Was in Maplins today and saw a lens cleaning kit with little brush with a bellows, cleaner and cloth ! Phillips Gunblue gel very good!
Hi. I've got a couple of questions I need help with. Firstly, lens cleaner. I've done some searches and it looks like the way to go is to get some from an opticians/photography shop and some microfibre cloth. Any brands/reccomendations?
Secondly, which cold bluing gel/pen would be best to reblue a scratch on my rifle? And how is it done to acheive the best finish? e.g cleaned,degreased,method etc.
And finally, my spring rifle has two washers, but the power needs reducing. If I remove one of these roughly what power decrease can I expect and will it impair the spring's rotation in compressions and expansion?
Thanks in advance,
Louis
Was in Maplins today and saw a lens cleaning kit with little brush with a bellows, cleaner and cloth ! Phillips Gunblue gel very good!
For cleaning the scope lens, a lint free cloth and a haaaaah from your gob is all you need.
For bluing, depends on the extent of the scratch, forget the pens their crap, get a cold bluing kit for approx £25, it'll last a life time and has everything you need, even for ali.
To reduce the ftlb depends on how much over you are, 1 washer equates to approx 0.25 ftlb, might be better to chop a coil or 2 off the spring.
Cheers. Will the cold glue gel come with intructions? I think removing one washer should sort it then, but I'l re-chrono it and check. I've been doing some searches and read about lens cleaner destroying the coatings on lenses? Is this true? Any particular ones to watch out for, i.e containg chemical X ? The marks on my lens are purplish in appearance. I have tried breathing on them and wiping them with the cloth supplied but it seems to spread them (in a circular pattern). Its not visible through the scope but it is a bit of a worry. Also, when I reassemble the rifle, it needs re-greasing because I noticed some spring "twang" after I dis-assembled it last time. Is it correct that only the front of the spring needs a light coating? Anywhere else that require greasing/lubrication?
air gun world has a big article about lubricating springers this month, might be worth a read
Following on from Davestate's reply, the traditional choice of lint free cloth for cleaning expensive microscope lenses is silk - often found on the end of your tie, unless you're into M&S acrylics! - so give it a nice blow job then wipe down with an old kimono, or whatever else comes to hand.
I use Eclipse lens cleaning fluid on my scopes. available from Crown Digital
Eclipse Fluid
This comes with a pack of 10 Pec-Pads, which are lint and contaminant free cleaning cloths. Additional supplies of these also from Crown Digital
Pec-Pads
I originally bought these for use on my camera lenses and the CCD of my digital SLR, but they are worth buying to keep scopes in top condition.
Paul