How do I clean my Hoya filter??

[httpwww.photo.netphoto1664881429]

I shoot alot of horse shows so I put a Hoya UV filter on my lenses to protect

them from the dust and sand. I've delayed cleaning for 3 shows but the filter

needs cleaned badly. How do you all clean your filters and still preserve

their "newness"? I have some First Contact that I use on my lenses here, but

I'm concerned that removing it from the filter could cause the glass to loosen.

Is it safe to wash it in warm water with a mild detergent and air dry? Towel

dry? Neither?

[frank uhlig]

If your filters are that dirty, maybe it is time for new ones, or "try the dishwasher" as you suggest, but I doubt that that will work.

Otherwise: blow them with air, make sure no particles remain (sand is a no-no, check with loupe!) then swab, breathe onto them, take a microfiber cloth and pray ... washing in water (warm and mildly soapy) might be a good idea before actual replacement; just try and learn, I would say.

 

Some Hoya multicoats are a pain to clean no matter what because they just smear up and do not let go of the dirt, smudges. Then replace them by B+W or Heliopan.

[httpwww.photo.netphoto1664881429]

It's hard for me to believe that I need to replace my filter this quickly? It's not scratched, it's just dirty. Surely there's a way to clean them without damaging them...right??

[steve_dunn2]

<p>Why are you convinced that any cleaning method will result in damage to the filter? Millions of people have cleaned filters before, and most of us have managed to do it without damaging the filter. See <a href="http://www.photo.net/learn/cleaning-cameras">the standard photo.net article on cleaning camera equipment</a>. Remove dust and grit with air, then clean the filter with a good lens cleaning fluid and a microfibre cloth.</p>

[phyrpowr]

Went to a Nikon School some years back, not too many, and those guys said their lens geeks, with all the techno stuff available, used plain old Kodak fluid and tissues

[httpwww.photo.netphoto1664881429]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. My response was geared towards the first reply to my original post. I do believe there is a way to clean them without damaging them. The reason for my post was to learn from other people's mistakes and see what works best. I was a little surprised at the suggestion that I should throw away a perfectly good filter just because it needs cleaning. Thank you for the link. I will read the article soon.

[alan_chan4]

There are many different HOYA UV, which you have exactly? If you have the multicoated one - HMC, SUPER HMC or DMC, don't use Kodak Lens Fluid which will only smear them badly. If the filter is really dusty, you may blow off the dust first, then wipe it lightly with dampen cotton cloth, then rewipe with a thick piece of folded paper tissue (like Kirkland toilet paper that I use) soaked with pure isopropyl alcohol from centre to each, never rewipe with the same tissue because it will leave smear. If done correctly, the coating should be clean as new without a trace of smear or scratch. If you failed to master isopropyl alcohol, you may move on to pure acetone, same technique as folded toilet paper, but you must be very careful because it will attack most plastic. Also, never every wipe any multicoated glass with dry tissue. Once you have mastered these technique, you will have no problem cleaning any multicoated glasses. Good luck.

[httpwww.photo.netphoto1664881429]

I have the HOYA (both sides coated) UV 58mm/pitch 75. Do you think that using the First Contact would loosen the glass? I've used it on my lenses and am very happy with it, but the removal process is what concerns me on the filter.

[j_smith6]

Usually coatings are even more resistant to scratches etc. than glass. Just clean it like a normal filter/lens...

[albert_richardson1]

I wash my hands with lots of soap in running water in the sink. (I use the soap to wash me, not the lens. Some soaps like dish detergent can cut delicate coatings off glass easily.) When the soap has washed off my fingers, I pick up the filter and hold it under the running water with my left hand while I gently rub it with the right. Then I shake it a little and wipe off the excess water on a clean hand towel. This removes the grit and dust. Lately I have been using Kirkland lens cleaner and microfiber cloth to finish cleaning my filters to get off any oily residue and smudges. I used to use Kodak lens cleaner and tissue paper until I ran out.

 

Resist the advice to use ordinary toilet paper or any other paper that feels stiff, scratchy or has a shiny surface on filters and lenses. Paper makers routinely add binding agents such as clay to stiffen paper for use. Paper made this way is certain to scratch your fine optics if you wipe them with it. This creates permanent damage you cannot undo. Buy lens tissue if you aren't sure about the paper products in your household.

[frank uhlig]

You keep talking about First Contact, what is it? a sort of filter polishing paint job? It would not google anything sensible for me ... ?

So why would it loosena lens? Mysterious product.

 

I did mean, if the lenses do not clean because they are too deeply coated: get new ones. Of course one would try to clean first. But if they still were dirty, then: new

[httpwww.photo.netphoto1664881429]

First Contact is a product made by Photonic Cleaning: http://www.photoniccleaning.com/

. It is sold by another name in the UK(can't remember off hand, but it is mentioned in the comments section of the lens cleaning article linked in this post). I've heard nothing bad about it and have used it once to clean all of my lenses. It left them as flawless as when I bought them. It's about the consistency of fingernail polish when it's wet and when it dries. You paint it onto the glass, using the brush to move the liquid around the lens - not touching the glass itself with the brush. It dries in about 20 minutes. I don't understand the chemistry of it but somehow the polymer adheres to all the bad stuff and none of the good, so it lifts dust, fingerprints, etc. right off. To remove, you can use the adhesive stickers that come with the product to peel it off or set a piece of string into the polymer before it dries. It is ridiculously expensive but there's no risk of damage to the lens as I understand. So far, I love it. It peels off the lens glass nicely, but it seems like the pressure might be too much for a "flimsier" filter....if anyone has tried it with success I'd like to know. Sorry for the misunderstandings Frank.

[albert_richardson1]

A few words about Acetone: Acetone is a solvent you can find in hardware and paint stores. It is used as a thinner for epoxy and fiberglass resin and it dissolves wax and oils. It evaporates very quickly. It is highly flammable and its vapors are dangerous to breathe. To avoid a fire or explosion, never use Acetone in a confined area. Make sure to open the windows and doors of the room you are in so the vapors can escape. Acetone is a hazardous substance many munipalities in the U.S. will not allow in drains and sewers.

 

It is also capable of dissolving rubber, certain plastics and asphalt. The instructions tell you to test a small area before use, but this is not practical for a photographic filter because none of the filter is in an "out of the way" place that could be damaged without notice. Carefully inspect the way the filter is made to make sure that there are no plastic parts such as the retaining ring that holds the glass in place.

 

I have used Acetone to dissolve the oils out of teak wood before gluing and for other cleaning tasks, but it would not have occurred to me to use it on my camera gear. It seems like too much for the task.

[albert_richardson1]

Once you have decided to protect your lens with a UV filter, you have made a decision never to remove the filter in the field unless conditions absolutely force you to. Such a condition would be that you are forced to remove the UV filter to use a polarizer because having both filters on the lens causes vignetting. The UV filter creates a cell of clean air in front of the lens that does not get any dirt or dust in it to begin with. This simplifies your cleaning task by giving you an easy to reach flat surface (minus any lens hood, etc.) to dust. Provide each lens you use with its own filter so you can make sure that the protective air cell itself stays protected.

 

If you find that dust gets on the lens behind the filter anyway, then you have a problem getting the lens-filter joint sealed. I cut a disk out of thin gasket material mechanics use for one of my lenses to solve just this problem. Use a compass to mark and carefully cut the material to the size of the male end of metal filter retaining ring and make it narrow so it will not block any of your view. I suppose you could use a compound such as Locktite (blue) to glue the joint together, but I an opposed to using glues, etc. on my gear on principle. I always look for non-destructive solutions to problems that will not create fresh troubles later on when I want to remove them again.

 

I bought a lens brush almost 40 years ago I still use. It is protected in a lipstick tube in my camera bag. Keeping something like this useful for so long requires a little discipline on my part. I use it only to brush dust and dirt particles off my optics. I never use it to touch anything else, and especially not my skin. Part of the displine I mentioned is to avoid the impulse to wipe the brush on your fingers to remove the dust from IT. This would only put oils from the skin on the brush you would then wipe onto the lens the next time. I knock dust particles off the brush by gently stroking it back and forth a few times on the open end of the top of its storage tube before I put it away.

 

I open the brush wipe the lens and close it again in as little time as possible so I can put it away again without becoming distracted and misplacing it.

 

I have seen lens brushes attached to small air blowers. I think I even bought one once, but I don't have a practical way to keep them clean in my bag. The air blower is one of those things that makes more sense in the mind than the field anyway.

[david_henderson]

The product Angela refers to is I believe called Opti-Clean in the UK. I've used it years ago with good results on lenses and filters. Basically you coat the surface with gloop, attach a paper tab, wait a minute or two for it to dry, and pull it off with the tab. I stopped using it because I didn't know- and couldn't find out- whether it would damage multi-coatings. I don't see it around much here but then I'm probably not looking that hard.

 

On the cleaning front, all the stuff about brushes is fine but it shifts only loose stuff. When a filter gets dirty then for me its more likely to be salt spray, fingermarks, rain marks etc that won't be brushed off. My first port of call is to breathe on the filter and wipe with a clean microfibre cloth, since I can do that in the field. If that doesn't work then its either lens cleaner/tissues or immerse in warm water with a touch of washing-up liquid ( not for polarisers). This latter is the only good way I've found to clean resin grads- and for that matter coated spectacles.

 

There does seem to be something different about Hoya coating. I've had a Super Pro 1 polariser for some years and its a good filter but awful to clean. After a few years it has a lot of scratchy type marks on it that I suspect I've caused by cleaning.I haven't seen this on B+W filters. Whilst I don't think these affected the image, I do have concerns that surface scratching might increase flare in certain circumstances so I replaced it with a B+W.

[alan_chan4]

I have used Opti-Clean as well and that's how I discovered acetone is effective on multicoated glasses as Opti-Clean contains acetone. But I haven't use it much since I started using isopropyl alcohol and acetone for cleaning. Based on my experience, Opti-clean could lift the coating in some cases, but might be the result of unseen coating damage in the first place. I have never had this problem with new lenses. However, since it contains acetone, some, but not all, resin optical elements could be damaged by it. But lifting the dried polymer could be tricky sometimes, and if it ever flowed to the rim, it could be quite a mess, so I don't recommend it to everyone, only those with skilful hands. Soaking a piece of folded paper tissue with isopropyl alcohol or acetone is far easier and more effective to restore any HOYA multicoated filters in brand new condition. I have many 10+ years old HOYA HMC filters which are still like new after constant cleaning by this method. It is funny how most people dismissed this method without even trying but kept sinking money on expensive products which were never effective and kept wiping and wiping until they gone insane then declared HOYA multicoated filters were shxt and B+W MRC was the only choice. In fact, I don't even know why I keep replying to questions like this as 99.9% of the time, my method was being considered idiotic by "experts". But I know it works so I keep replying and hopefully some might benefit from it.

[allison_reese2]

wow, what a bunch of ocd people. i use my breath and my shirt tail for the filters and save the micro cloth for the yearly or longer cleaning of my lenses.

[pedro_escobar]

I just saw this and wanted to put in my 5 cents worth. I had the same problem with Hoya, Tiffen, and Nikon filters. When the cleaner I used worked, it worked too well and removed the coating too. Beware of acetone on coated ones, and never, ever use the liquid some camera shops throw in when you buy the camera. I am speaking from experience. I presented this problem to the local pro photo shop guy, who later became my trusted free photo advisor, and he sold me this stuff called Delta 1 OFR Mist (Oil Film Remover). He did not even have it on the shelf. He kept the stock in the back for the local pros that request it. Best few bucks I ever spent. I wished I had done this before, and it would have saved a few filters and one lens that were ruined with the liquids available in most stores. It is very easy to use and remove and does not leave any streaks. I hope you this helps.

[paul_ferrante]

If anyone can find this stuff, let me know. I found 1 place in Canada but the product was a reasonable $4.95 and the shipping was an unreasonble $8+. Can't seem to find it anywhere else.