Received my Eastward YJ Jo6 today and there appears to be an oily film over the entire reflector. Is there a proper method to cleaning a dirty reflector?
rubbing alcohol and a q-tip i would think would work fine...that's what i've used to get finger prints off, then just go over it with a dry q-tip or a t-shirt
edit - i only do this with OP reflectors...don't know about smooth
Reflectors shouldn't be touched. I've never had any luck improving the condition of a reflector unless where talking about compressed air blowing away dust.
This is my second 18650 class flashlight and second reflector issue. The first had a smudge and I tried to wipe it off with a micro-fleece cloth. Smudge was permanent and the micro-fleece scratched the reflector. I was hoping there was a chemical or steam or......method to clean this without touching and risking scratches.
Ok guys, you are so lucky that I seen this thread. I've personally ruined 3 reflectors trying to clean them. I've tried every method possible and there is only ONE method that actually works.
Rinse the reflector lightly in warm water to get it wet, then get a cup full of warm water mixed with dawn liquid. place the reflector in the liquid and stir/shake the cup lightly (VERY LIGHTLY) , make sure the water is real soapy. then carefully remove the reflector , and rinse it with clean warm water. try and get most of the water drips off the reflector while rinsing.... within 30 seconds of rinsing the reflector, use canned air, air compressor or even a hair dryer to finish drying it and to keep from getting streaks from the water drying on the reflector.
Trust me, this is the ONLY way to clean one, and that's only if you MUST. anytime you touch it with anything at all, q-tip, microfiber cloth, anything it WILL scratch it. Dont touch it with anything. Only soap and water if you MUST.
Good luck,
Thanks!!!
pretty much agree, but I use distilled water if its just dust, optical lens spray if something is stubborn (purified water, alcohol, detergent) and canned air.
I don't use either of my compressors, even the filtered one. imo, the air is not clean enough.
If your house is as dusty as mine, try cleaning the reflector in the bathroom after a hot shower. The condensation catches a lot of the dust.
I agree, I've personally used an air compressor once, but a hair dryer works best.
Lol :bigsmile: Was thinking about new method after I scratched my P60 reflector since then :bigsmile: Veeery tiny scratches, but after I saw them, I stopped :~ And it was special cleaning-fiber or whatever :| Thanks for the tip ;)
He is correct, this is the only way. I use window cleaners. And the water i use is additionally nanofiltered down to i believe 0.01 micron particles which even can filter some of the bigger viruses (the national water quality is actually very high already), so no particles and hence no water marks. You can use RO water as well. I'd believe those bottled distilled drinking water that you get from the convenience store is still better than nothing. Also if there are some dust i use blowers but in a room that the air has been pre-filtered by HEPA-13 and directly in the clean path airflow. (try not to stir up any dust as well)
Never touch the reflector, not even with a wet microfibre.
My personal take:
(Also one of my favorite comedy shows.)
I would think a few dust or some smudge/print here and there won't noticeably affect performance. Similar to camera lenses. It's annoying if you know it's there but you are better off not doing anything.
You are right, it's more for looks. :)
Here's my method FWIW.
First I'll wash my hands thoroughly with dish soap to remove oils/particulates. Then I'll rinse the reflector under hot, high pressure tap water to remove any grit that would scratch it. Then I put a couple drops of dish soap on the reflector and a drop on my index finger and use my finger to clean the reflector. Finally I rinse it thoroughly and dry it immediately with a hair dryer (using the air pressure from the hair dryer to blow the remaining water out the ends of the reflector).
I've only cleaned a couple reflectors like this and it's worked well but I've been using the dish soap and finger method to clean my glasses for years with great results.
Great information on a common problem! Thanks everyone for your ideas.
ty for the idea I never thought of use just water for clean it...
I scratched my first smooth reflector to clean a fingerprint with microfiber so I'm using just that for the dust
Lots of good information! Nothing beats experience and learning from those who have tried/failed/succeeded
Commonly I use a very-very fine makeup brush for very dusty reflectors, it works quite good for me, nothing noticable scratch on the reflector even if the light is turned on. What will be the reaction of your wife, that's an other question...
like this:
I took apart my brand spankin new Keygos M12 zoomie (which I guess doesn't really use a reflector), and the reflector was very dirty and was badly bent :(
I cleaned the reflector surface with 99% rubbing alcohol and a qtip and man, the qtip was BLACK when I was done! It came out absolutely flawless, other than the few dents :(
I painted it with high temp flat black:
Got rid of all of the artifacts in the beam, and looks super stealthy and nice!!
Sweeeeeeet :)
-Jamie M.