Cleaning Eyepieces?

[pgc hunter]

My EPs are in need of a good clean, and truth be told I'm afraid...of ruining the coatings, getting fluid inside the element etc. What is the best procedure and equipment required to clean eyepieces?

[Steffen]

My routine is:


Blower
Lens brush
Lens pen
Blower


strictly in that order. For tough gunk I sometimes use a small amount of lens cleaning fluid or methanol on a microfibre cloth, but I haven't had to do this in a long time.

It helps to clean the barrel and surrounds of the eye lens first with a microfibre cloth.

Cheers
Steffen.

[JethroB76]

http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?ID=143

Ask Al..

[dannat]

make your own solution of 3 parts distilled to 1 part alcohol (good stuff if you can get it) - wipe on with a cotton bud, let dry - rinse with pure distilled..i have found if the coatings are put on properly (baked at high temps) they are fairly hardy. i don't like lens tissue (as it can scratch)

[floyd_2]

I have a roll of surgical grade cotton wool that's set aside for mirror and lense cleaning. For an eyepiece, I make three small tear drop shaped pieces of cotton wool and use them as follows:

1. Use a blower brush to remove all foreign particles from the lense
2. Put 1-2 drops of pure isopropyl alcohol (not rubbing alcohol) onto the blunt end of the first tear drop of cotton wool
3. Immediately gently clean the lense with that piece of cotton wool. Hold the cotton wool by the pointy end of the tear drop, clean with the round end of the tear drop.
4. Use the second piece of cotton wool to gently dry the lense
5. Breathe on the lense to deposit a small film of distilled water onto it
6. Use the third piece of cotton wool to clean the film of distilled water from the lense.

Never re-use a piece of cotton wool. You can get pure isopropyl alcohol from most sign writing suppliers very cheaply. Alternatively, some chemists may sell it to you for a whole lot more.

That's it.

Dean

[wavelandscott]

I am kind of partial to this guys advice...

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-344-0-0-1-0.html

I've heard he is a reasonable bloke...

[pgc hunter]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'm wondering if a lenspen is safe to use, also what are your opinions on the bintel UHTC cleanign solution?

[casstony]

If there happens to be a piece of grit left on the lens when the lens pen is used, the coatings will get scratched. For this step I prefer to use tightly rolled/twisted Kleenex tissue ripped in half (or other soft, flexible material) with alcohol/water solvent.

I have two lens pens but only use the brush end.

Bintel UHTC cleaning solution is fine though the bottle is quite small. I tend to use isopropyl on eyepieces since most deposits are oil based and water on corrector plates since most of these deposits are water soluble. Occasionally something nasty like sap gets on the corrector and acetone is required.

The key point is to disolve deposits without pressure rather than rub them off.

[jjjnettie]

You can pickup pure isopropyl from Jaycar.
I find an old old tshirt good to use for cleaning. So soft and lint free. You can cut many swabs from one shirt.

[iceman]

ditto! :)

[erick]

If we are looking at fingerprints or other human debris on the glass, I blow with a bulb, then brush with the lenspen brush, then gently use the lens pen. It lifts fingerprints, oil from faces etc. like magic - fast and simple. But yes, if there is a spec of grit on the glass, I expect the outcome of a brisk rub with the business end of a lenspen will not be good.

Anything else, I'd be using an isopropanol-based cleaner.

[MrB]

Unfortunately the Isopropyl from Jaycar is not pure.
From memory it is 50%

DSE stock 99.7% pure though.. bigger bottle and cheaper too!

EDIT: Ooops, my bad! Jaycar do have 99.8% Isopropyl now. New product since I left.
Maybe upper-management DO read managers reports?! LOL

[AG Hybrid]

1) Dunk in bucket of water.
2) Use a bit of washing liquid if your eyepieces are really dirty.
3) Spray lens with distilled water.
4) Pad outside dry with a towel of your choice of color.
5) Use compressed air to removes excess moisture areound the lens
6) Use that towel with your choice of color to make sure its dry.



Ummm... Well thats how I cleaned mine anyway :P

[wavelandscott]

Should work a treat if your eyepieces are sealed and nitrogen filled...Not sure I would dunk most other brands...

[AG Hybrid]

Ay that is true. ;)

I was told the best approach to cleaning eyepieces was to do everything you can to not let them get dirty. Of course, we don't live in a perfect world so expecting your eyepieces to stay clean is not realistic.

[casstony]

It's almost impossible to keep eyelash oils away from short eye relief eyepieces; if body oils aren't cleaned off the coatings the eyepiece will eventually become unuseable due to opacity of the coating.

I have an old Meade Research Grade Ortho in this condition; sometime when I'm feeling patient I'll disassemble it and try to strip the coating from the top lens to see if it can be rendered useable again.

[PlanetMan]

Hopefully I am not straying too far off topic here but does anyone have any specific recommendations about cleaning gunk that might happen to fall on the outside of the objective lens in a refractor? Pretty much the same principles as cleaning an EP or is the objective something best left untouch? I have given the lens on my refractor a good blast with the trusty Giotto rocket but there are two tiny specks which wont blow away.

[casstony]

In general it's best to clean the objective infrequently unless you get sap or pollen or something nasty on the coatings, whereas eyepieces need to be cleaned regularly to remove eyelash oils/dandruff which will damage the coatings.

If you have to clean use no pressure, don't overdo the cleaning fluid such that it gets past the side of the objective and distilled water will remove most deposits on objectives.