Cleaning off oil

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4066 Location: Charleston

Has anyone tried acetone for cleaning pesky oil off lens surface?

visualopsins · Expire: 2021-06-22

Bare elements only -- acetone will easily strip paint from bodies. Well, I have used a drop or two on q-tip earbud to spot clean mounted elements...

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4066 Location: Charleston

No problem on coatings?

Braddanman · Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Posts: 94 Location: UK

I saw an online video posted from a lens making factory. I think it was on you tube too and maybe was an English company?? Exactly what I can't remember but it wasn't an old video.
Anyway it clearly showed a lady assembling a lens and wiping clean the elements with acetone as she was going along.
I'm just saying, not recommending.
Smile

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4066 Location: Charleston

Well, alcohol didn't work, so I'm going acetone next. Thanks.

Attila · Expire: 2021-11-18

Old pre-war and early post war coating is very fragile, easy to damage it, later coating I think durable I did also used aceton and no luck if not come off with my hydrogen peroxide ammonia mix usually not come off with anything else too.

Braddanman · Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Posts: 94 Location: UK

I find that if I use a lens cleaning solution to "wash" the lens with a Q Tip and then when dry wipe it clean with a microfibre cloth, and then use a microfibre cloth with some lighter fluid usually does the trick.
However sometimes it seems that some lenses (not often) just smear no matter what you do.
Very Happy

Attila · Expire: 2021-11-18

try pure gas , nafta, petrol don't know sure right English term, here available in drug stores.

Braddanman · Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Posts: 94 Location: UK

Also make sure your microfibre lens cloth is clean. New or if washed thoroughly rinsed before drying because if you've used it for a while it can get full of finger grease.
I sometimes use a spray liquid kitchen cleaner. I use "Mr Muscle" here in the uk, which has a degreaser in it. I figured that if you can clean a lens with lighter fluid then this MUST be ok. I could be wrong though but it doesn't seem to have done any harm. Mr Muscle is also really good for cleaning the lens body. When used with a Q Tip it can make the painted indented numbers, especially white come up really clean.

NewStuff · Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 849 Location: Wales, UK

Isopropyl Alcohol.

If that dails, (Rarely), then it's out with the fairy liquid. "platinum power" or some marketing bollocks. It *rips* through grease. I then clean that off with Isopropyl.

I reckon I could smear old crankcase oil over the lens and get it off with that combination.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4749 Location: Cheshire, England

Acetone will kill plastics - careful on your kit lenses. It could loosen the balsam that binds (very) old lenses together. Use carefully and sparingly.

woodrim · Joined: 14 Jan 2010 Posts: 4066 Location: Charleston

This is for an old metal Tair-11. I just couldn't get the smears off the glass from oily aperture blades.