Substance abuse?

Hugo808 said:

Can anyone help?

I have a Fuji X-T10 and some XF lenses and was out shooting yesterday in the hot - for the UK - weather when I noticed my shiny new gear was getting all sticky. I traced it to the sun cream I was using having reacted to the varnish on my walking stick!

My Question is: what is the strongest substance you can use on a camera and lens without affecting the finish of the equipment?

And can anyone recommend a product I can try?

Click to expand...

I have no idea--I think it is generally a bad idea to put any kind of glop on a camera or especially the lens.

For what it is worth, DEET is murder on some kinds of plastics, too. I once melted a distinct fingerprint in the shutter release button of my old Canon T-90. I also wrecked a plastic watch band.

--
photojournalist
http://craighartley.zenfolio.com/

Camera finishes vary, so it is not easy to give you an answer. If the surface of your camera has been marred, there may be little that you can do to alleviate the situation. I would suggest taking a moistened cloth to the area in question, to see if there is a deposition that can be removed. I would use no solvent at all, just water. The camera body surface that you are trying to clean may be some sort of plastic. You may find more detailed instructions for your particular camera in its owner's manual.

I hope that you did not touch a lens surface. If you have a filter on the lens, feel free to try to remove the smudge. Use lens cleaning tissue and lens cleaning fluid. You have little to lose by doing so. The filter can be easily replaced. If you do not use a filter and you have smudged the lens with this sunscreen/varnish mix, I suppose you have no choice but to try to remove the smudge. It may come off quite readily. Lens coatings are said to be 'harder than glass,' so maybe things will work out. It is not uncommon for lenses to be smudged by fingerprints...

24IS said:

Camera finishes vary, so it is not easy to give you an answer. If the surface of your camera has been marred, there may be little that you can do to alleviate the situation. I would suggest taking a moistened cloth to the area in question, to see if there is a deposition that can be removed. I would use no solvent at all, just water. The camera body surface that you are trying to clean may be some sort of plastic. You may find more detailed instructions for your particular camera in its owner's manual.

I hope that you did not touch a lens surface. If you have a filter on the lens, feel free to try to remove the smudge. Use lens cleaning tissue and lens cleaning fluid. You have little to lose by doing so. The filter can be easily replaced. If you do not use a filter and you have smudged the lens with this sunscreen/varnish mix, I suppose you have no choice but to try to remove the smudge. It may come off quite readily. Lens coatings are said to be 'harder than glass,' so maybe things will work out. It is not uncommon for lenses to be smudged by fingerprints...

Click to expand...

I actually found a screen cleaning wipe that didn't have too many nasty looking ingredients. It seemed the lesser of two evils to remove the residue before it dried and hope it doesn't damage the finish.

It seems not to have done so maybe I got away with it....

hotdog321 said:

Hugo808 said:

Can anyone help?

I have a Fuji X-T10 and some XF lenses and was out shooting yesterday in the hot - for the UK - weather when I noticed my shiny new gear was getting all sticky. I traced it to the sun cream I was using having reacted to the varnish on my walking stick!

My Question is: what is the strongest substance you can use on a camera and lens without affecting the finish of the equipment?

And can anyone recommend a product I can try?

Click to expand...

I have no idea--I think it is generally a bad idea to put any kind of glop on a camera or especially the lens.

Click to expand...

I so wish I didn't have to! Normally I wash my hands after dinner before picking it up. Sob...

hotdog321 said:

For what it is worth, DEET is murder on some kinds of plastics, too. I once melted a distinct fingerprint in the shutter release button of my old Canon T-90. I also wrecked a plastic watch band.

Click to expand...

I had some DEET for a foreign holiday once, it melted the lettering on the bottle it was in. Not a good long-term prospect for my skin I thought....

hotdog321 said:

--
photojournalist
http://craighartley.zenfolio.com/

Click to expand...

Hugo808 said:

what is the strongest substance you can use on a camera and lens without affecting the finish of the equipment?

Click to expand...

From the X-T10 manual:

Hugo808 said:

Hugo808 said:

Camera body: For continued enjoyment of your camera, use a soft, dry cloth to clean the camera body after each use. Do not use alcohol, thinner, or other volatile chemicals, which could discolor or deform the leather on the camera body. Any liquid on the camera should be removed immediately with a soft, dry cloth. Use a blower to remove dust from the monitor, taking care to avoid scratches, and then gently wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Any remaining stains can be removed by wiping gently with a piece of FUJIFILM lens-cleaning paper to which a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid has been applied. ...

Interchangeable lenses: Use a blower to remove dust, then gently wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Any remaining stains can be removed by wiping gently with a piece of FUJIFILM lens-cleaning paper to which a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid has been applied. ...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Interesting that they say not to use alcohol, but that you can use a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid, which typically is methanol.

Just an addendum. If you just want to wipe crud off your gear, I would use a clean rag lightly dampened with with alcohol and a clean toothbrush. I'd avoid getting it on a lens surface on general principal, even though my expensive Nikon CPL recommends cleaning with alcohol.

I'd add a caution that some kinds of "rubbing" alcohol contain oils and perfumes for their intended use of rubbing. Those kinds are unsuitable as a cleaning solvent. If the label says it's rubbing alcohol, check the ingredients.

Doug Pardee said:

Hugo808 said:

what is the strongest substance you can use on a camera and lens without affecting the finish of the equipment?

Click to expand...

From the X-T10 manual:

Doug Pardee said:

Doug Pardee said:

Camera body: For continued enjoyment of your camera, use a soft, dry cloth to clean the camera body after each use. Do not use alcohol, thinner, or other volatile chemicals, which could discolor or deform the leather on the camera body. Any liquid on the camera should be removed immediately with a soft, dry cloth. Use a blower to remove dust from the monitor, taking care to avoid scratches, and then gently wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Any remaining stains can be removed by wiping gently with a piece of FUJIFILM lens-cleaning paper to which a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid has been applied. ...

Interchangeable lenses: Use a blower to remove dust, then gently wipe with a soft, dry cloth. Any remaining stains can be removed by wiping gently with a piece of FUJIFILM lens-cleaning paper to which a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid has been applied. ...

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Interesting that they say not to use alcohol, but that you can use a small amount of lens-cleaning fluid, which typically is methanol.

Click to expand...

Yes thanks, I read that too late. But the screen wipe I used was low volatile compounds - unlike some of them - and I wiped it immediately with a slightly damp lens cloth and then with a dry one.

I shall consider myself lucky that it looks unblemished!

Doug Pardee said:

--

Click to expand...

Doug Pardee said:

The open-source LightZone Project: http://lightzoneproject.org/

Click to expand...