General Flashlight Maintenance

I created this thread because I realised that there really wasn't that many general maintenance thread like there is the "comprehensive lube..." thread and there were scattered posts about cleaning threads etc. but not many general light maintenance threads and thought I should make one.

But of course if I'm wrong feel free to remove/replace my post if necessary.

So how would one go about:
-Cleaning/Polishing the exterior of a flashlight? (All materials-aluminium, titanium...)
-Caring for a Lens a Flashlight?
-Cleaning Switches & Recharging Ports? (rubber switches too!, ports like the one on the MH20)
-Caring for the driver circuit inside? :thinking:
-Lubing Threads & O-rings (I understand this is already well covered in other threads, so I just thought I should just mention it) :wave:

of course some people may find cleaning some places unnecessary so feel free to ignore them :twothumbs

Thanks! :wave:

Cleaning/Polishing the exterior of a flashlight?

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I've found that if you're gentle, a buffing wheel with white rouge (fine) cleans up hard anodizing possibly shinier than new. I learned this by trying to use the buffer to take the ano off and found that doesn't work.

Solvents can get the ano off, but if you're trying to strip and polish out a light a bead blaster with "medium glass beads" cuts the ano nicely. Crushed walnut or baking soda blasting isn't aggressive enough, steel shot blasting is much too much.

A pink pencil eraser is just the thing for cleaning contacts. It's gentle and non-damaging.

Also,

- Canned air will blow out any dirt in a recharging jack
- Never use any type of window cleaner or paper product on the lens. Microfiber cloth or cotton swab, and lens cleaner fluid if anything more is needed. Plastic lenses scratch rather easily; glass lenses are coated, and window cleaner can destroy the coating.
- If one doesn't want to go as far as the buffing wheel, a microfiber cloth will do a good job of polishing the exterior, again using lens cleaner fluid if a solvent is needed.
- Agree on the pencil eraser, but if your light is pulling a few amps (to the point that you are using IMR/INR cells) you might want to use Deoxit to clean the cell contacts instead of/or after the eraser.

more_vampires said:

Solvents can get the ano off, but if you're trying to strip and polish out a light a bead blaster with "medium glass beads" cuts the ano nicely. Crushed walnut or baking soda blasting isn't aggressive enough, steel shot blasting is much too much.

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What consumer solvents do you have access to that remove anodize coatings?

When I needed to determine the coating weight of anodize, I used a heated bath of phosphoric and Chromic acid per Mil-A-8625, but it was heated and took anywhere between 30-60 minutes.

You can use oven cleaner, but it's lye and will pit if left on after the coating has been removed.

Yeah, oven cleaner. Since I have a bead blaster, I just use that. It is an excellent surface prep for hard machine enamel painting, if you wanted to swing that way.

Hmm excellent tips so far more_vamps !
Keep it up guys.

Also do people even do these sort of things? Or is just me?

Thanks, F808. And yeah, we do this stuff. I refinished a couple of 80s cop issue Magchargers, one with rubberized 3m spray coat and one with red machine enamel. The bead blaster wiped that finish off in minutes. I spent more time disassembling and masking the threads than I did actually blasting.

IMHO, faster than caustics/bases.

more_vampires said:

Thanks, F808. And yeah, we do this stuff. I refinished a couple of 80s cop issue Magchargers, one with rubberized 3m spray coat and one with red machine enamel. The bead blaster wiped that finish off in minutes. I spent more time disassembling and masking the threads than I did actually blasting.

IMHO, faster than caustics/bases.

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Haha yeah. I think flashaholicm leads to modding which leads to soldering & electronics and that leads to DIYing... and the list going on..

I think flashaholicm leads to modding which leads to soldering & electronics and that leads to DIYing... and the list going on..

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Don't forget bankruptcy!

more_vampires said:

Don't forget bankruptcy!

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Lol yep.. How could I of possibly forgotten??

This is a great thread. I'll have to post some pics on this subject. To be honest, flashlight maintenance is like therapy for me

flashlight chronic said:

This is a great thread. I'll have to post some pics on this subject. To be honest, flashlight maintenance is like therapy for me

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Haha lol, thanks. I was hoping for something like this .
(& this morning I thought I would of had to give this thread a bump)

0000 steel wool works nicely for taking swirls and snail trails out of machined finish Ti.

more_vampires said:

I've found that if you're gentle, a buffing wheel with white rouge (fine) cleans up hard anodizing possibly shinier than new. I learned this by trying to use the buffer to take the ano off and found that doesn't work.

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Been there LOL

Buffer wheel w/ Brasso worked like a champ taking off a deep Ano on my copper Maratac. Took two hours but it's good as new now. [emoji6]

flashlight chronic said:

This is a great thread. I'll have to post some pics on this subject. To be honest, flashlight maintenance is like therapy for me

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Hahahahaha!!! I thought I was the only one who thought that!!

Here's my maintenance kit and accessories:

And tools:
There's camera lens pens for cleaning glass, assorted o-rings, toothpicks (for removing o-rings), assorted magnets, aluminum strips for heat sinking P60 modules, snap ring pliers for removing and installing tailcap switches, thermal compound, bezel removal tools, an old toothbrush to clean threads and a copper tube and 2xAA maglite flashlight body to push out P60 modules that are snug fit in a P60 host. Oh, and silicone grease for O-rings. And of course a Dremel tool and Fluke Multimeter

flashlight chronic said:

Here's my maintenance kit and accessories: ................ And tools

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That's a cute looking set of stuff: so well-organised.
Someday I'll get my collection sorted out . . . .

Thanks! Before i got the tackle box, my wife kept wondering where all her tupperware containers were :shrug:

Wow pretty neat setup, your set for any flashlight emergency....