4 replies to this topic

[Franta]

The Japanese members of the forum or those who have lived in Japan are probably the only ones who can answer my question, which is a riddle for a foreigner but which must be easy for the natives.

 

I am an expat living in Japan and over time, the eye lenses of my eyepieces need wet cleaning (I have a blower and a brush for dry cleaning). All my attempts to find a piece of cellulose wadding and a bottle of alcohol and distilled water in a pharmacy (it is how I clean my optics in Europe) ended in vain. From desperation, I attempted to use Zeiss lens wipes, but this ended up in scratching an eyepiece. This was the only instant when I have scratched a piece of optics after more than two decades into this hobby, so these wipes are no-go. I use high-end eyepieces and cannot resort to this kind of experimentation (the scratched eyepiece is a Zeiss 4mm abbe).

 

I already visited two shops selling astronomical equipment, but they do not sell cleaning material. They forwarded me only to shops which sell cleaning materials for camera (like ヨドバシ), but these shops do not sell cellulose based tissues + a bottle of alcohol. The focus of their cleaning material is on alcohol pre-soaked lens paper (like the Zeiss wipes), which I will not use because of the bad experience.

 

Another option is to order Baader wonder fluid from Europe, but this will be expensive because of shipping cost and curation and still they sell only the liquid, not the tissues.

 

I would like to know where to buy cellulose wadding (or similar cloth suitable for precious glass cleaning), cleaning alcohol and distilled water in Japan. I know only the very basics of Japanese, so it would be great to know what is written on the packages and to which shop to go. I live in Tokyo. I will be happy for any piece of advice, because I already spent a lot of time travelling over Tokyo in a desperate search for cleaning material.

[MKV]

It's more likely that there was an invisible particle on your EP eye lens that caused the scratch than the Zeiss lens paper. At any, cleaning must be done with minimal pressure. I have used Zeiss moist lens cleaning tissue for years and never had any problems with scratching optical surfaces.    

 

 

I spent six years in Japan. The reference you cite, Yodobashi is a discount everything store. You may have better luck in a high-ended specialized professional photo store. Or write to professional telescope companies like Takahashi, and ask for advice.  You could also ask Japanese ATM club members on their social media what they are using, etc. In Japanese lens cleaning paper would be renzu kurining peypah, pronounced as one word  (they don't have a Japanese term for it, so it's basically "Japanglish," like cheeze -- "chizu" ). 

 

Good luck!

 

PS

 

Proper cleaning techniques are explained on professional optical supply sites, such as Thorlabs, Edmund Optics, etc. Speaking of Europe, hah, in a pharmacy, in Spain, I tried to get a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol to clean lenses and they told me that was only for "medicine preparation"(!).

[Oregon-raybender]

You can make your own. I use cotton pads sold for facial cleaning.

These are far better than paper tissue.

 

Also 70% IPA wipes used to pre-cleaning for shots. IPA is sold in Japan

Look at drug stores or medical suppliers. As far as soap, use

baby shampoo non foaming or DAWN simple dish soap. Both should be available.

 

I worked with HOYA on optical products, tech support.  PM me 

I added a web site that may be of help.

 

Starry Nights

 

https://lifeabroad.j...e/cleaning.html

 

https://lifeabroad.j...us/aboutus.html

 

https://www.amazon.c...B01M099DKS?th=1

 

https://www.amazon.c...13770517&sr=8-3

 

https://www.u-buy.jp...p3ZU0G0QaLzLumx

 

https://dokodemo.world/en/item/97718/

 

https://thebestfromj...ng-liquid-700ml

[TG]

If all you have to clean is smaller lenses like eyepieces, use isopropyl with facial tissues, blow the lint away and clear off the streaking that IPA leaves with a Nikon lens pen. If you can get methyl denatured ethyl alcohol, it works far better than IPA. In the US it is sold cheaply as camp stove fuel.

Also remember to use a bulb blower and soft brush to blow off dust and silica particles off before wiping. I suspect that's really what caused your scratch.

[Franta]

Thanks to all of you for the answers, and in particular to Oregon-raybender for all the useful links.

 

I will go again to drugstores, and if there is no success, I will order the material via amazon.