Cleaning Mud Off the Glass of My Scope

Greg_Scheig

New member
while getting the 4-wheeler stuck this weekend
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I ended up getting a big glob of mud on the front of my scope lens.

I want to clean it without scratching the lens or messing up the coatings.

Any ideas on how to safely do this?
 
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Hold it with the lens facing down and hit it with the garden hose (gently). Let the water melt it off and flush it.

The only way you'll really hurt it is if you grind the grit into the lens with pressure.

Let it dry, then brush the film off with a soft brush and blowing with canned air or a compressor. Once all the grit's gone, fold up a lens tissue into a pad, add a drop of IPA and wipe it in a circle, inside to outside, in a spiral.

It's a really fun job.
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Assuming that your scope is waterproof, as most are, I would try gently flushing it with water (you could use the sprayer on your kitchen sink) until the mud glob either "disconnects" from the lens, or dissolves. After that, you should be able to clean the lens using your normal method without causing damage. Just my .02
 
thanks - it is a burris signature, so I hope it is waterproof, I just have never tested the concept

I used windex on a pair of glasses once and it ruined the anti-reflective coating, so I wanted to make sure before I tried this on my best scope
 
thanks - it is a burris signature, so I hope it is waterproof, I just have never tested the concept

I used windex on a pair of glasses once and it ruined the anti-reflective coating, so I wanted to make sure before I tried this on my best scope
 
Zeiss makes a small pump bottle of scope cleaner. Anybody with a quality scope should definitely own a bottle of it(it is not that expensive). I do not know what is in it, but I do not care what is in it. If you have dirt or mud all you need to do is spray a couple of pumps, wait a minute for it to dissolve the dirt-or dust-or whatever. Then use a can of compressed air to blow everything. off. Repeat this procedure. Then spray a little more of the liquid on your scope and clean with lens cloth. Your glass will be perfectly cleaned, perfectly clear, and no scratches. Scopes are far too expensive not to take care of them.

I bought a bottle 5 or 6 years ago, and I still have over half of it left. And I also clean the scopes of a few friends. If you were conservative with it(I am not) a bottle would probably last a lifetime. I also use one of the Leupold lens clening pens, but I only use the brush end, I do not use the rubber end. Tom.
 
Do not let anything but distilled water dry on your scope. Minerals in the water will damage the
coatings. Flush it with water then q-tip it dry with alcohol. Many scope makers
say to use acetone but check with the maker. Clean the bell first, then the
outer edge of the lens, then the center. Keep the q-tip new and spot less.
The less you touch it the better.
 
Another lesson I learned the hard way myself..now I put the scope covers back on before moving...luckily my mud was minor and not set up yet, had no choice in field so used my shirt to wipe most of it off. The advice of rewetting it with garden hose or spray bottle and flush most as you can off sounds good to me.
 
I dont agree with the compressed air and heres the reason, there is no way you can control the air flow down in the end of the scope bell, i believe it will sandblast, I would turn the scope up, fill the lens, let sit long enough to soften the mud and hold under the water tap until gone, then clean the lens as normal. ed
 
Everybody posted some good advise especially rinsing with water first to remove the grit,then using a soft blower or lip stick brush. Be careful with canned air if all the grit is not removed you could scratch the coating by blowing grit across the coatings. When using lens paper or Qtips you should wet them for the first application on the glass. It is best to constantly change lens pager and/or Qtips in case you have not removed all the grit you will be wiping the grit across the coating. Wipe once and discard. The Zeiss lens cleaner in the spray bottle is excellent. It is an alcohol base with sufficants to help the alcohol dry without a haze. That being said you can use any store bought glass and surface cleaned that is ALCOHOL BASED and add a little denatured alcohol to it. NEVER NEVER USE WINDEX OR ANY AMMONIA BASED PRODUCT!!!! I am not a fan of acetone either. Read the lable,unscrew the cap and smell it before you by it.
Purple 409 Glass and Surface and the Target Method Best in Glass work very well.

I keep cleaning kit in my truck consisting of lens paper Qtips, Zeiss cleaning pads from Wally World, alcohol based glass cleaner, canned air, soft brushes.
 
I have been cleaning high quality glass for more years than I can remember. After a good dose of the Zeiss cleaner a can of compressed air will not scratch the lenses. I am not talking about blowing and air compressor straight down into dry dirt. Calling a can of compressed air a sand blaster is like calling a 12 oz hamer a jack hammer. It just ain't so.

I like the Zeiss cleanr because it does not leave a film after it dries. And it works. Tom.
 
If the dirt is allready gone you dont need the air, explain how you can blow dirt out of the bottom of a 55 gallon drum, about same size comparision with a can of air. ed
 
Originally Posted By: tuneredIf the dirt is allready gone you dont need the air, explain how you can blow dirt out of the bottom of a 55 gallon drum, about same size comparision with a can of air. ed

Please accept my apology before I make a comment. But I do not understand what you are saying?? The OP asked how to clean mud off of a scope lense. I do not get the empty barrel analogy?? Tom.
 
a rifle scope Obj end looks like a 55 gallon drum with glass in the bottom, I still believe there is no way to safely blow dirt out and off of the lens, there is no way to control the air flow across the lens, you can blow dirt off of a flat surface with not much harm, but not in a tube. ed
 
Ed, I have a question about the 55 gal drum analogy also. I am trying to visualize what you are describing. Do you have a lens shade a attached to your scope?
 
A FYI to all:
As Hogghead first pointed out Zeiss has an excellent lens cleaner. Another excellent product is Formula MC by Peca. The Peca website lists distilled water as an ingredient I unscrewed the cap on my bottle could smell the alcohol. Their products are found in Camera stores and they have a private lable program also, but Peca puts their name on the back.
CleanOptics.com has Peca Cleaning Kits put together if you want one stop shopping. Great for taking hunting.

http://www.cleanoptics.com/how_to_clean_your.htm

http://www.pecaproducts.com/fluids.htm
 
Originally Posted By: Young EarlEd, I have a question about the 55 gal drum analogy also. I am trying to visualize what you are describing. Do you have a lens shade a attached to your scope?


I will answer this real quick, show me any scope maker that says you should blow off your lens with compressed air. If you cant picture your obj lens sitting below the tube opening look closer. ed
 


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