Never use micro fiber cloth to clean glass elements

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

I just destroyed a nice Minolta MC 35/2.8

The lens had minor fungus. Cosmetically very nice.
I disassembled it, clean it, but found a minor chemical remaining on the second element during assembly.
What I did is using a new microfiber cloth to wipe the glass surface. After one stroke, the element becomes matt and useless.

What annoying, after an hour cleaning, almost perfectly, and I just 'wipe out' the whole lens in one stroke.

walter g · Joined: 20 Feb 2010 Posts: 2463 Location: NC, USA

I don't think so. Smile

Try cleaning the lens again with something else. I've used microfiber before without any problems.
The kits for cleaning eyeglasses use microfiber cloths. That's what I got mine out of.
The problem is it dosen't do that good a job of removing the cleaning agent. It tends to smear it.
What cleaning agent were you using?
Even if it messed up the coating you can polish the element and still use the lens.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

I use the regular lens cleaner fluid.

q-tips can remove some but not all. That's why I use the micro fiber.
but the fiber cloth makes the glass completely matt. I hope you are right if it just spread the chemical.
I have a bottle of eyeglass fluid that I can try again.

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

Perhaps it was a combination of both.
I have used microfibre cloth several times and nothing happened.

ChromaticAberration · Joined: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 819 Location: Portugal

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

what combination?

regular fluid and fiber cloth?

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

Probably you just spread what you were trying to remove all over the lens, and the cleaning fluid just "helped" this process.

I use microfiber cloth on a regular base to clean lens elements, and never had any problems, as long asy cleaning action remains quite gentle.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Thanks. That does lit some hope.

what fluid would you recommend to clean glass elements?
I will try the eye glass fluid.

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Careful with the microfiber fabric. There are many different kinds.

I have a microfiber pad to polish the car surface.
If you use an abrasive microfiber, for sure it could damage the surface of the lens...

Regards.
Jes.

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Thanks Jes,
I will try it later.

One more thing:
The blades has tiny oil on it. Which fluid can I use to dissolve/wash the oil?

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

Lighter fluid On a qtip is what I usually do

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

miran · Joined: 01 Aug 2012 Posts: 1364 Location: Slovenia

I just wiped the front element of a lens with a new microfibre cloth and... it didn't explode! Surprised

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Update:

OK. I spent 2-3 hrs try to clean the element again. Starting to gain confident regarding lens dis/re-assembling, at least this model.
The bottom line is second element has many scratches that flares badly. The last attempt makes the element look cleaner, but still not able to save the lens as before.

The microfiber cloth I use was for eyeglasses, never had a such problem before, and I had been cleaned front and rear elements, no problem. I guess the inner glass element is very soft and therefore very easy to make scratches. Still the other glass elements are fine, so this lens can still used as part.

Regarding the chemicals,
Lens cleaner fluid as I used before does make a coating on the surface. The scratches spread it more and somehow make it glued as a matt coating. Eyeglass fluid (for plastic glass), with many drops, does remove this coating with many q-tips. After 2-3 times I can see the glass is clear. Scratches becomes more clearly, glass condition: bad.

Water is very good to clean remaining.

I also use pure etanol 100% lab quality, no water, no fat - very effective to fat/oil, dries fast, easy to wipe.
Lighter fluid dries too fast for me, but seems to have the same effect.

The lens had fungus before, oil on blades, optical pretty bad shape - I almost able to save it. Got for free anyway.
To make the element less flare, I added a thin coating of syntetic oil to fill the scratches. The lens becomes now a soft 35mm lens.
Haven't try it yet, but soon.

Thanks everybody.

Jesito · Expire: 2015-01-07

Thanks for the update, we look forward for samples of the lens and with the lens Wink

Jes.

fotkino · Joined: 04 May 2011 Posts: 111 Location: Russia, Moscow

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

Thanks for that info.
I didn't wait, nor use any fungus disolve fluid. I just wipe off the fungus with q-tips and lens cleaner fluid.
When most of them gone, I use the fiber cloth. First stroke make the element matt. As I mentioned, I never experienced *this* before. The feeling is like being turn down at the first date Very Happy

This glass element must be very soft.

dnas · Joined: 14 Nov 2008 Posts: 488 Location: Japan

I use disposable lens cleaning paper when cleaning lenses while it is wet with the cleaning agent/fluid. When it is dry, I then use the micro fibre cloth. The micro fibre cloth tends to spread the residual fluid across the lens and not remove it.
Sometimes when some of the fluid dries on the lens surface, you can't remove it with the micro fibre cloth. In this case, breathe gently on the lens surface, then wipe before the the "mist" clears. This lubricates the surface with just enough vapour to allow you to remove the residue.

JohnBar · Joined: 21 Jun 2012 Posts: 581 Location: Liverpool

I use chamois leather & lighter fuel

sometimes you have to boil the chamois first in washing soda to rid the tanning oil

this was the method used by the ancients...........

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

SkedAddled · Expire: 2021-08-12

The Microfiber/microfibre/micro(whatever) cloths are, to me, worthless.
They are expensive for what they offer, and they don't do the job well enough
to be classified as useful, as they need to be washed carefully after every
second use or so. The cheap ones just smear junk around, while the more costly ones
do nothing more than the cheap ones advertise.
Most of them are far too thin to keep abrasive materials away from the surface
being cleaned, and my own experience has been that such cleaning cloths will
do no more than smear greasy spots around. I wear eyeglasses, and these
issues have come up time and time again when cleaning my glasses.

I go to my local department/discount store, to the paint section, where I can find
a bag of clean pure-cotton rags for just a dollar or two.
They are normally prewashed, soft, and absorbent. I can use these rags
until the cows come home, then throw them in the wash with the rest of my laundry,
and because I don't use 'fabric softeners' and such, they are even more soft
and absorbent each time they are laundered.

This cheap solution of clean all-cotton rags beats out the 'microfiber' option every time.

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Dust-free "Kim-Wipes" are available in different sizes for use in clean rooms and laboratories. These are like paper towels, softer, but dust free. I use these for general cleaning. A new clean Kim-wipe can be used for lens cleaning, once.

Micro-fiber Cloths are meant for general cleaning, not for lenses. After first use, they become contaminated with dust and grime, should never be used to clean glass surface as the dust can scratch. Laundering does not remove all abrasive dust -- the micro-fiibers hold dust too well.

A clean new micro-fiber cloth is far too soft to scratch glass. I use a new clean Pec-Pad every time, for every wipe of lens. Pec-Pad are disposable 4"x4" pieces of micro-fiber cloth, made to use once and dispose. The micro-fibers pick up dust and grime. Some dust is abrasive, therefore pads should only be used once on lenses. I keep the Pec-pads used once on lenses for general cleaning of non-lens parts.

kds315* · Expire: 2021-03-09

I ALWAYS use microfiber cloth to clean my lenses, never had any issues.
Hard stuff I remove with ZEISS cleaner fluid dripped on a cloth corner
and then wiped dry with a dry part of it. Works flawless (if you wash it
from time to time).