Telescope Reviews: Oil on bottom of my TEC 160FL Objective

Thanks Jon. I did see that and I have been doing quite a bit of research. I haven't cleaned the lens yet. I have my Eclipse fluid but am waiting on the wipes.

I have made notes for myself and this is what I have so far.

I am not sure about whether I will use gloves or not yet. It might be more difficult to do with the gloves. I will have Pec Pads and Opto Wipes. Opto Wipes are more absorbent than the Pec Pads so I am not sure which I will use first or if I can just use one or the other. Also I am not sure how far to go with each wipe. I read just 1 inch but have seen some go further. I am also not sure how I will do the edges because I think that is where the oil is and the closer I got to the edge when I first cleaned it the more oil I think I got on the micro fiber cloth. I will have to look at it again and see if there is much oil there and maybe clean that up first or stay away from it or see if I can get in there with a rolled up Pec Pad. Just not sure yet until I see it again.

My Personal Notes

Use Rocket Blower
Use Camel Hair Brush (one direction, no pressure)
Use powder free latex, nitrile or PVC gloves to hold pad so there is no oil from hand on the pad.
Fold Pec Pad to make thicker so there is no oil from hand if I don’t wear gloves.
Put a drop or 2 of Eclipse on Pec Pad. Pad should not be dripping.
If very dusty (blower and brush did not remove all) do not drag pad but pat pad on lens to absorb dust first.
Gently drag pad over the lens in one direction for short distance (1 inch??). Start Center and then go to edges?
Dispose pad.
New pad.
Use saliva with clean finger if necessary but don’t let it sit on lens and clean up quickly. (I doubt I will need to do this)
Final step--use breath on lens, then wipe with clean cloth to buff.
Do not use cloth where fingers have been.
Q tips are used by many but many also don’t recommend them because they can be harsh or the stem can contact lens.

About Eclipse Fluid...

If you use Eclipse fluid it is best to always keep a new, sealed bottle on hand that you can use if your current bottle ever absorbs moisture such that it leaves residue. Exotic chemicals need to be treated carefully, just the same as expensive lenses do.

My understanding is the eclipse fluid is just methanol. I caution everybody that methanol is a solvent that absorbs water from the atmosphere ... if water get's into the solvent, then when you are cleaning the lenses/sensor's you are applying small water droplets as well ... which in photography will probably be transparrent and won't affect the final image. However, being persnickery as I am, I like to see all my optics that I clean to be "squeaky" clean.