Advice On Cleaning Cheap 532nm Optics

[WizardG]

Sorry If I upset you. But when using alcohol for fingerprints, do I apply it with the brush?

No apologies needed. And yeah, applied with the brush and brush very gently . You might have to clean and re-clean severl times this way before you get the lens as clean as it's gonna get.

 

[Snecho]

No apologies needed. And yeah, applied with the brush and brush very gently . You might have to clean and re-clean severl times this way before you get the lens as clean as it's gonna get.

Thank you so much for the advice. I have multiple bad lenses from cheap pointers so I'll try to practice on those.

If I may, do you know how one would go about cleaning the crystal? I'm just talking about the exposed "output crystal" on the top. I'm not talking about actually taking everything apart.
I ask because I see odd anomalies in all three of my uncollaminated 532nm pointers and am wondering what it could be.

 

[kecked]

If no one mentioned it....clean compressed air does wonders. Plain old soap and water on a lens cleaning paper. For cheap ones I don’t care about. A quick dip in water from the sink and a corner of a paper towel to suck the water off the lens.

 

[Snecho]

If no one mentioned it....clean compressed air does wonders. Plain old soap and water on a lens cleaning paper. For cheap ones I don’t care about. A quick dip in water from the sink and a corner of a paper towel to suck the water off the lens.

Noted!

 

[Anthony P]

I am surprised to hear that alcohol can be used on acrylic lenses. Alcohol cracks acrylic in a process called crazing. I saw this first hand with flow indicator site glasses with acrylic windows. When I tried to run ethanol or isopropanol through, the windows cracked in a spider web fashion.

On coated glass or quartz lenses, I have had good luck with alcohol or zeiss lens cleaner rinse, then blow off liquid cleaner with compressed air duster.

 

[Snecho]

I am surprised to hear that alcohol can be used on acrylic lenses. Alcohol cracks acrylic in a process called crazing. I saw this first hand with flow indicator site glasses with acrylic windows. When I tried to run ethanol or isopropanol through, the windows cracked in a spider web fashion.

On coated glass or quartz lenses, I have had good luck with alcohol or zeiss lens cleaner rinse, then blow off liquid cleaner with compressed air duster.

Huh, yeah I forgot all about crazing. Something else to think about.

Again, I'm just trying to learn the best way to clean cheap acrylic lenses.