cleaning of lens

starfirez · Post by **starfirez** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 4:55 pm

i just realise the lens of my scope and finderscope are quite dirty, especially the finderscope at the place i look from. i think it is because sometimes i accidentally touch the place with my eye lid while blinking. i have not clean them yet cos i dunno how to, dun worry i won't try use tissue.. thus can someone give me so advice how to clean them properly?? thanx!!

~huiting~

Post by **weixing** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 5:40 pm

Hi,
You can use a LensPen to clean the lens, but be careful... make sure the Lens is dust free before you clean it. Also, the eyepiece part of finderscope may be too small to clean using a normal LensPen.... you will need LensPen mini, but I don't think it is avaiable in singapore... I can't find it anywhere in Singapore...

starfirez · Post by **starfirez** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 5:48 pm

how do i make sure that it is dust free?? blow away the dust?

JY · Post by JY » Tue Oct 28, 2003 5:52 pm

Use a soft square cut brush with tapered bristles
Cheers

Jean-Yves

Post by **weixing** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 5:57 pm

Hi,
Yes... use a blower (those use for cleaning camera lens) to blow away the dust and look at the lens... don't look too near, your breath may cause water vapor on the lens...

You should be able to see is there any dust on the lens.

Post by **Airconvent** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 12:49 am

Can also buy the 3M Optics Cleaning cloth for the really stubborn cases.
If even worse, soak a soft cotton ball with a diluted isoprpoply solution and clean with gentle strokes...

rich

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 1:52 am

i just realise the lens of my scope and finderscope are quite dirty, especially the finderscope at the place i look from. i think it is because sometimes i accidentally touch the place with my eye lid while blinking. i have not clean them yet cos i dunno how to, dun worry i won't try use tissue.. thus can someone give me so advice how to clean them properly?? thanx!!

~huiting~

For your scope, if whatever's on it isn't affecting the view, try not to touch it. Cleaning of scope optics shouldn't be a routine task at all. It's the last thing we all want to do. The more you clean and touch it, the higher the risk of scratching it etc...(sometimes, certain scratch causing particles may be too small for your eye to see)

ChaosKnight · Post by **ChaosKnight** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 7:14 pm

For me i would use damp lens tissue.
Use the tissue to wipe your main telescope lens after you have used a blower to remove the dust particles. I think the conventional advice is that you should wipe from the center out in a radial pattern, but i usually just go round and round. If you get some grating feel, you are scratching your lens, and you can kick yourself for not doing a good job with the blower.

IF your lens are multicoated, the water may form marks on your lens after drying (patches of purple or blue). To prevent this from happening, i usually keep wiping patiently until the the water wouldn't form patches.

As for finderscope, i haven't cleaned mine since i got my scope 2 yrs ago.

You shouldn't clean your lens too often. Don't get paranoid about dirty lenses, especially if you just got your prized telescope. A slightly dirty lens is better than a scratched lens. I think i clean my telescope lens about twice a year only.

Post by **Airconvent** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 1:34 am

ChaosKnight wrote: I think i clean my telescope lens about twice a year only.

Cleaning of lens should be subject to the condition of the lens rather than periodicity. There is such a thing as "over maintained" as far as optics are concerned. Some minor dew marks can be ignored if they are not intrusive since you will not be able to see it in your image anyway (out of focus).
Situations that warrant corrective action would include fungus, dirty water, etc. For dust, as mentioned earlier, if it bothers you, use a blower, else just let it be...

rich