SOLVED!!!Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Ok I am OCD. I cant stand the dust on my flashlight windows. I have to clean them every night . Everytime I take a light out of my pocket I see all that damn dust on there and I get MAD!!!!!!! Problem is the next day it is back again. Now I know that damn dust is blocking light and reducing transmission of lumens. With all the discusssion of AR coatings and Mineral over UCL over Pyrex , what about all the DUST in this world that sticks to these windows incessantly like glue and reduces output for all of us!!!

What is the solution??? I want to have a clean window whenever I whip that light out !!!!! Please help :thinking:

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Keep it in a dust proof holster?

It blocks such a minuscule amount of light, guess what, no one could ever detect pocket lint amounts of blockage.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Essentially what 65535 said, a dust-proof holster would be your best bet. If such a thing exists. Or work/live in a cleanroom. FWIW, I've never noticed an increase in output after cleaning the window of my torch.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

My suggestion is to seek professional psychiatric help.

You will never be able to pull a light out of your pocket and not have at least some dust on there.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

I find lint diffuser useful.
Perhaps a nylon/plastic cover for the window end, tap plastics has some soft ones that may fit.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

The dust sticks to it because of static. So you might investigate options for an anti-static coating of some kind, perhaps one that comes in a spray, maybe for computer monitors? You would have to test it first on something safe of course, to avoid any potential damage to the flashlight window. But if it was a plain glass window with no optical coatings I doubt there would be an issue.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

<nitpick-mode> You cannot be OCD. You can either have OCD or be OC. </nitpick-mode>

I would encourage you to make a conscious effort not to look at the window of the light right before you use it. Don't let yourself get too distracted by the flashlight. Instead focus on how that flashlight is helping you achieve another task. Sometimes as flashaholics we have to remind ourselves that it isn't the appearance that counts, it's how you use it.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

copperfox said:

<nitpick-mode> You cannot be OCD. You can either have OCD or be OC. </nitpick-mode>

Click to expand...

Perhaps litetube is obsessively compulsively disordered?

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Better check more carefully. I think there is a hair trapped under the window. Is that a fingerprint I see on the reflector? Eww, what's that greasy grey stuff on the threads of the body tube? That beam profile is a little off center, I think. Didn't fix the Cree ring yet, either. What a tint! Is it green, or merely aqua?

Maybe you'd better just box them all up and ship them to me. You'll be better off in the long run.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

I just give in to the chaos called life.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

If you get a high enough output flashlight, it will just burn off the dust when you turn it on.
Problem solved!

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Any possible coating you could put on the lens to keep dust from sticking would almost surely block MORE light than the minuscule amount of dust on it.

Forget about it, and just enjoy the light.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Rub the front with a dryer sheet. It will leave a film that you can clean with a lint free cloth. This will only work for a little while and is not permanent.

I have never done this before.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Some kind of rubber or plastic dustcap that you remove before use and replace after use otherwise learn to lve with it.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

I have always marveled at how under ambient light the window and reflector can look so nice and perfectly clean, yet turn the light on, and it is amazing how much dust is there!

lightube, I have also been driven crazy by this. After pulling out the light, I just blow on it. That takes care of most of the dust. What little is left I just don't worry about.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Wow. Thanx guys I feel better.
Ty, you are a sick SOB my friend. I bet if you came across a person ready to jump off a bridge you would help them with a push ?

Mjolnir , I like how you think!!! Victory thru superior firepower!!!

I actually can deal with it, I was just curious to see if i was theonly one that found it mildly annoying. But it is a fact of life. I have actually considered a dust cap but i would fumble it and loose it in no time. Also considered a "coating" to fight the Static cling of dust but I dont know what would really work, probably nothing.

Then I had an idea. After watching a dirt bike race, I noticed that many of the riders had tear off sheets on their goggles. So if they got stuck behind a rider kicking mud in their face they just tore off the top layer or sheet and VOILA!!! clear goggles again!!!. I just need to figure out a way to make these in miniature for flashlight windows and I will be a friggin' millionnaire!!! If anyone wants to help with the initial cost of R&D we can do a very equitable split once the profits start rolling in

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

I feel ya!

except for me its with my throwers, i cant stand the fact that there might be something there depriving me of that lew extra lux worth of throw.

There should be some sorta anti static coating on these things.@ Marduke, but it will make me feel better...:tinfoil:

Further more, i worry that if i wipe it too much, ill wipe off the AR coating...(will i?)

Crenshaw

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Well, you can either try to adress the problem with technical help, or try to change your experience of this problem in order not to see it as a problem anymore. Quite simply a little daily dose of Cognitive behavioural therapy should help:

Clean the lens of your favorite EDC. Use it.
Dig deep in your pockets for some pocket lint and dust. Apply the dust generously on your flashlight, especially the lens. Use it. Say to yourself: the dust doesn't matter, I can still see the light. The light works and I am not at home to the annoying dusttroll.....

Let's face it, dust is all around us, even before our solar system came into existence there was a lot of dust. A random gathering of dust is a more natural state of order than say for example a highly engineered flashlight. To fight against dust is a lot like fighting against windmills, you can win but thoses victories are likely not to be recognized by your peers. Better cheer up and use your light however dusty is is.

Of course, fingerprints on the reflector, that's a totally different story. A crime against humanity that still isn't recognized by the international court in The Hague. A shame, that's what it is!

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

Now would be a good time for people to start posting pictures of windows covered with lint.

Re: Flashlight windows and dust!!!!! I want it GONE!!

1). A flip up lens filter as lens cover like the ones for Surefires and its clones might help.

2). I cut a PVC coupler in half to make a 1 to 2 inch bezel extension and to add anti-roll feature to the bezel of my Gladius.

The 1 to 2 inch PVC coupler extension from the lens/bezel prevents most of the pocket lint from getting stuck to the lens, prevents scratches from other objects in my pocket and prevents my finger(s) from accidentally touching the lens.

The PVC anti-roll coupler also makes the Gladius a little front heavy so when accidentally dropped, the PVC usually hits the ground first, protecting the lens/bezel inside it.

A lens or unused soft paint brush usually easily cleans it at night. When it gets soaked by rain at work, a quick rinse with soap and water followed by tissue paper cleans and prevents it from getting white water spots.