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How I clean my pistol red dot video...
- Thread starter alnen
- Start date
Cleaning optics
Supplies:
1) Camel's hair brush with blower bulb. You can get these at any camera store. Some folks like to use canned air, but this can get you in trouble. If you get the can a little bit too close to upside down, the liquid air will come out, and this stuff usually leaves a stain on your lenses when it dries that you will then have to clean off. Keep the brush in a ziplock, and periodically wash it with Ivory soap, allow to air dry, then rinse out with your lens cleaning alcohol and allow to air dry.
2) Good lens tissue. I don't like the Kodak lens tissue, it's too rough for my liking. The best ones are the Pec-Pads. The 4x4 inch size works great for tactical optics. In a pinch, plain white (no printed designs and not special in any other way) Bounty brand paper towels will work fine. These have been tested by the Steward Observatory mirror lab and were found to have very, very little grit (which will scratch your optics). No matter what you use, keep it sealed in a ziplock and only open the ziplock long enough to take out one sheet of tissue at a time. Also, don't take a sheet out, lay it down on something, then pick it up again and use it to clean your optics. The tissue will pick up dust and you will scratch your lenses. This seems obvious, but it's the easiest thing to forget, and we all have done or will do it at some point.
3) 100% isopropyl alcohol. I like Eclipse, also from Photographic Solutions. Any other 100% Isopropyl will work fine, though. In a pinch, you can use 90%. Don't use the 70% commonly found in drugstores, as it will leave water spots. Alcohol absorbs water from the atmosphere very well, so keep your alcohol for lens cleaning in small, tightly sealed containers to minimize this. It's not a danger, but if the alcohol absorbs enough water, you might start to see water spots on your optics after cleaning them, once the alcohol has evaporated away.
4) Camel's hair artist's brush. A chisel tip one about 1/4 - 1/2 inch wide will work well for cleaning off dried mud spots. Keep sealed in a ziplock also, and clean like you would the blower/brush above.
How Often to Clean:
In cleaning, more is decidedly NOT better. I recommend that unless you have finger prints, big water spots, or dried mud splatters on the scope that you just blow/brush off the dust and leave your optics otherwise alone. The coatings on your lenses are the most fragile thing in the whole works. Military-grade coatings have to pass a "cheesecloth" test where the coating is rubbed with, you guessed it, a cheesecloth until the coating is damaged. The important point here is that coating damage from rubbing is cumlative. I have seen many pairs of binos, a few rifle scopes, and lots of telescopes where the user, in their zeal to keep their optics clean, had literally rubbed the coatings off.
Cleaning Procedures:
NEVER attempt to disassemble your optics to clean the insides. If your optics need internal cleaning, you need to send them back to the manufacturer to be cleaned.
1) Dust Removal:
If you need to clean your optics, first use the brush to get all the dust off the lens. Gently brush from one side of the lens to another until you can see no more dust on the lens. Most of the time, this will be good enough, and you can stop right here.
2) Fingerprint & Water Spot (and the like) Removal:
If you have fingerprints or water spots on your lens, you will have to go further. If you have dried mud splatters, do Step 3) below first.
Take a piece of lens paper and dampen (do not soak) it with alcohol. Never directly spray or pour alcohol or any other liquid onto a lens, as this can lead to the solvent wicking around the edges of your lens mounts and to the inside of your optic. Tactical optics should be sealed, but why take the chance?
Now, gently brush the alcohol onto the lens by pulling the lens paper from one side of the lens to another, using ONLY the weight of the lens paper itself to press the paper against the glass. The idea here is that the solvent (alcohol) is supposed to do the work of removing the stain. The paper is only a vehicle for safely applying the solvent.
After one pass, discard this piece of lens paper and repeat with a new one. This will prevent any dust you missed with the brush that was picked up by the first piece of lens paper from being drug back across the lens, possibly scratching it. If you have a stubborn fingerprint, it is ok to use slightly more pressure than the weight of the paper to try to remove it, but in no case should you grab the scope, stick your thumb on a piece of lens paper, and commence to scrubbing the lens. I guarantee such a procedure will scratch your lens.
Once you have gotten the lens as clean as you want it, allow the alcohol to evaporate. Don't wipe the dry lens, even if the alcohol leaves behind a couple of water spots. They will not hurt anything.
3) Mud/Stubborn Stain Removal:
At this point you really should be done, unless you have dried mud splatters on your scope. If you do, dampen your camel's hair artist's brush with alcohol and gently work on the splatters until you have dissolved them and carried all the grit off the lens. Once you have done this, do Step 2) above, but only after you are certain that you have gotten all the grit off your lens. If you need to, wash out the camel's hair brush periodically to remove the grit from it, too. Once you are done, either wash the camel's hair brush out, or discard it.
That about covers it. To recap, the cardinal rules are:
1) Less is more in lens cleaning. Only do what you have to.
2) Keep your alcohol dry and your lens paper sealed away from dust.
3) Only use each piece of lens paper for one pass across your lenses.
4) Never, ever pour or spray a liquid onto your lenses.
By following these procedures, you should be able to safely clean your optics without damaging them.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
Supplies:
1) Camel's hair brush with blower bulb. You can get these at any camera store. Some folks like to use canned air, but this can get you in trouble. If you get the can a little bit too close to upside down, the liquid air will come out, and this stuff usually leaves a stain on your lenses when it dries that you will then have to clean off. Keep the brush in a ziplock, and periodically wash it with Ivory soap, allow to air dry, then rinse out with your lens cleaning alcohol and allow to air dry.
2) Good lens tissue. I don't like the Kodak lens tissue, it's too rough for my liking. The best ones are the Pec-Pads. The 4x4 inch size works great for tactical optics. In a pinch, plain white (no printed designs and not special in any other way) Bounty brand paper towels will work fine. These have been tested by the Steward Observatory mirror lab and were found to have very, very little grit (which will scratch your optics). No matter what you use, keep it sealed in a ziplock and only open the ziplock long enough to take out one sheet of tissue at a time. Also, don't take a sheet out, lay it down on something, then pick it up again and use it to clean your optics. The tissue will pick up dust and you will scratch your lenses. This seems obvious, but it's the easiest thing to forget, and we all have done or will do it at some point.
3) 100% isopropyl alcohol. I like Eclipse, also from Photographic Solutions. Any other 100% Isopropyl will work fine, though. In a pinch, you can use 90%. Don't use the 70% commonly found in drugstores, as it will leave water spots. Alcohol absorbs water from the atmosphere very well, so keep your alcohol for lens cleaning in small, tightly sealed containers to minimize this. It's not a danger, but if the alcohol absorbs enough water, you might start to see water spots on your optics after cleaning them, once the alcohol has evaporated away.
4) Camel's hair artist's brush. A chisel tip one about 1/4 - 1/2 inch wide will work well for cleaning off dried mud spots. Keep sealed in a ziplock also, and clean like you would the blower/brush above.
How Often to Clean:
In cleaning, more is decidedly NOT better. I recommend that unless you have finger prints, big water spots, or dried mud splatters on the scope that you just blow/brush off the dust and leave your optics otherwise alone. The coatings on your lenses are the most fragile thing in the whole works. Military-grade coatings have to pass a "cheesecloth" test where the coating is rubbed with, you guessed it, a cheesecloth until the coating is damaged. The important point here is that coating damage from rubbing is cumlative. I have seen many pairs of binos, a few rifle scopes, and lots of telescopes where the user, in their zeal to keep their optics clean, had literally rubbed the coatings off.
Cleaning Procedures:
NEVER attempt to disassemble your optics to clean the insides. If your optics need internal cleaning, you need to send them back to the manufacturer to be cleaned.
1) Dust Removal:
If you need to clean your optics, first use the brush to get all the dust off the lens. Gently brush from one side of the lens to another until you can see no more dust on the lens. Most of the time, this will be good enough, and you can stop right here.
2) Fingerprint & Water Spot (and the like) Removal:
If you have fingerprints or water spots on your lens, you will have to go further. If you have dried mud splatters, do Step 3) below first.
Take a piece of lens paper and dampen (do not soak) it with alcohol. Never directly spray or pour alcohol or any other liquid onto a lens, as this can lead to the solvent wicking around the edges of your lens mounts and to the inside of your optic. Tactical optics should be sealed, but why take the chance?
Now, gently brush the alcohol onto the lens by pulling the lens paper from one side of the lens to another, using ONLY the weight of the lens paper itself to press the paper against the glass. The idea here is that the solvent (alcohol) is supposed to do the work of removing the stain. The paper is only a vehicle for safely applying the solvent.
After one pass, discard this piece of lens paper and repeat with a new one. This will prevent any dust you missed with the brush that was picked up by the first piece of lens paper from being drug back across the lens, possibly scratching it. If you have a stubborn fingerprint, it is ok to use slightly more pressure than the weight of the paper to try to remove it, but in no case should you grab the scope, stick your thumb on a piece of lens paper, and commence to scrubbing the lens. I guarantee such a procedure will scratch your lens.
Once you have gotten the lens as clean as you want it, allow the alcohol to evaporate. Don't wipe the dry lens, even if the alcohol leaves behind a couple of water spots. They will not hurt anything.
3) Mud/Stubborn Stain Removal:
At this point you really should be done, unless you have dried mud splatters on your scope. If you do, dampen your camel's hair artist's brush with alcohol and gently work on the splatters until you have dissolved them and carried all the grit off the lens. Once you have done this, do Step 2) above, but only after you are certain that you have gotten all the grit off your lens. If you need to, wash out the camel's hair brush periodically to remove the grit from it, too. Once you are done, either wash the camel's hair brush out, or discard it.
That about covers it. To recap, the cardinal rules are:
1) Less is more in lens cleaning. Only do what you have to.
2) Keep your alcohol dry and your lens paper sealed away from dust.
3) Only use each piece of lens paper for one pass across your lenses.
4) Never, ever pour or spray a liquid onto your lenses.
By following these procedures, you should be able to safely clean your optics without damaging them.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!
