Best Way To Clean My Scopes Lens?

[TankBall]

i want to know what the best way to clean my scopes lens since its gotten a desty on it. i did a post asking about it on a facebook group. i have some saying to use Baader wonder fluid and others saying just to use distilled water and Johnsons cotton balls. i would like to see what u guys in here think before i clean my mean lens on my Vixen A80Mf Refractor 

[Ruud]

It looks like just dust. You can blow that off.

- I use a Giotto Rocket Blower. That will remove all particulate matter. With a new, clean, soft make up brush you can nudge stuck particles free. Push against them with the tips of the hairs. Stuck particles are rare.

Don't use canned air. The propellant could come out and that is not good for the lens. It may leave permanent stains.

- If needed I also use surgical cotton slightly moistened with Baader's optical wonder (denatured alcohol is just as good, isopropyl alcohol too, but that is a little weaker. As long as there is nothing added like a lotion or something like that.).

- I breath on the glass and wipe the fog off to remove any streaks after the cleaning. That I do with Kleenex Regular tissues (lotion free. These are known for being very soft, just cellulose. These are free of any chips of wood).

- Then the blower again because the Kleenex leaves behind lint.

Remove fingerprints and remove pollen. Both are chemically active and may slowly eat up your coatings.

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

+1 for the Baader Optical Wonder fluid ---> 

https://www.baaderplanetarium.com/en/downloads/dl/file/id/110/product/1661/cleaning_and_maintenance_of_optics_a_short_instruction_guide.pdf and here is some cleaning advice from TeleVue ---> http://televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?return=Advice&id=103

[Physicist13]

blow with little air..not frm a can! if you must but tht dust wont make a jot of difference to image or viewing quality.

dont worry about it.  

 

[tuckstar]

Think I may of replied to your facebook post, but you really can't go wrong with the wonder fluid. Just make sure you spray it on the microfiber cloth and not the lens.

Don't clean it unless you have to.

[PeterCPC]

Leave it alone.

Peter

[laudropb]

Good advice given. After blowing off the dust I have always found Baader Wonder Fluid and their microfibres cloth the best and safest way to remove smears and fingerprints. Just use the fluid sparingly and always apply to the cloth never directly to the lens.

[LukeSkywatcher]

If its just loose dust blow it off. If its anything else, its not bad and wont effect the views, so leave it alone.

Wonder fluid is AMAZING stuff. Well worth having a bottle of it. 

[Luna-tic]

On ‎2‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 06:34, PeterCPC said:

Leave it alone.

Peter

That lens hasn't even started to get dirty. If you feel the need to remove the dust, try blowing it off first. I found a flat-tipped, fine camel hair paint brush about an inch wide (artist's brush, not a house painter's) that I use to flick dust and lint off the correctors of my SCT's and the objective of my frac. Works great, won't damage the glass or coatings.

Hold out as long as possible when it comes to cleaning a lens with anything that is wet or that you have to rub with. The less you mess with the lens the better off you'll be. Keep covers on them at all times when not in use to help keep them clean.

[Grumpy_Git]

From my experience in the camera industry and much like the medical profession the key is to do no harm so be as un-invasive as possible.

1- leave it

2- leave it.

3- blower. No contact.

4- nudge dust with lightest possible sideways pressure not downward scrubbing pressure, with lightest, cleanest brush that can be found.

5- if really necessary, isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs, hold onto the dirt to soften/loosen then wipe away gently with a minimum pressure and distance moved, rotate the swab as you wipe to lift the dirt away from the glass and minimise scratching.

Do not "polish" or rub the glass.

Never use dish soap, especially fairy as it's usually full of salts.

 

Oh and invert glass to prevent dust settling on it.

[Louis D]

Unless you've got a pervasive, contrast robbing haze across your lens, I'd leave it well enough alone.