Hi Matt
What a bummer – not good news eh? Do you have an IR filter fitted? This is the first thing I did when I received mine.
I’ve only used my DMK with a x2.5 PowerMate and generally, dust bunnies don’t become visible in my optical train until I get to x5, so bearing that in mind, my DMK appears to be clean enough to get through the x2.5 test.
I’ve previously tried cleaning Meade LPI’s and ToUcam’s with puffers, blower brushes, lens cleaning brushes and lens cleaning tissue, but invariably ended up making things worse. I know that you didn’t want to hear that. Not only did I merely re-distribute the offending material but I usually introduced new stuff.
The only 100% successful procedure that has worked for me on my LPI, ST7, ToUcam and DSLR is the method outlined
here. I made up the cleaning paddle from rubber tipped icing cake spatulas as described in the article - see the "How To Make Your Own" section.
I purchased the cleaning fluid and cleaning pads from
here. I used the Copperhill cleaning pads (Pec Pads) and Eclipse cleaning fluid and they have been very successful.
I only clean when RH < 65% otherwise there is a risk of leaving drying stains.
Good luck!
Cheers
Dennis