Workable? I have a boatload of eyepieces to clean. Fiddling with Q-tips and tweezers seems so yesterday.
-drl
Posted 17 July 2023 - 12:35 AM
Workable? I have a boatload of eyepieces to clean. Fiddling with Q-tips and tweezers seems so yesterday.
-drl
Posted 17 July 2023 - 12:40 AM
...
No. Just no.
Posted 17 July 2023 - 12:42 AM
...
No. Just no.
Well you have to you know TAKE IT APART to get at the lenses!
-drl
Posted 17 July 2023 - 09:10 AM
I would not do it on glass, metal parts are OK Ultrasonic can make bubbles that cavate. When they cavate they will abrade a surface and your nicely polished glass may come out frosted.
- Dave
Posted 17 July 2023 - 10:42 AM
My father in law does antique clock repair as one of his zillions of hobbies.
He has a ultrasonic cleaner, it does a great job on clock parts but every time I use it I'm surprised
how effective it is, too effective. It stripped the paint from my prized Orwick 73 model airplane
engine and that was the last time I used it. I was able to have a quart made from one of the paint flecks
in the bottom of the cleaner tank. It's a wrinkle pea green. Orwick wrinkle painted the case because melted
down rivets were used and the castings were not up to Mr. Orwick's high standards. (right after WW2)
Be careful, I would not recommend using it for telescope parts.
Robert
Posted 17 July 2023 - 11:01 AM
I would not do it on glass, metal parts are OK Ultrasonic can make bubbles that cavate. When they cavate they will abrade a surface and your nicely polished glass may come out frosted.
- Dave
Interesting, I considered this but didn't think it possible. I will practice on a throw-away.
-drl
Posted 17 July 2023 - 11:05 AM
My father in law does antique clock repair as one of his zillions of hobbies.
He has a ultrasonic cleaner, it does a great job on clock parts but every time I use it I'm surprised
how effective it is, too effective. It stripped the paint from my prized Orwick 73 model airplane
engine and that was the last time I used it. I was able to have a quart made from one of the paint flecks
in the bottom of the cleaner tank. It's a wrinkle pea green. Orwick wrinkle painted the case because melted
down rivets were used and the castings were not up to Mr. Orwick's high standards. (right after WW2)
Be careful, I would not recommend using it for telescope parts.
Robert
This idea is only for the infinitesimal lenses of the short Huygens eyepieces. I have never been able to clean those with standard methods.
-drl
Posted 17 July 2023 - 01:42 PM
This idea is only for the infinitesimal lenses of the short Huygens eyepieces. I have never been able to clean those with standard methods.
-drl
Those tiny lenses are murder.
I mix up the usual water with a splash of 91% Isopropyl and a drop of Dawn Original dish soap.
Only rather than using cotton balls soaked in this solution I submerge the lens in it between my
finger tips, give it a little scrub between your fingers and blot dry with a 100% cotton dish towel.
Robert
Posted 17 March 2025 - 07:03 AM
I’ve had good results using ultrasonic cleaners, but the key is choosing the right frequency and cleaning solution. Lower frequencies can be too harsh on coatings, while higher ones work better for delicate surfaces. Also, always test with a less valuable piece first. Some high-quality options, like the ones from kaijo-shibuya.com, offer adjustable settings, which makes them more adaptable for eyepieces. Drying properly afterward is just as important to avoid residue spots.
Posted 17 March 2025 - 07:27 AM
In addition to being an amateur astronomer, I'm also an amateur watchmaker/horologist. I routinely use a professional grade (read: powerful) ultrasonic cleaner to clean watch crystals, including sapphire, mineral glass and crystals with A/R coating with excellent results; I've never seen glass etched as a result. I've also restored vintage sextants, cleaning the lenses in the same manner with no ill effects. That said, I've not tried it on an eyepiece or eyepiece lens. Depending on the condition and hardness of the coatings, there could potentially be damage.
I use blitz cleaner concentrate to clean cases, lenses and crystals, finished with a distilled water rinse and microfiber cloth dry.
Edited by ayadai, 17 March 2025 - 07:31 AM.
Posted 17 March 2025 - 07:46 AM
Umm... No. Bad idea.
While there are ultrasonic cleaners that will work on optics that have variable frequencies and all kind of bells and whistles. They are expensive $$$. My Ophthalmologist (MD), sends me to my Optometrist to get my glasses made. The Optometrist cleans my glasses in a ultrasonic cleaner, made specifically for optics in glasses. This unit was not purchased on Amazon but from a reputable professional vendor that knows what is needed and what will work and not damage sensitive coatings. Sort'a like telescopes. You are always better off when you deal with a reputable vendor when purchasing a telescope and accessories. Besides you still have to take apart the eps to clean them correctly. My Optometrist removes the lenses and cleans them separately from the frames and then re-adjusts every thing.
My two-cents.
Clear Skies,
RF
Posted 17 March 2025 - 02:47 PM
The hardest part is the disassembly and reassembly so I'd just stick with manual cleaning. I've had to open up or sometimes re-arrange and clean some small 5mm-6mm .965"EPs and while it's kind of a pain it's not the end of the world. I basically do what Robert said in post #8 but do it with a piece of Kim Wipe between my fingers. Some small precise tweezers are handy for resetting the spacers and lenses in the cell. Take yout time and get set up for the work, keep in mind, photograph, or sketch how they are aranged, and work over a surface where if you drop anything you can find it.
Posted 17 March 2025 - 03:28 PM
This idea is only for the infinitesimal lenses of the short Huygens eyepieces. I have never been able to clean those with standard methods.
-drl
Like this one - 6mm Swift HM
But I did get it clean and I'll never do that again.
Charlie
Posted 17 March 2025 - 11:50 PM
Like this one - 6mm Swift HM
But I did get it clean and I'll never do that again.
Charlie
Hey Charlie.
That's the 6mm I was referring to in my post above.
Those eye lenses are teenie!
My Swift 839 came with a incomplete one jumbled with parts from the H 20mm.
That's the 6mm lens cell jambed sideways inside the center barrel body from the 20mm housing.
The two upper left barrel parts and everything but the larger lens was made into a working hybrid 6mm.
I once did it by trial and error but latter made this diagram by copying and flopping one side of the
EP cutaway diagram that's in the instruction manual to use as a re-assembly guide.
It was still tough to interpret what's going on in the drawing.
Later Charlie came to the rescue with a good original 6mm
And later the original H 20mm as well!
Thanks again!
Posted 18 March 2025 - 01:02 AM
Something that would really help is a dissecting or a industrial microscope. Low power and illuminates the subject
from above. A friend does watch repair and you should see some of the neat microscopes he uses. I've looked thru
them and they turn the impossible into a fun job.
Here's a Edmund 1/4" for reference. And would you believe a clamchip! at the red arrow.
Robert
Posted 18 March 2025 - 10:07 AM
I had a 1700s brass and wood refractor and the lens was fogged up between the 2 elements but they are burnished in the brass cell, so you really can't remove them at all. There was enough room between the lens and elements for water to seep in though. I used distilled water and an ultrasonic cleaner and after half a dozen rounds, it cleaned up nicely. I would use a compressor to blow excess water out and then stored it in a ziploc with desiccant packs to remove the remaining water droplets from between the elements.
Posted 18 March 2025 - 11:25 AM
I had a 1700s brass and wood refractor and the lens was fogged up between the 2 elements but they are burnished in the brass cell, so you really can't remove them at all. There was enough room between the lens and elements for water to seep in though. I used distilled water and an ultrasonic cleaner and after half a dozen rounds, it cleaned up nicely. I would use a compressor to blow excess water out and then stored it in a ziploc with desiccant packs to remove the remaining water droplets from between the elements.
Outstanding! I wonder if this would remove the colored paint from Sears eyepieces? I have several hundred of those that need a bath. The hardest part is the eye lens - if that can be cleaned in place I can do the field lenses by hand.
Let's see, maybe I can enlist a volunteer from the dirty dozen The 4mm is black, and can be repainted
-drl
Posted 18 March 2025 - 06:59 PM
Outstanding! I wonder if this would remove the colored paint from Sears eyepieces? I have several hundred of those that need a bath. The hardest part is the eye lens - if that can be cleaned in place I can do the field lenses by hand.
Let's see, maybe I can enlist a volunteer from the dirty dozen
The 4mm is black, and can be repainted
-drl
Paint will typically be partially removed by an ultrasonic.
Posted 18 March 2025 - 07:17 PM
I have several hundred of those that need a bath.-drl
What?!!!
Posted 19 March 2025 - 12:28 AM
What?!!!
Well - maybe more like 12 They seem to be everywhere. I found one in my soup.
-drl
Posted 19 March 2025 - 01:06 PM
Ah, would that be eyepiece soup, something akin to stone soup?
Gary
Posted 19 March 2025 - 01:19 PM
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