Anti fog liquid applications for lenses

11 January 2011, 22:08

Are there any suggestions as to anti fog applications that can be applied to the exterior lenses of your optics to keep them from fogging in cold weather when you bring them up to your face? There are quite a few products out there, just interested in those that you guys have had a real world experience with (below 32F). I need to buy some and would rather not go through the "testing" process.

EZ

12 January 2011, 15:28

eezridr

The problem lies not necessarly from your breath but the moisture and warmth from your eye relative to a very cold surface. They really do not dry very fast, not fast enough when game is in your sights. It is a condensation issue. I was thinking that something along the lines of what you coat the interior of a dive mask would be helpful. Cabelas has three different products in their store by their optics department.

13 January 2011, 04:56

ted thorn

Soap...yep bar soap. Go into your bathroom and clean half of you mirror of with soap. Then take a shower and you will see half the mirror is fog free. Bar soap seems to work the best but it only last one day. Don't rinse with water...rub the soap on the buff off.

Nikon also makes wipes foe anti fog...also rainX

13 January 2011, 22:14

Boss Hoss

I only use clean filtered acetone on my glass.....

13 January 2011, 23:48

eezridr

I have used pure alcohol for cleaning and I understand acetone is a great glass clean. As caustic as acetone is I would be concerned it might remove some of the lens coatings; but as a application for anti fogging???

quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
I only use clean filtered acetone on my glass.....

14 January 2011, 06:40

hairbol

I've had good luck with Parker Perfect in Northern PA in temps down to 2. Follow the directions then breath on it to be sure. It acts as a surfactant causing the moisture you exhale or transpire to not bead (fog) but rather add moisture to a film that you see through. You can see a rainbow effect if viewed obliquely but not when you look perpindicular through the film. It rinses off nicely is need be.

14 January 2011, 09:03

sb42

Check with your eye doctor, When I was a kid 40+ yrs ago, my eyedoctor would give my something in a yellow plastic tube to put on my glasses to prevent fogging and it worked very well. I just can't remember what it was call. It was a liguid with a cotton swab that I just wiped on my lens and they wouldn't fog when I came indoors. Something to check into.

14 January 2011, 18:49

Boss Hoss

quote:
Originally posted by eezridr:
I have used pure alcohol for cleaning and I understand acetone is a great glass clean. As caustic as acetone is I would be concerned it might remove some of the lens coatings; but as a application for anti fogging???
quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
I only use clean filtered acetone on my glass.....

Watch this US Optics Procedure and everything will be clear so to speak.

http://www.usoptics.com/video/cln1.wmv

Never will I use anything else.

19 January 2011, 20:45

GaryVA

First, you must clean the lens exterior to remove any traces of oils and such which cause the moisture particles to stick. Use Alcohol. The reason why the use of Acetone is best reserved for factory service technicians and not for routine home cleaning:
- You can submerge your lens in Alcohol and it will not damage the lens glue or seals, but Acetone will actually disolve the lens glue and will deteriorate the seals. Any excess of Acetone will find its way around the outer edge of the lens and will begin to eat away. The glues and seals used can be destroyed. You can flush the lens with Alcohol having zero harm.

Second, you apply a surfactant "anti-fogging agent" to the lens surface. All sorts of pre-packaged surfactants sold retail in tiny bottles. But, probably the most popular surfactant widely used by professionals, divers and such, is plain old original Dawn Dish Detergent, which is one of the most effective surfactants on the market.

Best

21 January 2011, 21:01

Boss Hoss

quote:
Originally posted by GaryVA:
First, you must clean the lens exterior to remove any traces of oils and such which cause the moisture particles to stick. Use Alcohol. The reason why the use of Acetone is best reserved for factory service technicians and not for routine home cleaning:
- You can submerge your lens in Alcohol and it will not damage the lens glue or seals, but Acetone will actually disolve the lens glue and will deteriorate the seals. Any excess of Acetone will find its way around the outer edge of the lens and will begin to eat away. The glues and seals used can be destroyed. You can flush the lens with Alcohol having zero harm.

Second, you apply a surfactant "anti-fogging agent" to the lens surface. All sorts of pre-packaged surfactants sold retail in tiny bottles. But, probably the most popular surfactant widely used by professionals, divers and such, is plain old original Dawn Dish Detergent, which is one of the most effective surfactants on the market.

Best

Gary--sorry but I must raise the bsflag

on your post about the use of Acetone. Been following the cleaning procedure on the USO site for many years. My glass including spoting scope glass, Bino's and rifle scopes goes well into 6 figures and never have had any issues. Acetone is used to clean optics MUCH more expensive than the ones we use in this sport.

Watch the procedure and follow it and you will never have any issues, nor will you degrade the performance of your optics.

21 January 2011, 22:01

Stonecreek

Although I would be leery of using acetone as a lens cleaning agent, never having tried it I won't say that it won't work safely.

However, my scopes are usually located pretty close to (and just above) the stock of my rifle, and I'm pretty sure that acetone used in scope lens cleaning, which would unintentionally but inevitably come in contact with the stock finish, definately won't do the stock any good.

21 January 2011, 22:05

GeorgeS

I wear shooting glasses while hunting, so I have never encountered fogging due to my eye being close to the lens.

I would not spray anything on the lenses of my scopes unless the scope manufacturer explicitly permits it under their warranty.

George

22 January 2011, 01:51

drewhenrytnt

Try spitting on it and rubbing the dust until it makes mud. No more fog!

22 January 2011, 14:04

GaryVA

quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
quote:
Originally posted by GaryVA:
Use Alcohol. The reason why the use of Acetone is best reserved for factory service technicians and not for routine home cleaning:
- You can submerge your lens in isopropyl Alcohol and it will not damage the lens glue or seals, but Acetone will actually disolve the lens glue and will deteriorate the seals. Any excess of Acetone will find its way around the outer edge of the lens and will begin to eat away. The glues and seals used can be destroyed. You can flush the lens with Alcohol having zero harm.

Best

Gary--sorry but I must raise the on your post about the use of Acetone. Been following the cleaning procedure on the USO site for many years.

Maybe my wording was poor or maybe you didn't read:

That young fella in the USO video did not invent that industry standard optics cleaning technique he was attempting to follow with his use of "lots of Acetone". A specific grade of Acetone is used in a small amount measured in drops followed by a drag method. The reason for this vs using a sprayer to hose the mounted lens is not because the reagent grade Acetone damages the modern lens coating, but because excessive Acetone can delaminate and decement the mounted lens. This is another reason why most every home-use solution sold by every major optics manufacturer is either water based or isopropyl alcohol based. You can use a spray nozzle with the later cleaning solutions and hose the mounted optic lens without risk of damage to the mounting cement or seals. It is even prescribed to use Vodka in a pinch as a cleaning solution to flush the lens over Acetone to avoid degrading lens glue.

Don't kid yourself into thinking that excessive Acetone will not degrade the lens glue and seals, as Acetone is actually prescribed to remove any excessive glue. I would also be very disappointed if in fact that young fella on the USO video was their lead optics technician with his dirty and cluttered workbench being their clean room to service and refurbish USO optics. He demonstrated piss poor execution of the techniques, especially with how he used the canned air. He failed to purge the can, he failed to plumb the can, and he failed to keep the nozzle at least 6-inches away from the lens. This greatly increases the risk of discharging -190 degree F liquid onto the lens causing irreversible damage. This is why home-users are most often instructed to use an air bulb. If this guy cannot get the techniques down correctly for an instructional video, how about the average joe who sees this video and hoses the snot out of his high end glass with well shook canned air followed by a dunking with acetone

Best

22 January 2011, 20:36

Boss Hoss

quote:
Originally posted by GaryVA:
quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
quote:
Originally posted by GaryVA:
Use Alcohol. The reason why the use of Acetone is best reserved for factory service technicians and not for routine home cleaning:
- You can submerge your lens in isopropyl Alcohol and it will not damage the lens glue or seals, but Acetone will actually disolve the lens glue and will deteriorate the seals. Any excess of Acetone will find its way around the outer edge of the lens and will begin to eat away. The glues and seals used can be destroyed. You can flush the lens with Alcohol having zero harm.

Best

Gary--sorry but I must raise the on your post about the use of Acetone. Been following the cleaning procedure on the USO site for many years.

Maybe my wording was poor or maybe you didn't read:

That young fella in the USO video did not invent that industry standard optics cleaning technique he was attempting to follow with his use of "lots of Acetone". A specific grade of Acetone is used in a small amount measured in drops followed by a drag method. The reason for this vs using a sprayer to hose the mounted lens is not because the reagent grade Acetone damages the modern lens coating, but because excessive Acetone can delaminate and decement the mounted lens. This is another reason why most every home-use solution sold by every major optics manufacturer is either water based or isopropyl alcohol based. You can use a spray nozzle with the later cleaning solutions and hose the mounted optic lens without risk of damage to the mounting cement or seals. It is even prescribed to use Vodka in a pinch as a cleaning solution to flush the lens over Acetone to avoid degrading lens glue.

Don't kid yourself into thinking that excessive Acetone will not degrade the lens glue and seals, as Acetone is actually prescribed to remove any excessive glue. I would also be very disappointed if in fact that young fella on the USO video was their lead optics technician with his dirty and cluttered workbench being their clean room to service and refurbish USO optics. He demonstrated piss poor execution of the techniques, especially with how he used the canned air. He failed to purge the can, he failed to plumb the can, and he failed to keep the nozzle at least 6-inches away from the lens. This greatly increases the risk of discharging -190 degree F liquid onto the lens causing irreversible damage. This is why home-users are most often instructed to use an air bulb. If this guy cannot get the techniques down correctly for an instructional video, how about the average joe who sees this video and hoses the snot out of his high end glass with well shook canned air followed by a dunking with acetone

Best

If the use of acetone is followed by the procedure it will not harm the scope. I have been using it for many years and do agree that many goobers will just pour the acetone on and not use the q-tip. This is not following the procedure----also why would you shake a can of air??? I guess it takes all kinds in this world.

You cannot account for stupidity. Arnold the "young guy" you refer to is extremely knowledgeable and has personally built many of my custom scopes with absolutely no problems what so ever. To say I am very picky about all of the products used in my builds is an understatement optics certainly being no exception.

You point about abuse of acetone is completely understood---as in all things some people tend think if a little is good then a lot must be better. Never would I apply water or a "windex" type cleaner to the optical surfaces.

To each his own.

22 January 2011, 21:24

GaryVA

quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
Never would I apply water to the optical surfaces.

To each his own.

What method do you use to flush your optics should they be submerged in mud, sand, dirty water, salt water, become encrusted, etc???? Flushing with clean water is standard operating procedure.

23 January 2011, 01:24

Boss Hoss

quote:
Originally posted by GaryVA:
quote:
Originally posted by Boss Hoss:
Never would I apply water to the optical surfaces.

To each his own.

What method do you use to flush your optics should they be submerged in mud, sand, dirty water, salt water, become encrusted, etc???? Flushing with clean water is standard operating procedure.

In an extreme situation---yes clean water would be used to wash off mud for example. I use scope caps that keep most of the crap off of my glass---dust is the bigest problem.

Use a small lens brush and air for most cleaning.

Extreme situations demand unpleasant solutions---have had to use water right out of the stream and tp out of the ALICE because that was all I had before when I slid down the embankment getting mud on the objective when the lens cover failed due to my sliding lol.