Corrector & EP cleaning

[Louwai]

Guys, what do you recommend as the best cleaning solution??

I bought some "Telescope Optics Cleaner" from Astronomy online & it's absolute crap. :mad2: It leaves swirls & clouds like deisel on a wet road.:eyepop:

What should I use????

B

[dannat]

I have not been cleaning for that long - but i think methanol works pretty good as it usually evaporates & doesn't leave much of a streak. Apart from a lens cleaning cloth, Kimiwipes are a no-lint optical cleaning tissue which works well with the methanol. I have also used a commercial cleaning solution from astronomy online - with provided cotton buds & it performed ok, and I think it is probably a preferred option. You cold try one of the big camera retailers for their lens cleaners - some of them are acceptable

[aworley]

I bought the cleaning solution from BinTel - works well. Don from BinTel showed me how to use it and just use ordinary tissues (carefully).....go carefully, don't press too hard, let the tissue do the work....

[space oddity]

I would be wary of regular tissues. Some of the fibres are as tough as fibreglass and will readily scratch spectacles. There are special tissues for lens cleaning. Why risk scratches to save a couple of cents.

[acropolite]

The bintel stuff is essentially the same as Dr Clays brew, here are his recommendations (http://www.arksky.org/asoclean.htm)on how to use and a recipe if you want to mix your own.

[KG8]

I only use cotton wool balls myself, and a very very mild solution of warm soapy water followed by clean tap water (both administered from a spray bottle because they have inbuilt filters for any grit that might come out of your tap.)

The trick to removing the streak marks is to wait till it's dry and then gently buff them off with cotton wool balls. I fluff the balls out and then go at the corrector like I was polishing the bike (only very gently)

[wasyoungonce]

That Dr Clays (ASO) cleaning fluid is great. But you have to source Kodak Photo Flo (or alternate wetting agent) which is not an "on the shelf" item in camera stores.

I got some from Borge's Imaging in Melbourne:
http://www.borge.com.au/product_info.php?products_id=12553

It's cheap enough, $5.85, but a bit of a waste as you only need 1 to 2 drops and the container is 473mL.

I'm trying to think of what to use the rest for?:shrug:

[Ric]

I swear by the Bintel cleaning solution, it left my corrector, EP's and filters looking like the day they arrived.

Everything drys streak-free in seconds an you only need a few drops. It also seems to repel the dust as well but that may be the way it seems to me.

Well worth the money invested, a great product.

Cheers

[Louwai]

Cheers all,
& thanks for your suggestions.

I'm just annoyed about being recommended & sold stuff which is crap by a long time astro retailer here in Oz.


B

[okiscopey]

I had a similar 'worse than before' problem with an ETX I was selling recently. I took it to Bintel and they made it look as good as new before my very eyes! They used (analytical grade?) acetone But don't take my word for it, phone them for more info and look at:

http://www.edmundoptics.com/techSupport/DisplayArticle.cfm?articleid=265