Cleaning reflectors, can it be done?

Can anyone give me any advice on how to, or if it is even possible to truly clean up a relector to it's original factory condition?

I've done some reading and it appears that the reflective coating is applied in vapour form and so cannot be polished up to it's original condition once dulled, but if anyone has any good tricks up their sleeves then I would be very happy to hear them..

Also, does anyone know exactly how to remove the reflector from a Niotecore D10 without damaging it? I have an XR-E version and currently am having trouble with a small white plastic ring under the reflector, I think I need to remove this before i can get any purchase on the reflector to unscrew it but am not exactly sure how to go about it. :thinking:

Thanks for your help.

How did the reflector dull? If it's oxidized there isn't much you can do to restore it to factory condition.

But if it's just dirty you can clean it with windex and a microfiber. Then run it under warm water to get rid of the lint. Blow all the water off of it with a can of compressed air and it should be good.

Anybody know how to clean? I tried 99% Iso alcohol, and canned air, but it just streaked it up. Wish I knew how to do it right.

Edit.....Maybe it's the alcohol. Just remembered I use Vodka for my expensive in-house lens. Duuuuhhh. I'll grab the bottle and try that.

Do NOT try cleaning it with any kind of cloth. Any good reflector will be totally ruined afterwards.

I prefer not touching them with anything beyond air. I have had success with an ultrasonic cleaner followed with an alcohol rinse to avoid water spots. :shrug:

Yes I've tainted some reflectors with just the softest rub with a clean tissue.

my m20 warrior r5 has white opake streaks all over it after a colluge got his finger all inside the the reflector

Just quite how he managed this is far beyond me

No attemps so far have suceded but the best attempt i made was with a tecknical lens cloth the one used to clean camera optics.

:thinking:anyone know wher i can get replacment reflectors both op and smooth for the r5in the UK

Does cleaning problem exist with plastic reflector?
I don't touch it... but would like clean

Anyone know of a source to get them refinished ? I have ruined a few in the past .

You could try a proper lens cleaning cloth with smear free lens cleaner plenty of optical suppliers on the bay or perhaps methylated spirits.

A lens cloth is designed for HARD Glass lenses....not soft vapor applied pure aluminum.

lightmyway said:

Anyone know of a source to get them refinished ? I have ruined a few in the past .

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It would cost more than a new reflector, because basically you'd have to re-apply the aluminum the same as the manufacturing process done when it's first built. Besides, reflectors are cheap.

A friend borrowed my flashlight and opened it up without permission while I was not around and touched the OP aluminum reflector. Had no choice but to clean it up. Tried 70% isopropyl alcohol and cotton to pat it dry but it looked somewhat dull after.

Washed the reflector in soap and water, rinsed with water, shook off water and then used the softest tissue paper to pat dry the reflector. Do not rub the reflector in any direction, just let the tissue paper absorb all the remaining tiny water droplets. Not as clean as new but looks almost new. Once the reflector is touched it needs to be refinished if you want it to look "brand new" clean again, especially smooth reflectors.

IMSabbel said:

Do NOT try cleaning it with any kind of cloth. Any good reflector will be totally ruined afterwards.

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That's the problem I think.. It had a couple of small fibres on and I thought, 'no problem, I'll just clean it up' but after gently rubbing it clean with a lens cleaning cloth it seemed a little duller. Then I thought, 'thats odd, ill try it again with water this time to shine it up again,' I did this about three times before realising that it was just getting even worse every time and reading about the 'aluminium vapor' manufacturing methods and how it cannot be cleaned with a cloth..

I'm not sure if it has actually effected output at all however, it seems to have slightly spread out the beam a bit more like an added OP effect, the difference I can tell most is looking at the reflector from an angle when it is on, it looks almost like its all misted up inside, even though it isnt at all.

Anyway, having read through all the replies I'm guessing there is no way to get it back to the original condition with what I may have available at home then?

Does anyone know where you can order new reflectors for a Nitecore D10, and how much they would cost? I need a new light engine/driver for my last one I broke as well.. :shakehead

Can't help you with nitecore....but I can tell you I've bought a lot of reflectors, and they were priced from $8 for an RRT-0, to $13 for a Tiablo A9. Cheap.

Wow, using tissue paper is anything but fail. Might have well used sandpaper

The way I'd even attempt cleaning a reflector would be some sort of gentle splashing of rubbing alcohol, maybe even windex? Air drying is a must

Spray with Simple Green, rinse with distilled water and used canned air to dry it off.

kengps said:

It would cost more than a new reflector, because basically you'd have to re-apply the aluminum the same as the manufacturing process done when it's first built. Besides, reflectors are cheap.

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Your quite right most reflectors are cheap , one of the ones i ruined was a DBS 25.00 Plus machining for a custom light.So i would be interested if anyone knew of someone that could refinish reflectors.

It's been a while since I've had one of my D10's disassembled, but I remember just snagging the white insulating disk out with a dental pick. Then it was easy to unscrew the reflector. Have you tried contacting a Nitecore dealer in regards to a replacement reflector? If that fails I'd contact Nitecore directly to inquire about purchasing a replacement if it were me. I found Nitecores email address on their website the last time I contacted them.

RedForest UK said:

Also, does anyone know exactly how to remove the reflector from a Niotecore D10 without damaging it? I have an XR-E version and currently am having trouble with a small white plastic ring under the reflector, I think I need to remove this before i can get any purchase on the reflector to unscrew it but am not exactly sure how to go about it. :thinking:

Thanks for your help.

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lightmyway said:

Your quite right most reflectors are cheap , one of the ones i ruined was a DBS 25.00 Plus machining for a custom light.So i would be interested if anyone knew of someone that could refinish reflectors.

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What kind of machining did you do to it?
Was it an SST-50 reflector?