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James Terry
03-10-2010, 12:37 PM
I have been searching around Dallas for this Kodak liquid lens cleaner and I cant find it. So let me ask this question which I am sure has been asked a lot. What exactly should I be using on my laser table to clean the mirrors and optics and where do I get it? I doubt that brand matters here but I am Pinnacle/Laser Pro/GCC and whomever else you'd like to add in that string...

Dan Hintz
03-10-2010, 12:46 PM
Pick up some Everclear at the local liquor store and keep it capped tightly...

Rodne Gold
03-10-2010, 1:06 PM
Any decent high end photo shop will have the cleaner , the tissues and cotton swabs.
If not use their sensor cleaning fluid and the cleaning pads they sell.
You can also use pure acetone , but be carefuil with that and plastics

James Terry
03-10-2010, 1:11 PM
I have a stack of Chemtronics CHEM PADs I can use but I havent found their water content. Says that it "leaves no residue".

Ingredients say: isopropanol (67-63-0), deionized water (7732-18-5)

James Terry
03-10-2010, 1:17 PM
Here we go: 91% isopropyl alcohol & 9% deionized water

Is this acceptable or will I do better with Everclear?


Chemtronics CP400 Chempad Presaturated Cleaning Pads


General purpose, presaturated lint-free cleaning wipe
Lint-free, presaturated non-abrasive pad ideal for cleaning magnetic tape heads, defluxing PCBs & as a general precision cleaner for non-optical surfaces. Premoistened with 91% isopropyl alcohol & 9% deionized water. Compatible with plastic & rubber parts. Leaves no residual film. 50 pads.
Mild cleaning solution, nonabrasive wipe
Quickly removes dust, oils and contaminants
Applications:
Ideal for cleaning computers, office equipment, fiber optic connectors and instruments, and electrical equipment.
Cleans dirt, oxides and oil from magnetic and optical heads
Dimensions: 3" x 4" (7.6 cm x 10.2 cm)

James Terry
03-10-2010, 1:28 PM
So denatured is less preferable but still acceptable? Odds are whatever they add will still evaporate right? But a better choice is the 190 proof Everclear then.

Definition of Denatured (http://www.chemicool.com/definition/denatured.html)


A commercial term (http://www.chemicool.com/definition/term.html) used to describe ethanol that has been rendered unfit for human consumption because of the addition (http://www.chemicool.com/definition/addition.html) of harmful ingredients to make it sales tax-expempt.

Gary Hair
03-10-2010, 1:40 PM
Google is your friend:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=kodak+liquid+lens+cleaner&src=IE-SearchBox&Form=IE8SRC



I have been searching around Dallas for this Kodak liquid lens cleaner and I cant find it. So let me ask this question which I am sure has been asked a lot. What exactly should I be using on my laser table to clean the mirrors and optics and where do I get it? I doubt that brand matters here but I am Pinnacle/Laser Pro/GCC and whomever else you'd like to add in that string...

James Terry
03-10-2010, 2:11 PM
What do you guys think about the gas additives route in order to get less than 5% water?


Auto Zone - read the labels on their "gas line deicer" or "Heet" gas additives. Between the Yellow and Red Heet you have pure Methanol and Isopropanol - the Auto Zone brand deicer is Ethanol (possibly denatured).

Martin Boekers
03-10-2010, 2:23 PM
Not sure but, should'nt eye glass cleaner be fine? (for multi-coated lenses)

Epilog and I'm sure most other laser manufacturers should have it also.

Marty

James Terry
03-10-2010, 3:14 PM
I would think that eye glass cleaner would have residuals in it to prevent fogging and such things. I would steer clear of anything like that. Some folks have suggested crt cleaner and I have researched that most of those have Windex in the mix.

I think with high powere optics, one has to be super careful with cleaning. I havent done this before so I'm going to be annoying about it until I find a good answer. So far the best solution seems to be Everclear liquor.

Larry Bratton
03-10-2010, 3:28 PM
Pick up some Everclear at the local liquor store and keep it capped tightly...
As a matter of fact, Epilog recommends it. And..if you get really frustrated..mix it with orange juice (not for lens cleaning though)

Daniel Reetz
03-10-2010, 4:41 PM
I've had great luck using Everclear and even Vodka to clean the lenses in my Zing. I use HFT microfiber cloths and/or Pec Pads -- in all cases, they are single-use.

James Terry
03-10-2010, 6:19 PM
Thanks folks. Perhaps an admin wil modify the post title with a " - How do you do it" at the end. Being a newbie on a second hand machine, the only training I will be getting is what I read, ask and trial and error. Because of that I am erroring by far on the side of caution with everything I do to get started.

David Harvey
03-10-2010, 7:17 PM
Eveercleaar? ...hmmmm, yeth...ees goooood!

Go for it babe,.....yeth..'damn...hey buddy, hand mi tht lenz dat just leaped out of my hand!!!!!

errr, ahhh....yus de exhaust gan..x ffan on.....]


crrap !......snzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

Larry Bratton
03-10-2010, 7:46 PM
I've had great luck using Everclear and even Vodka to clean the lenses in my Zing. I use HFT microfiber cloths and/or Pec Pads -- in all cases, they are single-use.
I have found that 100 proof Smirnoff is a great cleaner. Not necessarily for lenses, but to clean residue off engraving plastic etc.

Rodne Gold
03-10-2010, 8:33 PM
Your mirrors are gold plated so nothing much will affect them - the issue with them is to leave no residue and use the drop and drag method to avoid microscratching em.
The lens coating is also more prone to mechanical damage rather than solvent - so no scrubbing and always use lint free cloths or swabs.

Dan Hintz
03-10-2010, 9:22 PM
To add to Rodney's comments... the anti-reflective lens coating is hygroscopic and/or water-soluable, so that's the reason you want to avoid water. It will pick up some moisture from the air, but if you dunk it in water for a cleaning you can remove it.

Bill Cunningham
03-11-2010, 9:01 PM
Eveercleaar? ...hmmmm, yeth...ees goooood!

Go for it babe,.....yeth..'damn...hey buddy, hand mi tht lenz dat just leaped out of my hand!!!!!

errr, ahhh....yus de exhaust gan..x ffan on.....]


crrap !......snzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

Damn!!! Cudna said that better muhself!

James Terry
03-12-2010, 12:14 PM
I got the Everclear and used it and it did the job just fine. Unfortunately there was none left over to use on the laser. Go figure...

So, surprisingly there is sediment floating around in the bottle. I wonder if I should run it through a coffee cone filter and see what I can remove from it.

My lens had some crap on it so I carefully used the solvent to do the job while rolling the qtips across blah blah blah. The nearest two mirrors seem very clean but I have not inspected them all. Overall this machine seems rather clean for its age. I think it was very lightly used.

So the laser is working. I managed to burn something without blowing up anything or blinding myself so it seems to at least be generically aligned. I need to progress with the data side next to see if the thing is in alignment and focus. And of course Im now having problems with software...

On a side note, the smell of burning wood sure is relaxing. I think I'll be out there a lot widdling down timber just to relax.