Hi guys, Just got a Leupold Vari-X III 2.5x8,and wondered how to clean the lenses. It's not dirty,but wonder for when it is. Will Windex hurt Multicote 4? Thanks, Mike
Posts: 49 | Location: Texas | Registered: 07 April 2002
Posts: 8352 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
Leupold makes a neat little brush and cleaning tip combo that does a good job and takes no room in a pack. Get any large griity material off first and don't clean the lenses dry.FWIW.
Have one of those. It is called the ScopeSmith LensPen. Got mine at Cabelas for less than $10.00. It is the neatest thing since TP on rolls. It sure cleans up a lens real quick. Has a camel hair brush on one end to dust off grit and a funny looking black disk/pad on the other(looks like goat skin to me. The pad has some kind of cleaning/polishing agent in it. Leupold says it is safe for ALL coatings and treatments. I beleive them.
------------------ Handgun Hunter LOVE THOSE .41s'
Leupold's "Lenspen" is a good one, and so camera lens cleaning fluid and tissue.
one thing to keep in mind is not to wipe the scope lenses if there is any dust on them. First remove the dust with a camera lens brush, then wipe the lenses with a piece of camera lens cleaning tissue. But Leupold's Lenspen has a brush at one end, and a cleaner at the other end. Always retrieve the brush into the Lenspen when not in use, and keep the cap over the cleaner when not being used. Dust and dirt could scratch camera and rifle-scope lenses.
Posts: 2448 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 25 May 2002
I use a lenspen myself. But I've always wondered about the grime that accumulates around the edges of a scope or binocular, that you can't brush out. Usually, I'll flush it with water if I'm around some, but I have no idea if I'm doing the right thing!
Posts: 3082 | Location: Pemberton BC Canada | Registered: 08 March 2001
One thing you want to be careful of: Don't use common tissue, TP, or napkins, etc. Use Photo lens cleaning tissue. The everyday tissue paper has tiny particles of silica in them, too tiny to feel but hard enough to scratch and wear down the softer coatings on your scope lens. The silica comes from the trees the paper is made of. (Ever notice how some cheap toilet paper feels rough on your more tender spots?) Lens paper is made to be gentle on the softer lens coatings, it doesn't have any silica, etc. in it.
Use the Lens Pen to brush away the dust first (dust and dirt particles will act like grinding compound on the lens if not brushed off first). Then use a good quality liquid lens cleaner (kodak lens solution, etc.) with the Lens paper to finish cleaning the lens.
An experienced camera sales person at a more reputable camera store can better explain this than I have. (Most department store clerks won't have a clue...)
If you ever meet someone who says their quality scope just isn't as sharp and clear as it used to be, ask them how they clean it. Chances are they used common tissue paper instead of lens paper.
As I recall reading someplace (inst. with my Zeiss binox?) not to use any ammoniated glass cleaners (Windex, etc.) on coated lenses; the ammonia might attack the coating. I have had good luck with a gentle blast of compressed air (or the stuff sold at camera stores in the handy little cans) followed by lens tissue and alcohol. Leupold used to include a very nice soft cleaning cloth with their scopes. C.G.B.
Posts: 238 | Location: Colorado | Registered: 05 June 2001
I called Leupold when I discovered a grease mark on my new scope. The technician I talked to recommended acetone. The acetone will clean the grime away, and when you wipe the lens the residue will evaporate without a mark. Water, or products with water, will leave a residue after drying. I didn�t have any acetone on hand so I used 70% isopropyl alcohol and some lens paper. Worked pretty good, but I was left with a little residue from the water in the alcohol. Nothing I can't live with until I buy some acetone.
From the Leupold web page: LEUPOLD PRODUCT SERVICE � U.S.A. 503.526.1400 productspecialist@leupold.com
Posts: 90 | Location: Pullman, WA, USA | Registered: 03 April 2002
As a photographer as well as a shooter, I use only a Pentax lens cleaning cloth. I first bought one to use on a new Canon EOS and then discovered it worked perfectly on my scopes and binoculars. Liquid cleaners are not necessary. just use the cloth. Clean from the centre of the lens outwards. These Pentax lens cloths are small grey woven cloths that can be washed in warm water with a bit of mild dish detergent when they get dirty. Air dry them and they last years.
------------------ NFA & BCWF Member
Posts: 18 | Location: British Columbia | Registered: 30 March 2002
I was also a photographer. The safest is to brush off everything visible with a CLEAN camel's-hair brush, then, IF NECESSARY, use Kodak lens cleaning solution and Kodak lens tissue.
I now have a Leupold Lens Pen, and a copy thereof I bought in a camera store. They seem to be OK, but I'm still a little nervous about them. I DO use them. The main thing is to get the grit off first, with the brush, and to wipe only with something wet.
Posts: 2272 | Location: PDR of Massachusetts | Registered: 23 January 2001
Check the lables. Most all quality lens cleaners (including the Kodak) are a solution of acetone and work quite well with lens tissue or a clean cotton swab. The brush on a lens pen is great, but I don't trust the other end. But that's me. Also, the best way for cleaning waterproof Binocs is a kitchen sink and soapy water.
