That Clean Feeling

Having been a small time contributor here, I have been reading a lot of threads... getting to know familiar names and who's who... [emoji87]

When I was going to post regarding this topic I felt a little 'weird' [emoji15] but I am going to guess that I am not the only one who takes a lot of pleasure in cleaning their flashlights...

My regime consists of:
Stripping down the components, cleaning them off with alcohol wipes, making sure they as clean as possible... applying some nano-oil and re-assembling everything again.

As I have started to build a collection recently, this will become my regular chore/fun soon, as will charging/checking batteries frequently. ..

So what is your regime and do you also take some sort of sick (innocent!) pleasure from it as I do? [emoji56]

Well, I have to admit cleaning my car, my shoes or my flashlights is something I can´t stand at all and therfore almost never do it (car maybe twice a year, shoes only if I have to after they got muddy for example, flashlights only when I have to as well....meaning once a years if at all).

Eric

Perhaps IT IS just me and my CDO (OCD in the correct order) so...

The East European influx clean the car for a satisfactory fee,i have a woman that does for cleaning the house and I never bother cleaning my lights until they start a flicker,then I clean the contacts with diamond tipped contact tools.

Currently I try to wait to clean until I have a need to, i.e. flickering or grit in the threads.

At that point I use alcohol on a cotton swab then a bit of Nyogel - and I do take great satisfaction in it!

The first post seems to relate to cleaning flashlights, so let's keep car cleaning, household cleaning, and cleaning of other items for another thread.

Bill

With new lights, I previously did the following:

1. Wipe down all threads with isopropyl alcohol using an old t-shirt or rag
2. With a cotton bud, put a little dab of deoxit on the springs
3. Use a teflon based lube to lube up the threads
4. Put everything back together

But now, this is what I do:

1. Complete tear down of light's components
2. Replace emitter with a neutral white version of an XP-G2/XM-L2/XP-L/MT-G2 on a Noctigon base. The emitter may or may not be dedomed
3. Have a look at the driver. Does it have blinkies? If so, replace it with a different driver with no blinkies. If it doesn't have blinkies, can it be modded to provide more power to the LED? If so, mod it.
4. Replace wiring with higher gauge
5. Do copper braid mod on all springs
6. Add a GITD (glow in the dark) o-ring between the lens and bezel
7. Are the threads dry? If so, lube them up
8. Put everything back together and hopefully, it lights up!

I've gone down the modding route when it comes to purchasing lights. These days, I look more for possible hosts and if I like their form factor. Having said that though, I think I have rounded my collection (ignore signature link, it hasn't been updated in a long (!!) time) that I don't think I'll need to buy any more lights. If anything, I may just replace LEDs when they improve but keep the bodies and drivers of current lights I have as is.

Rod911 said:

With new lights, I previously did the following:

1. Wipe down all threads with isopropyl alcohol using an old t-shirt or rag
2. With a cotton bud, put a little dab of deoxit
3. Use a teflon based lube to lube up the threads
4. Put everything back together

But now, this is what I do:

1. Complete tear down of light's components
2. Replace emitter with a neutral white version of an XP-G2/XM-L2/XP-L/MT-G2 on a Noctigon base. The emitter may or may not be dedomed
3. Have a look at the driver. Does it have blinkies? If so, replace it with a different driver with no blinkies. If it doesn't have blinkies, can it be modded to provide more power to the LED? If so, mod it.
4. Replace wiring with higher gauge
5. Do copper braid mod on all springs
6. Add a GITD (glow in the dark) o-ring between the lens and bezel
7. Are the threads dry? If so, lube them up
8. Put everything back together and hopefully, it lights up!

I've gone down the modding route when it comes to purchasing lights. These days, I look more for possible hosts and if I like their form factor. Having said that though, I think I have rounded my collection (ignore signature link, it hasn't been updated in a long (!!) time) that I don't think I'll need to buy any more lights. If anything, I may just replace LEDs when they improve but keep the bodies and drivers of current lights I have as is.

Click to expand...

The problem for me is, I know if I started down the mod'ding route that I would never be happy... I would always want to change this or alter that and it would be a never ending story...
But I also know that I would enjoy it immensely and would take great satisfaction from it... that's why when buying I try to make sure whatever it is I am buying suits as perfectly as possible to the requirement for its purchase... and the lights I have to date seem to be that, need no modification...
But regardless I do like the cleaning process and seeing everything shiny/clean, knowing that they are in the best possible condition when needed.

I usually clean new lights and lube them before using them.

I clean other lights when I'm in the mood or can see they need cleaning. I got this rubber sticky clay from County Comm and it is very good for cleaning the threads and parts. It picks up the dirt and crude and doesn't leave anything behind.

There's a good question:
What cleaning products do you use/recommend as part of your regime.

I was of the belief alcohol wipes were the best option but others may have other experiences? ...

Light that I buy used and that can be completely disassembled usually get a thorough soapwater bath upon receiving (read: every Surefire P-Series). Other lights get a good scrub down on the outside. Threads are being cleaned using isopropanol.

Lights from my EDC rotation usually do not get much attention, but nothing else but lint can be found on them.

Cheers
Thorsten