Cleaning salt spots from lens

Hello

I have noticed some salt spotting on my camera lens after a trip to
the seaside. Someone suggested I clean it with a lenspen but I have
thoughts that salt spots are likely to be crystalline therefore
abrasive, so would it be better to clean the lens with water and a
soft cloth ?

On the other hand I have read that it is better not to clean a camera
lens too often except that some contaminants like finger prints are
acidic and can damage the lens coatings.

Are salt deposits likely to be corrosive to the lens coatings or can
they be ignored until the picture quality deteriorates.

Thanks

Dave

 

Use cotton swabs wetted in de-ionized water (for car battery) when the salt
has dissolved, there is no risk of scratching. Most antireflective lens
coatings are harder than NaCl aniway, but just to be sure do not rub before
it is dissolved.

 

Wow, few things worse for a camera than salt... I'd get it off ASAP.

DP

 

Damp, not wet soft clean cloth with water, nothing else. In most areas
tap water is fine.

 

NEVER clean ANY lens with a dry tissue.

 

My experience with a Kodak Lenspen is not very encouraging. After a bit of
use it started to leave a deposit, not what I want when cleaning a lens!

Water is better. Buy some gauze. Lens cleaning solution is somewhat more
effective than water, which tends to bead up, and may contain impurities
that will leave you where you started.

Not likely, though it doesn't hurt to be paranoid about screwing up your
lens. I've very occasionally seen optics damaged this way, for high traffic
optics like binoculars, etc.

Not particularly corrosive, but it's best to clean them off sooner rather
than later.

 

Humm, have you ever bought a used car from someone who lives near the beach?

DP

 

Corrosivness depends on the material being acted upon. Salt corrodes (rusts)
iron due in part to iron's electrical conductivity.
No such issues with a lens.
John

 

I get a lot of salt spray on my lenses, I just use a clean dry lens
cloth to wipe them off.
When the spray is bad I might have to so this every 10 minutes or so.
http://www.pbase.com/konascott/image/54206534/original
http://www.pbase.com/konascott/image/75904021/original

There are times when the air is just filled with salt spray, so far it
has not been a problem
for either the lenses or the cameras.

Scott

 

Those cars would not rust if they were made of optical glass.

Scaremongers will tell you that Coca Cola will completely dissolve a
spoon that is left in it in only a couple of days. Not such a good
comparison to your stomach, though, is it?

Still, I might be a bit worried about a camera that has salt spray on
it no matter where it is, and clean any traces of deposits by
carefully dabbing with a small slightly damp cloth.

KS

 

One can't be sure about the lens coating material though. Only wants a
little dampness, and a chemical reaction could take place on a
replacement series basis to render an irremovable spot on the lens.

This is a situation where a UV filter is mandatory on a lens.

Colin D.

 

I used to use a UV filter in front of my lenses but then noticed that
the UV filter always looked fine
even after a lot of salt was on it. So I figure the lenses will
likely hold up fine, and to date they have.

I don't give other people a hard time if they feel the need to use a
filter to protect their lenses, but
I also don't believe that it is really needed in most cases.

For that matter is salt water was really that bad for coated lenses my
glasses would be trash
by now since they get far more exposure to salt spray then my lenses
do.

Scott

 

The spots are on your UV or skylight filter you use to protect your
front lens, correct?

 

Salt is soft but it will ruin your Lens Pen for sure. It will probably
feed lens-eating mold if you don't clean it off soon.

If the front of the lens is sealed, you can roll around a drop of
purified water then fling it off. After a few times, the lens will be
clean enough that the water doesn't stick.

If it's not sealed, use a clean and damp tissue to remove the salt
followed by the Lens Pen brush to remove lint.

 

Do you know what brand Anti/Reflect coating you have on your eyeglasses?
I've had a lot of trouble with mine going south in as little as six months,
and that's using lens tissue made expressly for that purpose.
I'd sure like to find something more durable.


DP

 

Use cotton swabs wetted in de-ionized water (for car battery) when the

Sea-salt isn't NaCl, but predominantly calcium chloride. It, and several
other ionic combinations you'll get, simply won't disolve to any significant
extent in a neutral or basic environment - it takes an acid to break them
apart.

The good news is that vinegar - especially if warmed up - will dissolve
them quite well. I googled quickly to see if vinegar would harm the
coatings, and seemed to see indications both ways - hopefully someone with
more definitive knowledge will chime in.

I use a UV filter over my lens when I'm in a messy environment - not so
much to protect the lens, but because if it gets REALLY dirty or goopy
(which it sometimes does), I can just unscrew it and run it under the
faucet, with a bit of dish soap if needed. Then I have to finish it with a
real lens cleaner, but that's MASSIVELY faster than trying to get off loads
of crap with just the lens cleaner.

steve

 

Sea-salt isn't NaCl, but predominantly calcium chloride.

Sorry, it's too late for me not to re-check my posts. It's the calcium
carbonate which isn't going to disolve without an acid. In any event, I've
never had sea-salt disolve completely in just water - water in some areas
may be acidic enough to disolve it, mine certainly isn't.

steve

 

Here's what I get when I Google for "seawater composition":

http://www.biosbcc.net/ocean/marinesci/02ocean/swcomposition.htm

They claim that there's 30 times as much sodium as calcium.

The same page gives the pH of seawater as 7.5 to 8.5, i.e. slightly basic.

Maybe you're referring to precipitates that settle out after seawater
has reacted with CO2 from the air?

-Joe

 

I am not sure who did the coating, but I have real glass lenses in
them.
Plastic is very hard to coat and the coating tends to fall off. Are
you
glasses made from glass or plastic?

Scott

 

In fact sea salt is NaCl, taste good too. Threre are some other trace
elements but they
are much lower then good old NaCl.

Scott