Cleaning Dust on Scope Lens

[dak0ta]

Hi,

What do you recommend to remove dust particles from the scope lenses without scratching it?

 

[edwardware]

Same as camera lenses: blow, brush, wipe.
Blow the loose stuff off.
Brush (radially) the stubborn stuff off.
Wipe (radially) if necessary. If you don't have a lens cloth, a dry (non-moisturizing) tissue isn't bad.

If you need a solvent and don't have lens solution, the barest hint of soapy water is good. You don't want to soak the periphery.

 

[Varminterror]

Blow, brush, wipe.

In the field, I usually use these:

 

[dak0ta]

For scope covers, do you recommend the Butler Creek flip up scope caps, or the neoprene cover that covers the entire scope?

 

[shoobe01]

For scope covers:
http://www.aadmount.com/Caps/Caps.html

100% without reservation. Butler creek is marginal protection, falls off a lot. Neoprene covers are worse generally, in several ways.

 

[Varminterror]

For scope covers, do you recommend the Butler Creek flip up scope caps, or the neoprene cover that covers the entire scope?

The Vortex Defender scope caps are considerably better product than the Butler Creek caps. They’re less fragile and offer 270degree flip - they fold flat back along the scope - such they are less prone to snag and break themselves. Double whammy.

 

[dak0ta]

Are the neoprene covers too slow to remove which is its main detractor?

 

[Nature Boy]

Attrition has taken care of all the Buttler Creek scope caps in my inventory.

I like the neoprene covers for hunting. My Swarovski wears one



If you prefer caps, I’m a fan of the Tenebraex covers. I have them on several scopes

 

[Ks5shooter]

X2 on the Lenspen

 

[rust collector]

I like the air bulb first step, and recommend that you hold it so the lense faces down. That way stuff falls down and away. Lens cleaner solution and microfiber cloth or lens tissue if it's crusty. Don't drench, and don't clean more than necessary.

I keep a cloth or something over the objective when the rifle is in the rack. Lens hoods help. Caps require more fiddling.

 

[dak0ta]

It's just loose dust while shooting on a windy day. Also the muzzle blast while prone kicked up some dirt and the wind blew it back at the rifle and shooter. For those more experienced, can such light blowback dust enter the muzzle to cause a barrel obstruction or alter accuracy of subsequent shots?

 

[Varminterror]

In general, expanding ejecta is leaving the muzzle around 5,000psi and 5,000fps, and evening thereafter, the remaining gas in the bore is hotter than the ambient air outside of the muzzle - meaning it wants to expand out of the bore. Dust in appreciable mass isn’t accumulating in the bore...

 

[murf]

electrical tape over the muzzle to keep out the bugs and stuff.

murf

 

[doubleh]

Blow off the loose dust and wipe with a Zeiss lens cleaner tissue same as I do my prescription eyeglasses.

 

[bangswitch]

A makeup brush, like women use to blend their cheek color, makes a great lens dusting brush. They have extremely soft and fine bristles; You can get them in several sizes to fit the lens you want to clean. I have a couple for my rifles, and also use them on my 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope corrector. The corrector lens alone is more than $1K, so I'm not going to dust it with just anything. The brush I'm talking about looks like this:

 

[Skylerbone]

They also make combination do-dads with a squeeze bulb attached to a brush, always carried them in my camera bag as well. If you use the basic lens pen remember to cap it and check the felt end for debris, I managed to scratch a pretty nice Simmons with one once. Ok, it was a crappy Simmons.