Dusty Lenses, What To Do?

This might sound like a really stupid post, but the dust that accumulates on the lense of every flashlight I have ever had just drives me NUTS!!! How in the heck do we keep them clean without resorting to wiping them with a cloth (poly lenses just scratch up), or taking it apart, glass might be different, though. Just wanted to get some input. Even my Micro is dusty now, but I have resisted wiping it.

This is a valid question, I'm not trying to get through my first 3 posts...so please don't beat me up

Do you mean on the inside or outside of the lense? Most lights use glass lenses and so are fine to just wipe with most cloths, I use whatever t-shirt/polo I may be wearing at the time. Polycarbonate lenses are better rinsed in water I guess.

My suggestion is to either upgrade your lights to glass lenses, or buy a Camera Lens Cleaning Kit. I believe they can be found online for around $20.

Giotto's Air Blaster works for me.

Don't buy flashlights with plastic lenses unless you can replace them with glass lenses, and don't buy flashlights with non-removable lenses at all. That way, you will never have to deal with a dusty/dirty/scratched/cracked/shattered lense you can't clean or replace.

Most glass should be fine. Uncoated glass will usually be able to be cleaned with anything as long as it doesn't scratch, I have some "hard coated" lenses that clean just fine, it does look like the coating is fogging up in places though, probably from over cleaning. I pocket carry, so dust is always an issue, but if it doesn't affect the beam, then there isn't a problem for me.

Having said that, I'm sure you could get a water / dust reppellant glass treatment that wouldn't affect transmission, and would keep water, grease and dust off the lens. You could try one of those fancy "nano-coatings" but I would probably just try RainX or something first on a spare lens.

I will treat one tonight and leave one untreated with RainX and see if it makes a significant difference

For the most part they aren't actually "lenses", but simply covers, usually made of some type of polycarbonate material or some type of glass. A few, TIRs for example, and the lens found on the Fenix E05, do actually bend the light, but usually it's just a clear cover.

In any case, they all need to be treated gently. The suggestion for a camera lens cleaning kit would be good for a glass cover, but even better is to get an eyeglass cleaning kit with cleaner and tissues. Most eyeglasses these days are made of lighter weight poly material, similar to that used for flashlight covers, and those kits are designed not to scratch that material, and it also works well for the glass covers which often have a delicate anti-reflective coating on both the inside and outside which needs to be cleaned gently and only as often as absolutely needed.

First, blow off as much debris as possible. Clean canned air is best, but not required. Then, don't spray the cleaner directly on the cover, spray it on the special tissue first and then gently wipe away any remaining dust or dirt.

One of the advantages of using the eyeglass cleaner and tissues (or similar camera lens cleaning kit) is that it usually will help keep the dust from returning as quickly.

In a pinch you can always use a clean micro fiber cloth (these clean up easily, just a bit of soap and warm water, then air dry). Breath on the cover to deposit a bit of moisture, then gently wipe.

I got some microfiber cloths made for washing windows : works wonders

Then I found some microfiber cloths made for cleaning CD's and DVD's : even better and does CDs too...

Once a year I might whip out my lens cleaning kit and do my most used lights along with my binoculars and camera. If I have no scratches on my binos, I don't see any reason you would have scratches on your flashlight lenses.

Derek Dean said:

For the most part they aren't actually "lenses", but simply covers, usually made of some type of polycarbonate material or some type of glass. A few, TIRs for example, and the lens found on the Fenix E05, do actually bend the light, but usually it's just a clear cover.

Click to expand...

A lense is nothing more than a clear object that refracts light in a consistent way across its surface -- as opposed to, say, a cut gemstone which refracts light in an inconsistent way. Lenses can have a magnification power of 0, that's just as valid as having a positive or negative magnification power. The light from the emitter still refracts when it enters a flat lense -- it just refracts again by the exact opposite amount when it leaves the lense, thus having a negligible effect on the beam pattern.

I have no argument with your lense-cleaning instructions, though. That's exactly what my mom does with her camera lenses.

hello, i suggest some Q-tips and some rubbing alcohol, this seems to do the trick

All of my lights are waterproof, so I just stick them under running water and scrub them with a soapy toothbrush. If it affects the anti-reflective coating on the lenses, it does so evenly enough that I haven't noticed.

leupold lens pen... a dust brush on one end, and a specially treated chamois cup on the other, about the size of a sharpie altogether, ive never seen a scratch on any of my scopes, i dont see why it'd scratch a flashlight lens

Rinse with running water, blot with a towel. Seems to work fine for me.

I think "keeping dust off" to begin with was the main intention of the OP's original post...

The Rain-X seems like it might work...I've used lens cleaning clothes (the moist one's the agent already in them), and some Baush & Laumb glass cleaners (usually found in the medical aisle). These seem to keep the dust off pretty good. Also, treating the lense with Fog-Cat glass cleaning paste does a pretty good job of KEEPING it off.