Safe cotton buds for cleaning eyepieces?

[sauron (Paul M)]

Hi,

just wondering what brand of cotton buds people would recommend for cleaning eyepieces. Most articles I have read suggest the 'qtip' brand but they don't seem to be available in Australia. Would normal Johnson & Johnson 'cotton buds' be ok? I don't want to use any that might have some possible abrasive contaminants in them ...

many thanks,
Paul.

[leon]

Paul, be assured the coating on lenses, eye pieces and the like are tougher than people make out.

It is just over the top with some of the suggestions that some come up with in case of damage.

As my signature suggests i have some high end lenses and the like, and they are well looked after but are also cleaned with minimal fuss.

If they cant stand a bit of wiping then they are not worth having, Johnson and Johnson would be fine mate, clean away, and don't be afraid, just use common sense, and don't listen to to many arm chair experts.

Leon

[dannat (Daniel)]

when they are talking about Q tip they are talking about cotton buds with wooden shatfs (the plastic shaft ones melt when subjected to acetone & other chemicals)

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

I use a 'Lenspen' for the EPs and 99% alcohol rinsed with distilled and filtered water for telescope optics. I apply the alcohol to a microfibre lens cloth first as this eliminates any possible capillary action around the cell.
Leon is perfectly right. Coatings on EPs and lenses are pretty tough and should be able to take a careful cleaning now and then.
Just don't use a Scotchbrite.

[casstony]

I'm in the paranoid corner regarding cleaning of optics, having seen eyepieces damaged from application of pressure. The coatings are damaged after a time in contact with eyelash oils or dandruff so they do need to be cleaned, but I'd advise you to use no pressure whether using a Q-tip or something else.

I use a kleenex tissue tightly rolled then twisted into a pencil shape, then torn in half leaving a soft end for applying the solvent. Dip the tip into the solvent, wipe the coating, and if you're having trouble with residue you can quickly spin the tissue around and use the dry end to absorb the solvent before it dries.

Even if you get impatient you can't apply pressure because the tissue bends. Remember to use a blower and gently brush the surface before the solvent cleaning step.

Sometimes something nasty will deposit on a telescope lens or corrector plate (eg. sap); find the correct solvent to dissolve it rather than applying pressure. Most telescope lens/corrector plate deposits are water soluble while most eyepiece deposits are alcohol soluble. Sometimes acetone is needed to dissolve a deposit that isn't easily removed by isopropyl, but acetone must only touch the glass as it may damage other parts of the eyepiece (need good ventilation too).

[sauron (Paul M)]

thanks everyone for you replies. I think I had read too many stories about using the wrong materials etc. when the actual technique used to clean is more important.

I went ahead and cleaned with standard cotton buds and untreated tissue (the idea of twisting up the tissue into a pencil shape worked well for me -thanks ). I had a bottle of ROR (Residual Oil Remover) which seems to be well regarded by some but I found it hard to get a completely clean surface. So I got some of the 99% IPA from Jaycar and it worked perfectly. Lenses as good as new