Focus Screen and Lens Cleaning Tips, Any Comments

Hello,

I've been using cameras since the 1960s. Over that time, I'd learned a bit

about cleaning my equipment. Here're some tips about Focus Screen and Lens

Cleaning.

This way, some others might be able to avoid a problem I had with my first

attempt at cleaning a focus screen using a method from a photo forum on the web

which suggested isopropyl alcohol, freon, and ether. Big mistake.

If this isn't the place for this information, then let me know and I'll put it

elsewhere. But, I wish someone had posted something like this for me when my

viewfinder and focus screen became dirty. Anyway, if there are comments or

corrections, by all means let me know.

Michael

Lens Cleaning Tools (Cheap version)

Lens Pen (Large Lady�s Blush Brush)

Microfiber towel (KimWipes)

Static Master Brush (Assorted Sable Hair Brushes or Small Lady�s Blush Brush)

Tool Master 2 inch (Hardware Store 2 inch

Camera brush Synthetic or Natural Hair Bristle Brush)

Medium Tooth brush

Rocket Blower (Ear Syringe Bulb)

Dust-Off Canned Air (Ear Syringe Bulb)

Cotton Swabs

Cotton Balls

Lens Cleaning Solution

Two small dishes

To Clean a Focus Screen:

Avoid all solvents except water. I�ve read the email and emailed some people

who make third party focus screens. I hope I got their remarks correct.

From Bill Maxwell: Any other solvents will permanently fog the acrylic on the

focus screen.

From Rachel Katz, KatzEye Optics:

Caution: �DO NOT USE alcohol, nail polish remover, paint thinner, Windex,

commercial lens cleaning solutions, or any other sort of solvent. Some of them

might be safe, but you use them at your own risk - the plastic of the focusing

screen can be softened and smeared by solvents. Also, DO NOT dry-rub the

focusing screen with a lens cloth or lens tissue - it will almost certainly

scratch. And finally, although it might seem obvious, DO NOT touch the either

face of the screen with bare fingers - fingerprints are very difficult to get

off. Hold the screen only by the edges or by the tab and if you want to be

really safe, put on some latex gloves before you do any serious handling (like

the washing procedure above).�

From Beattie Intenscreen: Try to avoid cleaning a focusing screen.

If you have no choice then try the following:

Particles: From Beattie Intenscreen

If the particles are small and light you can use the syringe bulb to blow these

away. If the particles are too large or hard and you must clean the screen then

pour distilled water through a coffee filter into two clean and empty 20 oz

bottles.

Label one bottle Focus Screen Cleaning Solution I.

To the second bottle:

1) add 1 drop of dish-washing liquid to 1 cup of distilled water

2) cap the bottle

3) shake well

Label this Focus Screen Cleaning Solution II.

Moisten a small sable hair brush with Solution I and dab the particle on the

screen until it begins to dissolve. Use the brush to lift off any hard

particles from the focus screen. If that fails, then try Solution II. If that

fails, then you�ll have to remove the focus screen.

Try not to touch the screen with your bare hands (cotton gloves sold by Porter�s

work well here) and handle the screen only by the edges. Fill a small dish with

Solution I and soak the screen in that for an hour or until the particles lift

away. Repeat with Solution II if necessary. Then rinse the screen in warm

water. If that fails, use a small sable brush to gently nudge the particles off

the screen.

Once clear, rinse the screen in cold water. Then, take the screen and blow the

water off of it using the bulb syringe. This will avoid water marks as the

water evaporates. If necessary place the screen on a bed of KimWipes once the

screen is dry. Do not rub the screen.

For oil or fingerprint smudges: From Rachel Katz, KatzEye Optics in the Pentax

Forum-

�If the screen has become fingerprinted, contaminated with oil, or heavily

soiled somehow, it is possible to wash the screen. Avoid this if at all

possible, but if you have serious dirt or oil that won't respond to the gentler

methods, here is what you should do. Get a very soft artist's brush - red sable

works nicely. Wet the screen with warm tap water; place a drop of liquid dish

soap (like Dawn) directly on the screen. Wet the

brush and work the soap thoroughly into the screen. On the matte (prism) side,

you can use any motion you'd like. On the other side, there is a Fresnel lens

that has a series of concentric grooves; to clean them properly, you will need

to work in circles starting at the middle and getting progressively larger. When

you're done, rinse thoroughly in warm water using the brush to help the soap get

off. Then, follow with another thorough rinse, this time in dead cold water.

Finally, blow the water off the screen with canned air (making sure not to

freeze it) or a big bulb blower (like a rocket blower). The key is to blow the

water off the screen before it can evaporate and leave water spots.�

Lens cleaning:

The Body Keeping the Front and Rear Lens elements capped:

1) Use the large Nylon brush for the rubber grips

2) Use a small tooth brush for smaller areas

3) Use a Bower Bulb to clear away any debris (avoid using Canned Air

on any areas that aren�t covered or enclosed due to the residue)

The Glass Avoid cleaning if at all possible. Use a filter to prevent dirt or

grime but, when that fails:

1) Use a Lens Brush or Blusher Brush to lift off large or hard particles

2) If that fails, use a cotton soaked with lens cleaner and dab on the lens.

Then, use the

Blusher Brush or Sable hair brush to lift large or hard particles.

Afterward, use a

an ear irrigation bulb to blow off any remaining small soft particles.

3) Dab �don�t wipe- any excess cleaning solution with Kim Wipes or a microfiber

cloth

and continue until the Lens Element looks clean.

4) Use the Blower Bulb to blow away any small soft remaining particles like dust.

5) Use fresh Kim Wipes or a clean microfiber cloth and gently wipe the glass in

horizontal strokes.

Lens Cleaning Solution: Use your favorite or try this one at your own risk:

1 oz. Windex with Ammonia or 1 oz. Glass Plus

1 oz 91% or Better Isopropyl Alcohol or Denatured Alcohol

10 oz Distilled Water

2 drops of liquid fabric softener (Optional)

2 drops of Kodak Photo Flo (Optional)

Coffee Filter

12-20 oz bottle

Using a coffee filter, strain all of the ingredients into the bottle. Stopper

the lid. Shake the contents. And, it�s all done. To use: Mix at half strength

for regular cleaning; at full strength for tougher stains.

This solution works very well and is based on the cleaning fluid used by

Arkansas Space Observatory. The ingredients are very nearly the same as those

used by camera repair technicians representing Pentax, Olympus, Leitz,

Schneider, and Nikon that I�d met at various camera shows.

If that fails, other lens cleaning solutions that can be used by applying the

liquid to the lens with a cotton tip applicator:

Full Strength Alcohol

Vinegar (Acetic Acid-Plain)

Ammonia

Acetone (Take care to avoid touching painted areas of the lens)

Use these at your own risk and in small amounts. They can do any combination of

the following and ruin a lens: seep into the lens element, remove the paint on a

lens, remove the lens coating, fog or smear the glass element, and dissolve the

helicoid grease in a lens.

If all else fails:

You can turn the lens into a soft focus lens by using an old UV filter attached

to the front element. Put a bit of masking tape in the center of the filter�s

glass. Then use Automotive Rubbing Compound over the unmasked area of the lens

so that the center of the lens is relatively clear.

<p>What I am about to say/share might not sound like "how to clean my focus screen?", but it worked for me.<br>

First, let me state that I am referring to equipment I bought new and was squeaky clean inside.<br>

Rules:<br>

1: the day you receive your camera, put a lens on it an NEVER removed it in a dusty environment.<br>

2. if you MUST shoot in a dusty environment, like Living History Farms Des Moines, Iowa being hauled about on a wagon over dusty dirt roads and you must change lenses, bring a air-tight changing bag and change the lens inside this bag AFTER you get off the wagon and inside a reasonably clean environment, like the frontier cabin.<br>

3. never removed your lens, if the exteror of your camera is dirty. clean this first.<br>

4. if your screen does become cluttered, only use air to remove to remove the particles. If they cannot be removed with air, learn to live with the dirt, or have a photo repair shop replace your screen and more diligently observe rules "1", "2", and "3" above.<br>

IF YOU RECEIVE DIRTY EQUIPMENT, use air only. If this does not work, then have a shop replace the screen and above rules 1-3 above.</p>