Trick question - Is it humanly possible to get UCL lens perfectly clean???

[Armed_Forces]

I've been jacking with this dammed "Ultra Clear" lens for what seems like HOURS!



1st. - tried the ol' breath/wipe with microfibre. = NO LUCK! Smeared like a mofo...

2nd. - added a little denatured alcohol + microfibre. = A *little* better, but quickly hazed and I then spent 10 minutes chasing the residue 'round n' 'round (both sides!!) till I finally slipped with my fat f'ing finger and smudged it up worse than when I started.

3rd. - resorted to simple, yet low tech method of going into the kitchen and using liquid dish washing soap and highly filtered/processed/*clean tap water. That seemed like it would be the ticket but I realized I need someway to dry it. Damn, forgot the friggin microfibre towel thingy! Started over once I got the wipey. = Looked sparkling clean but as it got drier, the damned thing started hazing/smudging again! ARGGGGGHHHHH... WTF is going on???!!

4th. - got the "bright idea" to get sophisticated with the drying process since that damned micro wipey thingy was proving to be the bane of my existence(!) I would use compressed air in a can i.e. Dust Off plus the heat from my gas burner cook top to do the final "air' drying, thus nothing touching the lens. Result?? I burned all the hair off my hand and dropped that SOB onto the cast iron burner grate, chipping the lens and getting GREASE on it.

OK, what the F is the deal with this UCL glass???

I mean, is that just some kind of oxymoron?
How can it be "ultra clear" if you can't get it clean?!!

 

[RyanA]

You're not supposed to touch the inside of the glass.

 

[tebore]

I just use dish soap and water to clean it then a bit of compressed air to blow off the little bit of water left. If glass is truly clean most of the water should sheet off.

If it's just a bit of dust I use expensive microfibre (dry) to wipe it off.

 

[Timothybil]

If you are talking about UCL glass from flashlightlens then it has an antireflective coating on both sides. It will ALWAYS appear to have an oily film on it, that is the nature of the antireflective coating. Take a look at any good removable camera lens and you will see what I mean. It looks a lot like what you see if you put a drop of light oil in a glass of water. It looks all swirly and multicolored. You can remove the dust, and any liquid contaminant will appear as larger swirls if you try to wipe it off.

You need to be very careful what you use to clean a lens with an AR coating. NEVER ever use an ammonia-based cleaner - it will peel the coating right off. The best thing to do is go to any eyeglass provider or camera store and purchase a bottle of lens cleaner. It will be specifically designed to clean AR coatings without damage.

 

[wrf]

... Looked sparkling clean but as it got drier, the damned thing started hazing/smudging again! ...

When I clean AR coated lenses, I usually get my butt kicked.
I don't know why, but some coatings lend themselves to being cleaned, and some others lend themselves to being permanently damaged.
From the remains, if you can determine if the coating is hazed and damaged, or just dirty, that may likewise influence you as to whether you ever want to attempt cleaning one again.

If yes, I suggest Dawn dishwashing detergent and lens tissue. But don't soak a coated lens in Dawn. Get it on, get it clean, get it rinsed.

Other details:

Fingers - Disposable latex gloves help. Naturally, after putting them on you have to wash off the powered talc or cornstarch. (I don't have this problem anymore, apparently I've killed all the oil glands in my fingertips.)

Cleaning - About three decades ago I started searching for the ultimate glass cleaner, both commercial and homemade. This continued through college where I concocted a few things in a labratory where I worked part time (don't try this at home -- most were poisonous, would strip an AR coating off in seconds, and apparently kill the oil glands in your fingertips as well). Some things worked okay, some didn't, but nothing worked any better than Dawn and a lot of water. This was some time ago, but I tried the expensive AR cleaners, and was not impressed.

Drying - What seems to be the easiest step turns out to be the hardest. The old standby is lens tissue. Properly made, it leaves neither residue nor lint. That's the only good thing that can be said about it. It is hard to use and not very absorbent. Cheap lens tissue for eyewear is sometimes found in drugstores. Costly lens tissue can often be found in camera shops. Laboratory supply vendors have the stuff used for microscopes and laboratory optics (haven't got my hands on any of that for years). Frankly, it's too expensive for me. I use Charmin Ultra Strong bath tissue, which is easy on residue but heavy on lint. Paper towels leave residue. I used to use Kleenex years ago, but all the recent product leaves a residue also (as well as generous amounts of lint). As for cloth, it's hard to find any that is actually clean enough (especially if it has ever seen fabric softener).

I realize microfibre is all the rage. I don't like it... because I'm old (which gives me the right not to like it). Of all the new stuff to come out, I like Cree LEDs, and that's about it. The rest we don't really need.

Good luck.

 

[Yoda4561]

I've never had an issue cleaning AR lenses, just need to use a perfectly clean microfiber cloth, dry assuming there isn't serious smudging. If there is alot of easy to see debris and grease on the lens I'll use a mild baby shampoo and water solution and flood it and then rinse with tap water, then blow it dry with an airbulb.

 

[qwertyydude]

Microfibers are a miracle, get a lint free no nap one. These are usually specifically for glass and or lenses, I have AR coated polycarbonate lenses and they haven't scratched them in over a year.

 

[Th232]

Cleaning - About three decades ago I started searching for the ultimate glass cleaner, both commercial and homemade. This continued through college where I concocted a few things in a labratory where I worked part time (don't try this at home -- most were poisonous, would strip an AR coating off in seconds, and apparently kill the oil glands in your fingertips as well).

By any chance did you happen to use Piranha solution?!?

As for cleaning, assuming you haven't stuffed the AR coating as has been said before, all I can really say is that it's an absolute pain getting things clean if you want it to be perfect. In our lab, lint-free cloths for cleanrooms work a treat, but for the really important stuff (excimer laser costing upwards of 50K, Nd:YAGs, that kind of stuff), nothing really beats the good lens cleaning kits, that's what they were designed to do and we've had no problems so far. Not cheap though, either due to sheer cost, or the minimum quantity required.

 

[h2oflyer]

+1 on Yoda4561 - wash GENTLY - flood rinse - airbulb dry

Walter

 

[paintballdad]

I've had very good luck cleaning high end camera lenses and multi coated lens filters with a Lenspen. It has a soft anti-static brush on one end for removing dust and a flat end to clean the glass without any need for a solution. It should work just as well on AR coated flashlight lenses.

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

You need some Isopropyl Alcohol of professional grade.

 

[Juggernaut]

I clean the lens on my Bigbeam with steel wool and Windex with a rag. That thing is the clearest, toughest, most flawless glass work I have ever seen "or in it's case, looked though":twothumbs. It kicks the crap out of the mineral crystal lens on my EDC-P7 which has to be perfectly buffered to seem nice enough.

 

[litetube]

Hmmm... Very similar situation to my dusty window thread. The most popular response i got is to deal with it and get psychiatric help:nana:

My UCL in my Novatac has a "halo" donut in the center I cannot get rid of (no it ain't dust) and it isn't scratches. looks like smudginess but I cant remove it. My Ex10 Nitecore has the clearest glass of any light I have but every UCL I have had has never been Ultr Clear as its name would imply.

I wouldnt bother with detergent or tap water which is loaded with hard minerals. A GOOD microfiber should work . if the microfiber is contaminated though it will not be 100% effective either. occasionally washing the micro fiber is a good idea also .

 

[kosPap]

I would use compressed air in a can i.e. Dust Off quote]

you used what? Dust-off is NOT air....See the ingredients...They do no good on glass coatings!

I know I was using it in my camera, lenses and film!

 

[Armed_Forces]

Hi guys!
Thanks for all the replies. ..been busy, but I've figured out a couple things.


1. The damned housekeeper washed my special microfibre wipey (used only for optical lenses) with the normal clothes, despite my explicit instructions for hand washing only! I'm fully aware that fabric softener ruins all manner of high performance synthetic fabrics/textiles. Just great...something else to buy now.


2. It didn't dawn on me about the AR coating until you all mentioned that.
I had to get rid of a Sinn U1 a long time ago because of the crap job they did with that particular AR coating. I love my PO and my Damaskos so I know they can be done "properly". This coating reminds me very much of the Sinn version. I'm really just obsessing a bit over all this because you can't see the "problem" unless the light is on or you are in strong light.


Now that I've made a fresh start of it, all is good. Well as good as I can get it. :tinfoil:



P.S. In case anybody was wondering, I decided to take my brand new DBS completely apart and "see how it worked".
Detailed it thoroughly and re-lubed with Krytox. :thumbsup:
That's one sweet torch!

 

[Crenshaw]

yes....in a clean room with all sorts of weird chemicals....

i have a new found apreciation for lock-tite sealed lights...

Crenshaw

 

[LuxLuthor]

There are a number of products made for things like this. You can peruse through the descriptions at B&H Photo here. I have used Rexton.

There is a brief guide on AR lens care here.

Main thing if you don't want to use the soap method (i.e. Computer/TV screens), is to use preparations that are AR safe.

Optimax is one brand of products that are AR safe. Clarity Clean It has another lineup. Purosol yet another.

 

[Armed_Forces]

Awesome Lux, thanks! :thumbsup:


I decided on the Purosol brand and went ahead with ordering the 4oz. Kit plus the 12"x16" Microfibre wipey.




You guys sure do know how to help a guy spend money! :laughing:

 

[ergotelis]

Well i used an ammonia based cleaner for my ucl lenses and should i worry?I didn't see any problem, even under degree the classic blue/green light reflection was just as it was.

 

[ampdude]

When cleaning UCL or pyrex windows I use glass cleaner or a bottle of lense cleaner solution and a couple of napkins.

Don't ever clean AR coated lenses, it will wipe the anti-reflective coating off.