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Today the distilled water arrived and it was time to give the steamer a crack. In a nutshell, the results were surprisingly effective. The cheap eBay steamer produces a good flow of steam, at a velocity I wasn't expecting.
The temp of the steam falls off dramatically and it's easy for even my shaky hands to keep the object being cleaned, in this case, an old finder scope at a safe distance. Previous attempts to "clean" the objective had left in its wake horrid residue. Using steam the residue was quickly and safely dissolved and was carried away via rapidly condensing steam.
In more competent and knowledgeable hands steam could be effective in cleaning optics. My opinions and observations are of little value, what is clear, the finder scope was much cleaner after gentle steam cleaning than before steam cleaning.
The other questions.... Was harm caused? To the extent that I can ascertain, no!
My thoughts turned to cleaning eyepieces made oily and dirty via outreach sessions or star parties.
If anyone would sufficiently intrigued please PM and I'd be happy to loan the cleaner to anyone prepared to pickup and return the cleaner (I live in Southern Sydney). I'm interested in discovering what more competent hands can do with the cleaner.
David
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