I've purchased quite a number of Sofirn flashlights, I notice that a high percentage (maybe nearly half) will have something like a glass lens with some signs of moisture (inside the glass lens). Sometimes these are easy to just wipe away).
But I got a few (from shipping) that seems to have a "moist" reflector -- and reflectors cannot be wiped (as per my understanding -- as it can damage the reflector).
Here I have 1 particular 'moist reflector' sample - it's a Sofirn SP31v2.0. Is there some way to "fix" the moisture off the reflector?
It shows a rainbow beam pattern that is somewhat annoying:
Any idea how to "fix" this issue? It seems to occur quite common for Sofirn flashlights (have encountered it on the SP32Av2.0 and also SP33v3), but maybe not as bad as this particular sample.
There may be a threaded cap at the head which holds the oring against the clear cover. Unscrew the head and inspect for moisture. i like to use 200 proof ethanol or pure grain alcohol to clean optics and remove solvents and moisture. Inspect the battery that it is not venting or leaking electrolyte.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures if the surface is wet, but a spectral light distribution (rainbow effect) can be created by surface finish imperfections in the optic or the mold for a plastic optic.
Good luck to investigate this and let us know what you find.
It could be under the glass lens as well. Sometimes I had a slightly cloudy glass lens but the problem disappeared after I cleaned it.
The only problem with the SP31 V2.0 is that the bezel is glued. I manged to get it open with a vice and pliers, protected by pieces of wood.
Normally reflectors don’t look like this. Once I had a cheap flashlight where the reflector had this kind of rainbow, maybe the plating went wrong. But if you wipe the glass lens inside and outside it should look clear again.
I tried using rubber strap wrench, but still couldn’t budge it (it’s glued very tightly).
I was able to clean SP33 glass lens by removing the bezel, which had been easier to remove.
Tried to remove the bezel on this SP31v2.0 but no luck yet…
Will continue to try, hopefully without scratching the head tube…
Had the same issue with a Sofirn SF11. It came with a haze on the reflector and on the inner face of the glass lens. I managed to clean the glass but I don’t dare to clean the reflector. It looks like a greasy vapor that causes it.
If it's just moisture and not some greasy film, I unscrew the bezel and put the the head, reflector and lens in the oven at really low heat for just a little while to remove the moisture and then assemble everything in the oven itself so it stays that way.
