Best way to clean a reflector?

I just bought an older light that has some haze on the reflector. I figure CAIG DeOxIt should pull that right off, but every time I've wiped down a reflector in the past it's left hairline scratches in the reflective coating -- not bad enough to affect the beam, just noticeable when looking at the reflector from the side while the light is on. What's the best way to go about this?

I have found that the best way is to not clean it al all.

Anything I ever tried made it worse.

The only thing I have found that cleans it without further damaging is one of those dust blow brushes for camera lenses. And even then its only to remove dust and loose debris. You definitely do not want to use solvents, degreasers or excessive force.

Its vapor deposited Aluminum... very fragile and delicate surface.

Maybe MAF sensor cleaner from the auto parts store, then. It's designed to dissolve contaminants from sensitive metal surfaces without requiring any contact from a solid cleaning instrument.

I have cleaned them by breathing on the reflector and using a microfiber cloth to remove the condensation.

You may have to repeat this process a few times.

:twothumbs

I have had to clean many reflectors when using WA potted bulbs. They seem to emit some junk that coats the lens and reflector.

I have been quite successful using the following.

Clean hands
Adjust water stream from single outlet tap to high warm.
Spray reflector with Fantastic, Windex and hold it under the water stream.
While the reflector is under the stream, I spray my fingers with Fantastic,Windex etc, and I very ,very gently touch the surface of the reflector and wipe.

My fingers , although touching the reflector, do not actually touch, as its separated by a liquid film.

Shake dry and use hair dryer. I do not know if this works where water is hard. Might have to use jet dry as a rinse to avoid hard water spots.



Anyway , works for me.

After some bad experinces cleaning reflectors, i find however annoying the spot is, you only make it worse by trying to clean it.

I NEVER touch my Tiablo reflector.....

Crenshaw

I too have had success with running water. After reaming a few aluminum reflectors, they were covered in shavings. Just ran them under the tap and let air dry over night.

For debris, compressed air, and I don't mean the stuff in a can. For tougher duty, most people have stated a high concentration of alcohol solution works great, as it evaporates quickly and will not leave spots or streaks. Whatever you do, GO GENTLE, and good luck.

OfficerCamp said:

For debris, compressed air, and I don't mean the stuff in a can. For tougher duty, most people have stated a high concentration of alcohol solution works great, as it evaporates quickly and will not leave spots or streaks. Whatever you do, GO GENTLE, and good luck.

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I had better luck with acetone (not the oiled kind women use for removing nail polish)...and pure cotton...NOTHING else like tissur epaper etc(made fro scrtching wood fibers)..and gentle touch

Sgt. LED said:

I have found that the best way is to not clean it al all.

Anything I ever tried made it worse.

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I second that..

Use a blower bulb, then distilled water if that doesn't completely clean it, or an alcohol solution if there are smudges (shouldn't be any ). Air dry or pat with a microfiber cloth, but be careful not to scratch the surface, e.g. don't rub it. Don't use those compressed air canisters as this can damage the aluminum coating.

SF suggests 100% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning reflectors. Pour it on the reflector and let it evaporate, no wiping.

In my experiences it is best left alone!

Sgt. LED said:

I have found that the best way is to not clean it al all.

Anything I ever tried made it worse.

Click to expand...

Hacken said:

I second that..

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I third that. Most of the time a little bit of dust or a fingerprint on the reflector will do nothing to the beam pattern or output of the light. If your OCD requires that the reflector looks perfect, then keep in mind that scratches and small bare spots will be less bearable than fingerprints. However, fine scratches often don't affect the beam much either.
I have made reflectors worse by trying to clean them to get them perfect. It is better to leave them alone.

After a blown bulb I used water running over the reflector for a few minutes and that got rid of most of the loose stuff. Then I used cotton to dry it and scratched it up

I agree with the best advise being just don't clean it / save up for a new one. The surface is so fragile that almost anything will scratch it up if substantial (aka hardly any) force is applied.

how about using a jewelry cleaner the one that uses ultrasonic would it work?

You know what, for the sake of curiousity I'll see if I can find some flashlights I don't like (we have quite a few crappy lights around the house) and give them a whirl in my harbor freight ultrasonic.

I have confirmed that MAF sensor cleaner from the auto parts store, followed by gentle application of soapy water with a fingertip, followed by compressed air to blow the water off, will result in a perfectly clean reflector. The trick to washing it seems to be to use radial strokes instead of circumferential strokes.

In general I agree with the posts that say "don't clean/touch it". However, I have needed to clean a couple reflectors and for that, I follow the same process that I use for cleaning optics on (much more expensive) camera lenses, think $1000's of dollars in optics lens.

I use a cleaner specifically for optics called Eclipse(TM) (which is really just pure methanol, IIRC) and wipe them with lint free Pec-Pads (TM), (do a search). It leaves no residue and hasn't harmed any of the coatings, plastics or glue that I've encountered to date. Even using pure distilled water never worked for me - always seems to leave some type of residue.

I also use the same for cleaning any xenon or other high-pressure bulbs that I may have accidentally contaminated with skin oil or other such stuff when replacing them.