How to clean eyepieces?

[Penguin]

I have just bought my first scope: a 2nd-hand TAL-1 of Ebay and been looking at the moon and Jupiter.

Beautiful.

However, notice that the 15mm Kellner eyepiece that came with it appears to have dirt or marks on it. This is particularly noticable when viewing the moon but also with Jupiter.

I only really notice it when also using the 3x Barlow, but I don't think its the Barlow that's at fault because I don't see the marks with the Barlow and Plossl 25mm eyepiece.

So my question is, what is the best way of cleaning these eyepieces? I don't want to make matters worse!

--- Penguin

[pvaz]

1st I blow the dust off using a giottos rocket blower.

Then I use the baader wonder fluid and cloth: I spray the cloth and gently move in circles from the center out to remove the marks. Never caused a scratch on any of my EPs so far.

[LukeSkywatcher]

A rocket blower would be a good start to get rid of any grit that may be on the lens. After that a simple lint free cloth (such as those from an opticians) will suffice. Maybe even add a bit of lens cleaning fluid to the cloth.

The one thing you dont want to do is rub the EP with a cloth if there is grit on the lens because it may leave a scratch across the lens.

Haha Paulo.............great minds think alike.

Personally if i am 100% sure that there is no grit on the lens, then i use a simple cotton t-shirt to clean the lens.

This is the method i use "in the field" as a quick solution. Mainly when my EP's fog up with dew.

[milkyjoe]

I just give the ep a quick blow to remove any loose dust/bits and then use a regular glasses cleaning cloth (I use a spec-savers one); if they are suggested cleaning apparatus for glasses then they're good enough for eps as both have delicate lenses.! ;-)

[great_bear]

Whatever you do NEVER USE TISSUE PAPER.

Even though Mr. Nagler himself recommends this here in the UK our toilet and kitchen tissue paper has lots of grit in it and I have RUINED optics in the past by using tissue.

"Lens Pens" are very good, but I think you need to use a geniune one from "Lens Pen" themselves or the Celestron one from FLO. The cheap "clone" ones I bought from eBay recently were not good when under close scrutiny. Lens Pens are the best solution when out observing, but I've been doing some "extreme cleaning" recently (eyepiece disassembly, lenses examined obliquely under powerful light, etc. etc.), and I can confirm that Lens Pens DO simply push the dirt to the edge of the eyepiece, where it may build up over time. As such, a periodic cloth wipe may be needed.

In terms of cloth, I've found Spontex Kitchen Wonder Cloth (a quality microfibre cloth) <click here> (about £2.50) to be the most effective optics cleaning cloth I've ever used. Be aware though that once small globs of grease get wiped off eyepieces, they can end up being wiped back ON to other eyepieces later, so the cloth will need to be either replaced or washed. For washing, I intend to handwash mine with a little dishwashing detergent - for I feel that machine washing along with clothes etc, may put more grit INTO the cloth more than washing it out.

When using any type of cloth or hankerchief, use as little pressure as possible to avoid scratching. Breathing mist onto the lens before wiping can help, but too much mist can cause smearing.

I do NOT recommend using lens brushes to brush away dust. Although the lens may look clean, close inspection reveals that those brushes - whilst brushing aside big lumps of dust - actually cover the lens in quite a heavy coating of microscopic dust which scatters light.

Obviously it pays to avoid getting eyepieces dirty, to minimise the risk of damage that cleaning always entails. However, the advice in "Turn Left at Orion" to NEVER clean eyepieces is unfortunately very bad advice, because many sources of contamination (such as fingerprints) can etch themselves permanently into the coatings if left uncleaned for long periods of time.

[Darkmatter]

Excellent advice above which serves well

How do others clean small EPs like a 4mm ortho?

[jabeoo1]

How do others clean small EPs like a 4mm ortho?

I would use I would use a cotton wool bud WITH a specialist cloth around the end with a few drops of Baader wonder fluid on it.   

[ronin]

IPA and several cotten wool buds.

Getting the streaks off it the hard part and takes the time.

Also if you clean where the glass and metal meet you gets lots of crud out of there. :eek:

[bingevader]

Definitely BOWF.

[Bobble]

Don't be afraid! TelescopeMan shows you how to clean up your telescope eyepieces in this video podcast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3vWB5EgG_Q

A  real fun watch!

Regards

Bob

[Dave In Vermont]

Unless the EP has been rolled in mud, finger-painted by 20 toddlers in kindergarten, and swallowed by the family dog - I suggest using the LensPen Micro (or whatever name they have decided for this month). These relatively inexpensive tools do an excellent job of easily making an eyepiece look like it's new. Here's a link to a description and picture:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenspen-NMCP-1-LensPen-MicroPro/dp/B007G620ZE/ref=sr_1_1/184-6524216-7751642?ie=UTF8&qid=1424014527&sr=8-1&keywords=lenspen+micro

Available world-wide if you can Google, the parent company (which is in Canada), Parkside Optical, also make them in standard size, which are great for larger optical goods like reading-glasses. And they make the LensPen Elite CCD Sensor Cleaner - which is for cleaning the CCD in cameras.

Clear & Squeaky-Clean Skies,

Dave

[SacRiker]

Unless the EP has been rolled in mud, finger-painted by 20 toddlers in kindergarten, and swallowed by the family dog - I suggest using the LensPen Micro (or whatever name they have decided for this month). These relatively inexpensive tools do an excellent job of easily making an eyepiece look like it's new. Here's a link to a description and picture:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenspen-NMCP-1-LensPen-MicroPro/dp/B007G620ZE/ref=sr_1_1/184-6524216-7751642?ie=UTF8&qid=1424014527&sr=8-1&keywords=lenspen+micro

Available world-wide if you can Google, the parent company (which is in Canada), Parkside Optical, also make them in standard size, which are great for larger optical goods like reading-glasses. And they make the LensPen Elite CCD Sensor Cleaner - which is for cleaning the CCD in cameras.

Clear & Squeaky-Clean Skies,

Dave

I bought one of these for my bins -- seems to work well.  

[ronin]

Do it as demonstrated by ES at NEAF:

Scroll up to the 8 minute postion and watch. :grin: :grin:

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'll need a new bottle of wonder fluid soon (well in about 2 yrs). Ive mainly been using it to clean my laptop screen and my glasses. Ive a good half a bottle left. 

[LittleSkink]

Fungus is a regular topic in manual focus photo forums, I assume with older kit it is entirely possible for Astro optics to get it too

You will see the surfaces of the lens looking "strange", often spots or threads - just google images for 'lens fungus'

Hopefully you have dirt not fungus