URGENT HELP PLEASE!! (lens cleaning)

[Skipper Billy]

Mid imaging session my subs went from beautiful to shocking in an instant.

I went outside to see what the problem was and a small owl/large bat has shall we say 'unloaded' and hit the objective lens of my scope.

I am anxious to clean it off ASAP but how ???  It looks like a spoonful of veg soup has splatted across it.

I believe its important to remove it ASAP so any help is most welcome.

[rl]

I would suggest rapid dilution with water prior to further proper cleaning; animal "residues" can be full of fairly concentrated ammonia / amine chemicals. Have you got an old fairy liquid bottle that might serve to clean without rubbing? After that I'd clean with Baader wonderfluid and the matching lint-free cloth.

[Skipper Billy]

3 minutes ago, rl said:

I would suggest rapid dilution with water prior to further proper cleaning; animal "residues" can be full of fairly concentrated ammonia / amine chemicals. Have you got an old fairy liquid bottle that might serve to clean without rubbing? After that I'd clean with Baader wonderfluid and the matching lint-free cloth.

Thanks - do you mean to point the scope downwards and flush the worst of it off ???

[Stu]

22 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks - do you mean to point the scope downwards and flush the worst of it off ???

I would be very careful not to get liquid between the elements of the objective. Very tricky situation, but assuming it’s still moist and likely soft, I would probably gently wipe off with a soft damp cloth, repeating with clean ones and then clean as normal with cleaning fluid. Best to act quickly before it dries or causes damage.

[Skipper Billy]

1 minute ago, Stu said:

I would be very careful not to get liquid between the elements of the objective. Very tricky situation, but assuming it’s still moist and likely soft, I would probably gently wipe off with a soft damp cloth, repeating with clean ones and then clean as normal with cleaning fluid. Best to act quickly before it dries or causes damage.

Thanks Stu - I was going to try that but I am not sure how tough the coatings are - some say they are almost indestructible and others say they are very soft!!

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

Thanks Stu - I was going to try that but I am not sure how tough the coatings are - some say they are almost indestructible and others say they are very soft!!

Which scope is it? I think some sort of middle ground is to hold the scope with the objective facing down and use a fairly damp cloth (but not dripping wet)  to clean it off so avoid any scratching. Try not to rub incase of any grit. It’s a really tough one to know what to do, not without risk either way but best to shift it sooner rather than later. Good luck!

[rl]

 

Quote

Thanks - do you mean to point the scope downwards and flush the worst of it off ???

That would have been my first take on the situation..

It's a difficult call between rubbing and risking water ingress. 

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, rl said:

It's a difficult call between rubbing and risking water ingress. 

Agreed 😬😬

[Skipper Billy]

Thanks for your help guys - I have flushed it with a 50/5- mix of distilled water and Isopropyl Alcohol in a washing up liquid bottle (doing nothing wasnt an option!!)

It looks OK - I will let it dry now and gently use Baader Wonder fluid in the morning.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Skipper Billy]

51 minutes ago, Stu said:

Which scope is it?

Takahashi 106 EDX IV 😞 

 

[NGC 1502]

Good luck with this, as you’ve correctly said doing nothing wasn’t an option.

Tak coatings will surely be the best, in which case they’ll be as good as they could be.

 

[Adam J]

2 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

Mid imaging session my subs went from beautiful to shocking in an instant.

I went outside to see what the problem was and a small owl/large bat has shall we say 'unloaded' and hit the objective lens of my scope.

I am anxious to clean it off ASAP but how ???  It looks like a spoonful of veg soup has splatted across it.

I believe its important to remove it ASAP so any help is most welcome.

wipe as much off as you can first, if you flood it with water then you may end up as much flushing it between the lenses as you would flushing it off the front surface.

Dont wipe into edge. Start at the edge and wipe outwards.

edit: I see you already fixed it, glad to hear it.

Adam

Edited March 6, 2022 by Adam J