Cleaning help, think I messed up :(

[Totnesdave]

Oh dear, it had to happen eventually, sat down checking over my gear this morning after a late night out last night and found that something had made a serious mess of the bottom of my barlow lens

A scatter of several trailing smudges across the lens and a lump (or at least a very obese speck) of what can only be described as generic black gunk.

My trusty bulb air blower failed to make any impact whatsoever this time.

Deciding to take action (have to take the plunge sometime I thought) and having read round a bit on lens cleaning I decided to at least have a go at this ... so I tried the clean cotton swab lightly dipped with lens cleaner to lift off the particulate with a twisting action, this cleanly lifted off the lump of gunk (hooray), but still left the scatter of smudge marks. I then tried lightly dabbing at these with the tip of a swab and moistened lens cloth, but this has really just diffused them into slightly less opaque but rather more spread smudges.

I hope I haven't just bu**ered my barlow !

I come to conclude that my skill-level score at lens cleaning is roughly equivalent to my skill-level score at guitar fret-dressing .. which usually results in a trip to a luthier to sort out the mess

However I need to get the hang of this, because my blower bulb can't solve everything !

Can anyone offer any advice, help, consolation, condolence, "you didn't wanna do it like that's" or whatever ?

Dave

[gfletcher]

Dave

Try Baader Optical wonder Fluid.

Excellent stuff

FLO sells it

Hope that helps

Graham

[Totnesdave]

Thanks for the heads-up

I've ordered some Baader Wonder Fluid (it better be 'Miracle Fluid' for me !) Any expert tips on the best way to use it to remove marks and smudgery ?

I should have posted this thread in "Beginners Help & Advice", just realised

If I make a real mess of it, are there any places which do 'professional cleans ?

cheers

Dave

[coliea]

Another vote for Baader Fluid. I recently used it with lens cleaning tissues to clean eyelash oil from my XW10 and it worked a treat.

Finished off by using a clean lens tissue and breathing on the lens, which I'm told is like using a fine mist of distilled water... but I'm assuming that's only if you're a non-smoker

[John]

Order the micro-fibre cloth as well. Spray the fluid onto the cloth (not the lens) then gently wipe the lens with the sprayed cloth.

It's possible to take the lenses out of the Ultima barlow but it's a pretty fiddly job and they have to go back in the right order of course. You can unscrew the chrome barrel from the black upper body of the barlow which might make access to the lens surfaces easier.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Micro-fibre cloth is a must, I think. Lens-cleaning tissues are much more likely to leave fibres of paper behind. I never bought any as the optician I get my glasses from always gives me an excellent quality micro-fibre cloth with any new pair of glasses.

[Capricorn]

Take apart, clean and reassemble?

Probably only have 2 lens in it, each should be a doublet.

[johninderby]

The Baader micro fibre cloths are about ten times finer than the type sold for cleaning camera lenses and glasses so it's worth getting the proper Baader cloths.

John

[Totnesdave]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think the gunge (oily stains and slight marks) is all on the exposed outer surface (which is quite vulnerably close to the tube end on that barlow) so no need to disassemble, I hope.

I've ordered the cloth with the wonder fluid, so hopefully will be able to make things somewhere near clean again

Dave

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Baader micro fibre cloths are about ten times finer than the type sold for cleaning camera lenses and glasses so it's worth getting the proper Baader cloths.

John

In most cases you are right. We have some Baader cloths at the institute, and I honestly cannot tell the difference between the stuff my optician supplies me and the Baader stuff (apart from colour).

The ordinary lens cloths sold for camera lenses are quite dreadful compared to the real stuff

[LukeSkywatcher]

Call me a fool but the only thing i use to clean my EPs with (all surfaces) is a soft cotton t-shirt. I will use a blower to get rid of the big particles. But then just a quick rub with a cotton t-shirt and good as new.

Works for me.

[Totnesdave]

Popular stuff this Baader fluid, seems to be out of stock everywhere, I'm busy chasing some down

Took a photo of the lens, which was tricky but in the end it shows the main marks that I can see (ringed in blue), they seem stubborn as they won't blow off, or lift off with a lens pen, I'm hoping they're not scratches there is light smudging in the area of that top reflection which I probably mainly caused in my original cleaning efforts.

Dave

[Totnesdave]

Wonder Fluid on it's way .. many thanks Bern of Modern Astronomy .. I think you're the only stockist with some in the cupboard right now

wish me luck

Dave

[Moonshane]

I use Isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds.

sometimes a splash (not literally of course!) of water is needed too for stubborn stains.

this always works although it occasionally takes a few buds per surface.

[Moonshane]

ps. don't worry. I bet it's something that can be cleaned off. I went through a similar thing recently with two of my eyepieces. I found a small spot on two of them which refused to clean off with ISO alcohol. I panicked and assumed I'd damaged the surface somehow in the dark. I then splashed a little water on and this with the alcohol did the trick. I don't know what it was but I have read (I think on the TV site) that as long as you use nothing abrasive (chemically or physically) you are unlikely to damage coatings unless you clean 'obsessively'. they even suggest 'Windex' which I think is a window cleaning solution?

[Rossco72]

I use the Baader wonder fluid. Spray a little onto the end of a cotton bud, using a gentle circular motion, clean the lens from the centre to the edge.

Then use the microfibre cloth for a gentle rub down.

It works for me, but everything i've ever read says as long as you are neither agressive or apply too much pressure, you will not damage the coatings. Now getting rid of the tiny little rainbow streaks, thats the real secret.....

Hope it goes well and you get sorted soon

[Totnesdave]

Thanks Guys

Pesky marks just vanished on the first touch of the Baader Wonder Fluid !

I had more trouble trying to wipe the leans clear of the slight oil smears after applying the fluid, couldn't get rid of all of them, but that's just practise and technique I guess

I was rather nervous about touching these optical surfaces and coatings but I guess they must have 'some' degree of robustness.... thanks again for your all your advice and what a relief it's not scratched

cheers

Dave

[John]

I doubt there is any oil in the Baader Fluid so those marks are probably residue from whatever was on the lens in the 1st place.

Used in combination with the Baader Microfibre Cloth and in the way described, I've been able to leave the coatings on my Naglers and Ethos pristine despite them having their fair share of eyelash marks before I started.