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Regular rubbing alcohol effects on camera lens.

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Timeless Kingdom Media

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I have used 70% rubbing alcohol to clean my Nikkor 35mm F1.8G AF-S lens before. Here are my questions.

1) Does using this alcohol easily strip away the lens coating? Even with light pressure?

2) How do I know if I stripped away any coating at all?

3) Some say using alcohol is a good way to clean a lens, while others say it is bad. What is the truth, if any?
 
Timeless Kingdom Media said:
I have used 70% rubbing alcohol to clean my Nikkor 35mm F1.8G AF-S lens before. Here are my questions.

1) Does using this alcohol easily strip away the lens coating? Even with light pressure?
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Don't know. But it probably depends on type of alcohol.
Timeless Kingdom Media said:
2) How do I know if I stripped away any coating at all?
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Don't know. But I have seen loss of that colorful sheen where there was a slight impact on the front element.
Timeless Kingdom Media said:
3) Some say using alcohol is a good way to clean a lens, while others say it is bad. What is the truth, if any?
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Methanol is the type of alcohol you want to use. If unsure, purchase a bottle of Eclipse solution which is methanol. Dab it on lint-free cloth or a Pec pad and wipe, never rub. And do not use dirty part of wipe again.

Main benefit of methanol versus water or isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is that it leaves very little or no residue because it evaporates very quickly.
 
knowing how expensive a lens costs. Its a no brainer to buy a $5 kit for cleaning them.
 
Timeless Kingdom Media said:
I have used 70% rubbing alcohol to clean my Nikkor 35mm F1.8G AF-S lens before. Here are my questions.

1) Does using this alcohol easily strip away the lens coating? Even with light pressure?

2) How do I know if I stripped away any coating at all?

3) Some say using alcohol is a good way to clean a lens, while others say it is bad. What is the truth, if any?
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Coatings, especially the ones on the front element, are pretty tough. You would need to take some grit to the lens to remove the coating. Bear down all you want.

Alcohol is fine on glass and coatings but it may not be that great on plastic, which is what most of the 35mm f/1.8 is made of. I would avoid solvents on plastic lenses.

When I use alcohol to clean optics, I use dry methanol, not rubbing alcohol which is 30% water. I generally clean optics with acetone, but you have to make sure that the lens hardware is all metal for that.
--
Leonard Migliore
 
Rubbing alcohol has smoothing additives to make it more pleasant on the skin - as the name implies, it's for rubbing, as in massage.

These additives can leave an oily residue on the lens that is difficult to remove. Use isopropyl alcohol instead.
 
I've success with Heptane, a commercial name is Bestine.

Sold in art stores as rubber cement remover.

Does not harm plastics or solve coatings

Any water content in a cleaner will either leave spots or require excessive wipes; neither a good idea

BTW do you use the in cam dust remover? The cam should be on it's base or you could roll dust around behind the low pass filter
--
Rags
 
I have no personal experience with drug store rubbing alcohol and lens cleaning. However, due to the intended useage of the producting being something other than cleaning I suggest it would be best avoided.

Many other products specific for cleaning optics are available, and even if they are priced much higher you don't really need to use them very often.

--

One day long ago, a sorcerer and a warrior did battle, as such things were commonplace in that age. Sometimes the sorcerer won, and the sum value of human abilities was improved some trifling amount. Sometimes the warrior won, and again the human race improved by some insignificant amount, for a sorcerer who can't defeat one miserable warrior is a poor sorcerer indeed.
 
"Rubbing" alcohol is really an alcohol for topical use and generally comes in 70% pure form that sometimes has other additives which is why it's not always the best option.

The best lens cleaning solution is simple 100% isopropyl alcohol which will not damage lenses or coatings.

--

Gary -- Some Nikon and Canon stuff -- and a preference for wildlife in natural light
http://www.pbase.com/garyirwin
http://photographersonlinemagazine.blogspot.com
 
SantaFeBill said:
Rubbing alcohol has smoothing additives to make it more pleasant on the skin - as the name implies, it's for rubbing, as in massage.
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Hi!

"Rubbing alchohol" does not neccesarily have "smoothing additives"

"Rubbing alcohol" in the US:

In the United States, rubbing alcohol, USP and all preparations coming under the classification of Rubbing Alcohols must be manufactured in accordance with the requirements of the US Treasury Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, using Formula 23-H (8 parts by volume of acetone, 1.5 parts by volume of methyl isobutyl ketone, and 100 parts by volume of ethyl alcohol). It contains 97.5-100% by volume of absolute ethyl alcohol, the rest consists of water and the denaturants, with or without color additives, and perfume oils. Rubbing Alcohol contains in each 100 mL not less than 355 mg of sucrose octaacetate or not less than 1.40 mg of denatonium benzoate. The preparation may be colored with one or more color additives. A suitable stabilizer may also be added.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbing_alcohol

So, if a solution is 70% rubbing alchohol, it means that the above formulation is diluted with about 30% of something else. Like most things of this nature, one would be well advised to read the label to check the ingrediants.

Best Regards,

RB

http://www.dpreview.com/members/2305099006/challenges
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
torags said:
Any water content in a cleaner will either leave spots or require excessive wipes; neither a good idea
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Hi!

This is not neccesarily true.

Alchohol and water are highly soluable in each other, and evaporate "together".

In fact, absolute alchohol is used by chemists and others as a drying agent to remove water from liquid-containing instruments.

Now, if the water (or alchohol for that matter) contains contaminants, they might be left behind, though the wiping that is typically done as part of the cleaning prrocess usually takes care of that.

With respect to glass cleaning, most of the relevant "contaminants" reside on the glass surface not in the cleaning solution.

Best Regards,

RB

http://www.dpreview.com/members/2305099006/challenges
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
Don't use methanol, it can lead to blindness. Excerpt from Wikipedia

Toxicity

Methanol has a high toxicity in humans. If ingested, for example, as little as 10 mL of pure methanol can cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve, and 30 mL is potentially fatal,[11] although a fatal dose is typically 100–125 mL (4 fl oz) (i.e. 1–2 mL/kg of pure methanol[12]). Toxic effects take hours to start, and effective antidotes can often prevent permanent damage.[11]
yhenry said:
Methanol is the type of alcohol you want to use. If unsure, purchase a bottle of Eclipse solution which is methanol. Dab it on lint-free cloth or a Pec pad and wipe, never rub. And do not use dirty part of wipe again.

Main benefit of methanol versus water or isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is that it leaves very little or no residue because it evaporates very quickly.
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RBFresno said:
No.
It's OK to use methanol, just don't drink methanol!
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I guess folks in Fresno don't know how to have a good time.

In a more serious vein, dry methanol applied to lens tissue is an excellent tool for cleaning optics. I would, however, be careful about getting it on whatever they make the rest of the lens out of these days. And don't drink it either.

--
Leonard Migliore
 
Actually I was talking about sensor cleaning.. sorry

That said, in my experience water residue leaves rings if not wiped entirely off and requires more wiping the solvents without water content.
--
Rags
 
sometimes the dust contains an oil content; especially shooting motorsports. Huffing & puffing will just smear

that said, dust is not as critical on a lens as it is on a sensor. Methanol is usually prescribed for a sensor clean

For a lens you could use a kitchen glass wax (that contains glycol). I would refrain from one that uses ammonia as a cleaning agent (vinegar or alcohol). The cheap photo lens cleaners are no more than the window cleaners

--
Rags
 
Hi Leonard!
Leonard Migliore said:
Leonard Migliore said:
RBFresno wrote:
No.
It's OK to use methanol, just don't drink methanol!
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Click to expand...
Leonard Migliore said:
I guess folks in Fresno don't know how to have a good time.
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Sure we do! Here's the Event of the Year ;) :
Nikon D3 ,Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
1/5000s f/2.8 at 70.0mm iso800


Leonard Migliore said:
In a more serious vein, dry methanol applied to lens tissue is an excellent tool for cleaning optics.
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Yep!
Leonard Migliore said:
I would, however, be careful about getting it on whatever they make the rest of the lens out of these days. And don't drink it either.
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And (also in a more serious vein!) we do know how to have fun in Fresno!

Four minutes from work:





Six minutes from work:





Ten minutes from work:



15 minutes from work:



Twenty minutes from work:
Nikon Coolpix P7000
1/60s f/2.8 at 6.0mm iso400



Kiss :



Keith Urban:



An hour from work:















Ninety minutes from work:





Two plus away:





Home in Fresno:
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/image/109915372/jpg



Best Regards (from "FresNow")

RB

http://www.dpreview.com/members/2305099006/challenges
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile
 
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