Cleaning Reflectors?

[paddyred]

Re: Reflector cleaning HELP!

Problem solved! I had a shower so my skin was soft adn used my little finger and some soap to gently wipe the reflector. I then used CIF bathroom and shower cleaner and sprayed that into it and gently washed that in. rinsed it under a very fine, clean flow of water and working circular around the reflector to the bottom. the clean flow of water collected the droplets as it went and meant i had a clean dry reflector. it was a little damp in areas so I put it back in the light with the cap over the top but loose so no dust got in and water vapour got out

 

[paddyred]

Also I should have read the item description on E-bay for the can of cleaner. "Cleans and Protects" should have been a hint that there was other chemical nasties in there that where going to mess up my reflector!

 

[Cataract]

I never used it on a flashlight reflector, but i had to clean interferometer mirrors (Gold on Silicon), and found that a bath using hot isopropanol, then rinsing with clean (deionized) water and then drying using dry nitrogen worked pretty well. Although its an effort I would not do for something that costs less than $100...

If it's good enough for interferometer mirrors, then it's good enough for you flashlight reflector! (how much does that setup cost?)


So many inentive methods in here, I can't believe it. I just thought I'd use my optics cleaning kit and some distilled water or alcohol if I ever had that problem. Now I know enough not to try too many things ar anything at all unless it couldn't be worse.

 

[8steve88]

I'm only using the p6 type drop-ins at the moment so it's well under a £10 er for a new unit but I always keep a couple of empty drop-ins from FastTeck or DX at about $2-3 apiece for whatever LED type I've got, just swapping to a new reflector when needed but I haven't seen a dirty enough one yet. Cheap insurance for cheap drop-ins, I do realize that the more expensive modules are a different matter.

 

[BVH]

From a commercial and well known searchlight company maintenance and troubleshooting manual, paraphrased. Use distilled or de-ionized water in a squeeze bottle to remove particulates. Then use Isopropol Alcohol or glass cleaner and a surgical cotton pad to clean reflector. Dry with a soft cloth. Keep in mind, this is for use on a soft Rhodium plated, nickel substrated, stainless steel, 10-inch reflector. The first part sounds like good advice but the second part does not, to me.

 

[m4a1usr]

Hey guys, thanks for bringing this topic up out of the past. Recently I had a D26 reflector get a spit off a duster can and could not figure how to get it clean. After reading this thread and the link I decided to use the hot water and soap method in a shaker bottle. Worked like a charm. Maybe not 100% but enough to impress me and keep me from tossing the reflector into the garbage pile. A good 10 minutes in a hot soapy solution of dawn dishwashing liquid did what I didn't think could be done. Thanks! John

 

[whatswrongwithmee]

OMG, I was such a idiot! I wiped my Maglite reflector with multiple cloths! Guess I'll order a new one from Malkoff, plus I think my nails scratched it when I was cutting the end off. Wish I knew this earlier. Thanks guys, otherwise I'd just keep wiping and wiping and wondering why it keeps getting worse...

 

[fyrstormer]

The least abrasive thing you can clean your reflector with is your fingertip, covered in soapy water. There's a reason people who wash expensive cars for a living use sheets of leather chamois to dry the car after washing it. Skin never scrapes. Just make sure to trim the corners of your fingernails before washing a reflector.

Also, a faucet-mounted water filter is very handy for rinsing the soap off reflectors.