Lens cleaning fluid. - help

Can anyone in the UK point me to a readily available lens cleaning fluid?

I've been using Eclipse, but have run out and it's only available from a
couple of on-line stores in the UK - which means waiting until at least next
Tuesday for delivery, and that only if I pay about £7 for overnight
delivery.

I've tried some stuff that claimed to be lens fluid - which turned out to be
greasy water with the evaporative qualities of concrete!.

What I need is a high grade alcohol type fluid that will evaporate cleanly
and leave no residue. The trouble is that in Nanny UK it now seems
impossible to get hold of anything suitable, lest you sniff it, or drink it,
or give it to the cat, or some other bizarre use.

Any easily available solution would be greatly appreciated.

 

Giottos has an excellent lens cleaning fluid in their lens cleaning kits.

 

How about a cocktail made from the highest proof vodka you can
find, with or without an added dash of PhotoFlow solution?

 

Pure isopropyl alcohol from a pharmacist.
Slower evaporating than Eclipse (methanol).

 

Thanks to all who replied (even the comedian)

One question - will a pharmacy actually sell me the stuff? - I mean, you
can't even buy more than 24 paracetamol tablets these days - just in case
you're thinking of trying escaping from the misery of New Britain - can't
even buy wood glue, for that matter, unless the store manager decides that
you're not going to inhale the stuff! What a nasty little country this has
become.

 

Methanol might be more difficult to obtain than Isopropynol - one reason
being that it is very poisonous. Isopropyl alcohol is used in alcohol
swabs and is easily obtained at "100%" grade in small bottles (~100ml)
in this country (NZ). I use it to clean my dslr filter. For larger
containers, in this country (and probably others) you need to provide
suitable ID and details on intended use for recording in a police
database, as it can be used in illicit drug production.

 

I need something urgently - later this morning when the stores open.

Maplin (similar to Tandy) have Isopropyl alcohol, according to their
website. How much slower is Isopropyl alcohol to evaporate, compared with
Eclipse (which contains Methanol)? Does it leave any residue? - and is it
safe for lens coatings?

Thanks

 

[ ... ]

I'm answering from the perspective of someone in the USA, so
things may well be different where you are.

Isopropanol *should* be readily available from a pharmacy, as it
is often used for cleaning areas around wounds prior to applying
bandages. Our local pharmacys (and the drugs section of the supermarket
as well) offer 70% and 91%.

Here -- to get pure *ethanol* (well -- something like 95%, as it
tends to absorb water from the air) in *this* state (Virginia) you go to
the Alcohol Control Board -- where you buy the various stronger
alcoholic beverages (wine and beer you can get other places) and you can
buy it -- with a rather stiff tax on it, because it is being sold there
for consumption by humans.

When I worked for the US Government, we kept some bottles around
for lens cleaning purposes (we worked with night vision equipment,
mostly), and we had to go through a major pain of record keeping for the
bottles, with only one bottle open and available for use at a time. The
rest had to be locked up.

Glues and such have been under some level of control here for
many years -- because of kids inhaling them, and some dying of liver
damage or other things of the sort. Those glues have had additives
tossed in to make them a bit less good as glues, but very unpleasant to
inhale. IIRC, the control of the glues (at least model airplane cements
and similar) started in the late 1950s. But -- if you are buying from
an industrial supplier, you are presumed to be beyond the sniffing age.
The restrictions are more likely to be enforced in a place which
typically sells to kids, like model shops.

Other solvents, such as carbon tetrachloride, have been pretty
much unavailable except in chem labs, because of the number of people
who have died while using it. For that matter, I had a rather nasty
bout when I used it to clean the gates of two 16mm movie projectors at
school. I was one of those allocated the job of projection for the
classes.

Good Luck,
DoN.

 

About 10 years ago Tandy (now defunct in the UK) used to sell some wonderful
stuff called 'Freon' (I think) I used it for cleaning tape heads and it was
the best stuff ever! - it evaporated almost instantly, left no residue, and
made a first class job of cleaning heads and rollers.

Then, without warning, it was gone - withdrawn because of a European
directive. I don't know what was in it, but I've never been able to find
anything similar since. even Eclipse fluid isn't as good.

Perhaps I could ask you my question about Isopropyl alcohol? - does it leave
any residue?, and is it safe for lens coatings?

Cheers.

 

It should be safe for all lens coatings etc.
Another poster mentioned lower purity grades. Pure Isopropyl alcohol
leaves no residue. Of course nothing is 100% pure, but the grade sold
as 100% here (NZ) is no problem. I suggest to avoid lower purity grades.
It is slower evaporating than methanol for sure - but fast enough not to
be a problem. Usually when cleaning a dslr filter, the absolute minimum
is used - one or two drops on an entire pec-pad. As you wipe the pad
across, you can see the trace of alcohol on the surface behind. From my
experience the trick is to move the pad at a speed where you can just
see the last traces of alcohol evaporating from the glass a mm or two
behind the pad. Streaking etc is from redepositing stuff removed from
the lens surface, and particularly any trace of oils from your skin, or
trace of any contaminants on a surface that the pad has been in contact
with.
I have used the same technique for cleaning dslr low pass filters for
cleaning internal elements on disassembled lenses, and it is excellent.
Work with very good light on the lens - ideally with a black
background so that any tiny smear or speck can be seen. Never touch any
part of the pad with your fingers, or allow the pad to touch a surface
that is not spotless. Clean and dry your hands, as well as any
equipment (tweezers/wands etc) thoroughly before you start.

 

Freon is IIRC a Dupont trade name for their CFCs, including
refrigerants. Unfortunately, it was destroying the Ozone layer.
Damn shame - I've never had car air conditioning that worked as well as
the ones I had in the 80's.

 

Do you wear glasses? Use the stuff that optometrists sell for cleaning. They
also have lintless papers. Most glasses are optical plastic and much less
tough than camera lenses.
EDS

 

Probably Freon TF. It was not flammable like petroleum-based solvents,
and not toxic to people. I remember computer service people buying it
in gallow jugs.

It turned out to be one of the CFCs most harmful to ozone. So it went
away.

I get pure isopropyl from an electronics supplier (Active Electronics).
It evaporates without residue. I have also gotten stuff that is
supposed to be pure isopropyl from a pharmacy, though I haven't tried
the evaporation test on it.

Isopropyl is one of the first things I try (after mild detergent and
water) for cleaning things - it seems to be less agressive than either
methanol or ethanol on plastics, for example. I have used it on lenses,
to remove blobs that regular water-based lens cleaner would not.

Dave

 

Yes, I remember Tandy saying something about that when I asked where my
Freon had disappeared to.

Not many UK cars had air-con in the 80's Most do now - probably because of
all the damage done by Freon

so many substances are getting banned now - brake pads don't last because
asbestos has vanished, and the new compounds seem to wear the brake discs
(rotors) remarkably quickly - or maybe they're just using softer metal
because some ingredient for the steel is now on the verboten list.

I don't know what things are like in New Zealand, but the UK is in the grip
of safety mania! - it's now illegal for household electrical work to be
carried out by anyone who is not 'competent' (read 'Registered Tradesman'),
Gas has had the same restrictions for some years, smokers are near to being
lynched by roving teams of Government Health Inspectors, various products
are now starting to come with the sort of warnings that, until now, have
been the stuff of urban legends ('Never Operate Your New Flymo While Taking
A Shower', that sort of stuff!) and every supplier or retailer of goods and
services is in a state of near panic, and constantly thinking ten steps
ahead to try and determine whether their actions are going to land them in
civil litigation!

It's awful, really - one suspects that it's all part of a sinister plan to
reduce the population to an infantile state of utter dependency , prior to a
totalitarian coupe. If so, it's succeeding brilliantly - the nation that
carved out the greatest empire the world has ever seen, that endured the
agony of the Somme trenches without a Grief Councilor to bless themselves
with, and who stood firm while the Nazi's bombed cities to rubble, are now
too nervous to switch on an electric light bulb without consulting
appropriate instructions first.

If I win the lottery, I'm on the first available boat to somewhere sane , no
doubt about it!

 

Yes, I was going to give that idea.

Lencrafters have some wipes that are packaged one wipe at the time. It
can be used on Anti-reflective coatings.

What ever you use, make sure it is meant for AR coating. Stuff does not
smear much at all, and lenses get pretty clean.

Hope it helps,

Rob

 

Did you try breathing on it and letting moisture from your warm breath
condense on the lens? This produces pure water.
Then wipe it off with a piece of microfiber cloth.
That combination is super safe and will remove even "oily" smudges.
Bob Williams

 

Things are the same in NZ now for sure.
There's few sane places left to go in the world.

The only way we can still escape fairly well for a few days at a time is
on our small yacht.
Sadly, and always "justified" by the irresponsible actions of a few,
there is always talk of new regulations for this.
At the moment you don't need a certificate to say that the navigation
lights work - if they don't, then you get run over by a big ship at
night and if you are lucky enough not to drown, you are left with a big
fine from the authorities and a boat at the bottom of the sea. You
don't need a registered gas fitter to connect up the cooker. If you use
gas and connect things badly, then perhaps you will get blown 100 metres
in the air one day. These things do happen, and after the
investigation, there are calls to regulate. As things are going, one
day the calls will be stronger, and there will be too few left to resist.

 

I'm amazed, because I had read (I have a subscription to a yachtie magazine)
that NZ were one of the most stringent and wouldn't even let you get your
feet wet without meeting their list of working safety gear on the yacht.

Mike.

 

Non-Streaking
Non-Residue
Non-Toxic
Fast Drying
We use it on the movie set for all things optical.
Best regards, David

 

Non-Streaking
Non-Residue
Non-Toxic
Fast Drying
We use it on the movie set for all things optical.
Best regards, David