eyepiece cleaning question

[ColHut (Colin)]

I recently (belatedly and with great releluctance) cleaned my eyepieces. They were just too grotty. A couple of things.

1) even the pure isopropyl alcohol sometimes leaves tiny marks as it evaporates. One recomendation is to buff lightly with a lens cloth after breathing on the eyepiece. Do others have other/better ideas?
2) a largish flake (1/4 mm square flake of paint?) appeared between the couplets in the plossel. I carefully dissasembled and cleaned and removed, but now I have more tiny dust particles. Is there some way of de-staticing the lens so tiny particles dont adhere while cleaning?

cheers
Wol

[astro_nutt]

Hi Wol
Dust is pretty hard to avoid..I use canned airbrush to first remove the loose dust..then very carefully use a camelhair brush followed by another blast of air...as for anything like a fingermark..a tip of a rolled up tissue dampened with isopropy alcohol and using the weigth of the tissue only move it side to side across the lens...repeat with a clean tissue until the marks are cleaned..any residue can be removed witha "lenspen" then with a final blast of air.
Maybe camera stores have anti-static cleaner...otherwise it would not be a good idea to pull your eyepieces apart unless you're in a cleanroom using sterile equipment and attired like surgeon, mask and all!!
Cheers!

[ColHut (Colin)]

Thanks for that. That fleck was a real curse -large and near the middle of the eyepiece. I dreaded taking it apart. It is still better than it was but not perfect.

thanks again
Wol

[Don Pensack]

I clean eyepieces every day in a shop. I use that which does no harm to the eyepieces at all:
Q-Tips and isopropyl alcohol, or ROR (www.ror.net).
No residue is left by the Q-tip if you mop up the dampness from the first one with the dry end. If you have to use a second Q-tip, you used too much fluid. Some eyepieces get so dirty you may have to clean twice (or more!) to get them clean. I've cleaned off mascara from my Naglers, which is why I use ROR (it's a better cleaner).
Blue Windex with ammonia D will also work fine.
Never spray or drop on the eyepiece--always dampen the Q-Tip first.

[KG8]

I started with a crappy EP I never used and experimented, putting my greasy fingers on it and then using different methods to clean it. Surgical cotton wool is my choice now, with it all fluffed up you get a shock absorbing benefit too. But at the end of the day they are only eyepieces and no doubt the coatings are designed for regular cleaning. I'm just very very careful there is no grit on them before I wipe with any pressure. A scratch would be nasty.

[casstony]

Even the Televue reps use Q-Tips at cleaning demonstrations, but I've tried them and don't like them. They don't seem soft enough and they allow you to apply pressure. After trying various methods I keep returning to a rolled and twisted tissue (which results in a pencil shape) that is snapped in half leaving a soft fuzzy end. If you're gripping the tissue about an inch from the end it's not possible to apply pressure to the eyepiece.

I use a bellows type air mattress pump for initial cleaning and isopropyl as the solvent. The isopropyl leaves a slight residue which I tolerate - maybe another solvent would work better? I think it's better to tolerate a little residue than risk scratching by buffing with a cloth.

[PeteMo (Pete)]

I also use Q-tips and isopropyl alcohol, the same process as for my SLR lenses. I use a blower and camera lens brush to remove any dust before using the Q-tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol and a lens tissue to blot most of the excess. Usually finish off buffing with a lens cloth.

Incidentally some chemists (spot the Pome) I mean pharmacies flog the isopropyl alcohol in larger quantities like 250ml for a fraction the price of camera outlets for their tiny 10-20 ml bottles.

[ColHut (Colin)]

Thanks all. I bought a lens pen to finish off with. I will see how it goes.

Thanks again for all your tips

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

how much are you guys paying for the 99.5% Isopropyl

geoff

[CoombellKid]

I brought a 500ml bottle of 99.5% Isopropyl a few years ago for about $15.00
from memory, plus one of those eye dropper bottles I think their like 30-40ml
for 60 cents. I think I have filled that lil bottle 2 times. I used one drop on a
Q-tip. I use cotton wool pads for the larger aperture ep's like my XW's

regards,CS

[Starkler (Geoff)]

I find that whether I use windex or isopropal there are always faint smears left over. These smears will always fog up when observing in the cold.
I use the lenspen to clean up the remaining smears.

[CoombellKid]

Originally Posted by Starkler

I find that whether I use windex or isopropal there are always faint smears left over. These smears will always fog up when observing in the cold.
I use the lenspen to clean up the remaining smears.

Each to his own I guess, I just use my breath and a clean piece of cotton
wool pad to clean off the residue/smears, works for me as I dont get the
fog issue.

regards,CS