I HATE DUST!

OK guys, there's gotta be a better way. Now that I have some really special lights (McLuxes and Space Needle II) I just hate seeing specks of dust on the inside of the lens or on the reflector surface. A really bright light will show every speck even if it looks clean when switched off.

My question is -- how do you get these surfaces perfectly clean? I've tried:

Wiping with a 3M Microfiber cleaning cloth
Compressed air in a can
Washing parts in warm, soapy water

Seems like every time, there's still visible dust specks on the inside of the lens, or on the McLux's McFlood! Aaargh! Do I need to install a cleanroom in my home?

What do you guys do? Or are you able to not let it bother you? (Please don't suggest that, I don't know if I could do it! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif)

Thanks,

Dave

Here's how a former military optics guy showed me how to clean scanning mirrors:

Take a little bit of Kimwipe or other lint-free cleaning paper, folded several layers thick, an inch or so long and as wide as the optic you're cleaning.

Wet ONE edge of the folded tissue with glass cleaner (Windex), leave the rest dry.

Push the tissue over the glass with your finger, wet edge first, so the wet edge cleans the glass and the dry part immediately follows the wet edge, drying the glass before any dust from the air gets a chance to stick from it.

Same method should work on your flashlight lenses.

i use warm soapy water.

I use cotton swabs and alcohol... If I feel retentive, I'll use gloves to prevent fingerprinting the optics or the insides...

whatever you do...do not touch the mag reflector lens! there is no material on this earth that is soft enough not to scratch their pathetic coating /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

i find windex and a towel work quite well for cleaning optics...

Compressed air or a lens brush work best for me. Sometimes I use lens tissue for reflectors.

de-natured alcohol (not rubbing alcohol!!!!)

or

Acetone

and some kind of lint free swab/cloth

Alcohol (like tape or disk head cleaner) and Q-tip swabs here. Cleans flashlight reflectors & lenses, and the OC lenses of portable lasers just fine.

Note: Some kinds of clear flashlight lenses turn foggy (whitish) with alcohol, so use Windex or similar window cleaner on those.

I have not tried alcohol on Luxeon optics yet, so I don't know if it will eat them or clean them.
For safety's sake, use Windex or other water-based window cleaner on them for the time being.

I had a lady friend that worked at a company, and they had 100% alcohol - it was the only thing that they could find that would clean the electron microscope and not leave any residue

They had to have an State Liquior License for it !!

Please correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't alcohol eat or corrode neoprene which is often times one of the ingredients of the rubber o rings?

I know that cans of compressed air often contain a high amount of benzene which can be corrosive on plastics and rubber.
I only ask as I like some of the ideas you guys have suggested but would like to feel confident that I would not inadvertently damage my lights using them.

" they had 100% alcohol " "They had to have an State Liquior License for it !!"

I never thought of that: Everclear! I was wondering where to get 100% alcohol for cleaning things. Available in some states in liquor stores. 200 proof alcohol (100%). No other ingredients. It may not be lab grade, but will probably work quite well. It should evaporate completely without leaving anything behind. I'll have to check out the local ABC.

OK - If it's a glass lens, wash it using soap and water. For the reflector, use compressed air or a very soft bristle brush. I use the brush on the Sima Lens Pen on my TigerLight reflectors to remove dust before I texture them. It works great. The other end of the lens pen work great for cleaning lenses when they're installed in the light.

Polycarb lenses will pretty much scratch if you look at them wrong...