics onboard an aircraft. You don't want water in your electronics as it will create a plethora of problems. Don't believe me? Place you keyboard in your sink and pour water on it. Then plug it back to your computer and tell me I'm wrong.....

Hello? Hello? I can't hear you! Hello?

So WD40 was designed to disperse the water from the electronics and then evaporate - so as to not leave an oily residue behind. WD40 = Water-Dispersant 40th formula tried.

Now please keep these 2 things far away from your optics. And try a better lubricant - one designed to stick around awhile.

Phew!

Dave

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