hyokjae
Member
Hello,
I recently joined the RF world with M2 and 50mm Summicron rigid. I accidentally left some fingerprints on both lens and UVa filter
. What would be the best way to clean them out without leaving any marks or scratches?
Thanks.
-hyokjae
I recently joined the RF world with M2 and 50mm Summicron rigid. I accidentally left some fingerprints on both lens and UVa filter
. What would be the best way to clean them out without leaving any marks or scratches?Thanks.
-hyokjae
gavinlg
Veteran
Soft lens microfiber cloth - just bunch it up a little and wipe gently in a circular pattern. If you need extra strength just breathe on it a little and wipe. Be gentle and don't overdo it!
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Welcome, hyokjae. If you do a search here, you should find a long thread on the subject.
Sonnar2
Well-known
Blow off all the particals with a big air brush or compressed air thoroughly, then blow on the lens and dry it with a good, often washed, soft cloth like your T-shirt (as long as it's clean) very softly. Repeat 1x if needed, not more often. Don't use "eyeglass tissue", Kleenex or any fabric which feels hard to your hands. In case this isn't working because the glass is greased to hard, use a small amount of special lens cleaning fluid or Acetone/Propanone to solve it, and repeat polishing. Be careful on any lacquered parts with the fluids.
Last word: there are front lenses and/or coatings which are so soft that they damage from even the softest cleaning methods. Some Summicrons are suspicious to belong into that category.
Last word: there are front lenses and/or coatings which are so soft that they damage from even the softest cleaning methods. Some Summicrons are suspicious to belong into that category.
ruby.monkey
Veteran
If you're asking how I do it - blow off the dust, then a good huff and a wipe with my shirt-tail. But most of the time I don't bother.
Detrart
Newbie
I clean eyeglasses, and filters which can be removed, with a non-abrasive hand or dish soap and drag a towel or tissue lightly across the surface in one sweep. For a lens assembly I huff on the glass to fog it and then wipe it with a soft cloth. You can use lens tissue but a clean t-shirt is as effective. Just make sure the surface is free of grit and don't apply any more pressure than necessary.
I used to work as an optical fabricator, or precision optician, polishing parts out of glass and more exotic infrared materials and metals. There are tissues made especially for this but one place I worked we used the cheapest possible facial tissue. I believe that tissue was called Pomettes and it worked because it was so cheap that it had no additives. One day we ran out and somebody bought Kleenex, but the premium stuff was heavily processed and left scratches.
An unassembled and uncoated surface would be cleaned with acetone or soaked in a 1:1 solution of acetone and isopropyl alcohol. One place where I worked we'd clean mirrors with dish soap, working it with our fingers, and then rinse with distilled water followed by a rinse of alcohol and then dried with a light stream of nitrogen gas. Copper pieces would have to be stored in a nitrogen filled container because room air would almost instantly oxidize it and it would turn blue.
I never worked on assembled optics so I don't know what the pros use for that.
I used to work as an optical fabricator, or precision optician, polishing parts out of glass and more exotic infrared materials and metals. There are tissues made especially for this but one place I worked we used the cheapest possible facial tissue. I believe that tissue was called Pomettes and it worked because it was so cheap that it had no additives. One day we ran out and somebody bought Kleenex, but the premium stuff was heavily processed and left scratches.
An unassembled and uncoated surface would be cleaned with acetone or soaked in a 1:1 solution of acetone and isopropyl alcohol. One place where I worked we'd clean mirrors with dish soap, working it with our fingers, and then rinse with distilled water followed by a rinse of alcohol and then dried with a light stream of nitrogen gas. Copper pieces would have to be stored in a nitrogen filled container because room air would almost instantly oxidize it and it would turn blue.
I never worked on assembled optics so I don't know what the pros use for that.