Cleaning reflectors.

I noticed some lint in my LF E0-9 LA and decided to clean it out with a Q-Tip. I've since learned that canned air would've been a better option. Well this made it ugly, it there anything I can do to restore it? Thanks!

So you touched the shiny surface with q-tip? It's gone, can't fix it, get a new one. The shiny surface is vapor deposited aluminum and will scrach if you looked at it wrong.

Compressed air will cause condensation on the reflector if you don't leave it to dry out. A better solution would be to use a clean microfiber cloth.

Steve

That sucks. How much does this really affect the beam? I can't tell by looking at it.

If you can't tell and the spot is small, it probably didn't hurt much. I learned this the hard way using tissue paper to clean it, talk about a totally ruined reflector. It was my first quality flashlight too (minimag).

I think that the way you can clean a reflector depends by which type of reflector you have...
I have just cleaned a FM MOP reflector with a tissue paper and no problems...:thinking:

I understand that by using pure alcohol you can simply pour it over the reflector to remove dust etc. As the alcohol evaporates it doesn't leave any residues on the reflector surface and as you don't physically touch anything there should be no risk of damage either.

Doug

I received a Tiablo A8 from BatteryJunction last week and I have noticed a slight fingerprint on the edge of the reflector. I've been considering if I should try to clean it or not, but reading this thread guess I better leave it alone after all. I had no idea that the reflector surface was that delicate!

Trekmeister said:

I have noticed a slight fingerprint on the edge of the reflector.

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hey! you can find the guilty!
call C.S.I.:twothumbs they'll fin him for you

i agree with jzmtl

with some aluminium reflectors, they are really delicate, for example surefire's and the Mc-R reflectors, if u look at it wrong, it will peel off
the surface is way too sensitive to any debris and particles that can scratch it
the best method i have found is, a blast with canned air followed by drying in a sealed box.
The other method if there are oil deposits are to use an alcohol bath, swirl the reflector in the alcohol bath, but dont let the alcohol evaporate from the reflector, they can leave deposits as it evaporates ( found this out with my Mc R reflectors) thats because most alcohol we use are not pure alcohol, they have some additives , even the ones sold at the drug stores, and its these additives that are left behind when it dries,
To remove the alcohol, swirl in bath, then hold a tissue on the edge of the reflector and let it wick the remaining alcohol away, then finish with canned air.
the trick to using canned air is not to blast the reflector directly, but to gently pulse the air, just enough air to dry the surface rather than blast it directly, which can carry particles to be deposited on the surface again.

Some reflectors are really sensitive while others are not. YMMV with cleaning.
Best thing is this, a finger mark on a reflector does not affect it enough for you to notice, its better to just leave it be, rather than screw it up and have to buy a new reflector.

This works for me. Cold water and mild soap. Get some froth going, with clean thumb, rub reflector GENTLY with the soapy water. Rinse with cold tap water. Ensure that there is no droplets left on the reflector side, then dry it, I've used this system on McGizmo, SF, Dx with no ill effect.

Leave it alone. Like you said, it's not visibly affecting the lights performance.

In most cases touching the reflector with just about anything will ruin it. Cleaning the reflector is not like cleaning a lens. The usual first step when you want to clean a reflector is to have a replacement handy. Reflectors are just so susceptible to damage that I guess it just isn't a task for the faint of heart. I've attempted it only once or twice, and with spare reflectors handy, but I have never had any great success with it. It wasn't worth the effort and I didn't improve the condition enough to still not want to use a spare.

Most camera stores have a lens cleaning blower/brush combination and they are inexpensive but try just the blower part first. I would not use a compressed air spray as some of the propellants might react with the "silvering" on the reflector. If it were me and that did not work, I would then try just a little bit of as pure an alcohol solution as I could find, since impurities might leave stains or residue, and then allow to air dry for awhile. If that failed, I would try the brush of the blower/brush, but only with the very lightest touch. If that failed, I'd go for a replacement and then experiment on the original, having nothing to lose at that point.

Using just about any other liquids to clean a reflector will probably either remove some of the coating, leave residue, cause the reflector to haze over, or leave moisture that will cause the reflector and/or lens to fog up. None of these results are good and are probably worse than the original problem.

In a lot of cases the best option to start with is to just learn to live with the reflector "as is," providing the dirt or imperfection isn't too horrible.

This topic has come up before, and while I do not recall any other suggestions, you might want to do a search.


Good luck.

Thanks all! I did make it pretty ugly all the way around. But the beam looks normal except for up close. I suppose that I lost some lumens out the front, but I guess I'll deal with it. Besides, its not for forever, Just til it burns out.

I guess in the future, I'll know that when I see a pesky annoying piece of lint in my reflector to leave it alone. Thanks again!

Yep, don't touch them reflectors. I ruined my D-mini Smooth reflector. And I used a microfiber towel. Go figure. That was soon the begininning of the end for my D-mini. Shortly afterward the emitter went kapoof. Now it gathers dust since I apparently screwed the head to tight and cant get it off. lol.

To the people who said to use alcohol. Have any of you actually used it?

If you even let alcohol touch the reflector it's done time to get it refinished. Alcohol will destroy most of these vacuum aluminumized finishes.

The best method to clean a reflector is to not clean it. Compressed air if done incorrectly will kill the finish. The safest way I've seen is to use distilled water shooting out of these waterpik things for teeth. If you got some grease just mix some mild soap (make sure the soap is pure and doesn't have fancy moisturizer or coloring).

I've directly blasted D mag's reflector with compressed air with no ill effect, none that I can see anyway.

jzmtl said:

I've directly blasted D mag's reflector with compressed air with no ill effect, none that I can see anyway.

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Its plastic.

I've learned the best way to clean a reflector (if it has dust) is just with a bulb duster, like you'd use with camera equipment, etc. Just find an nice big one (mine looks like a small black nerf ball), with a plastic nozzle on it and you can squeeze it hard for some good blasts of air.

Canned air can sometimes spray out a liquid that might mess up the reflector.

I've tried alcohol, left a white looking dust or film on the reflector, may have reacted with the reflector's coating? I've also tried the soapy water thing, left water deposits (you'd have to use distilled water).

If you have to touch it, maybe distilled water and a microfiber cloth.

I kinda trashed a DBS reflector (ordered a spare), but even though it didn't look so great anymore, it didn't make much difference in performance surprisingly. Maybe I didn't damage it as much as I thought, but it doesn't seem a shiney as it should be.

Kraid said:

Its plastic.

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The base material is plastic, with alumium deposit on top.