Cleaning Optics Option

kikolobo · February 2, 2018, 5:55am

Hi all,

I used to work on Argon Lasers a long time ago for shows. We used Acetone to clean optics and it worked miracles!.

Is it safe to use Acetone with the optics in the GlowForge?

The way we used them was with a special optical grade swab, we impragnated it with acetone and then a gentle swipe of the swab while rotating thru the optic in only one direction with little pressure. It did wonders to grease and dust.

jbmanning5 · February 2, 2018, 6:01am

The official recommendation are Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes.

Fwiw, other manufacturers say acetone can be used in a pinch but to not use regularly as it does contain impurities.

The Zeiss wipes are cheap, readily available and recommended - so, works for me.

Edit to add: and really nothing to swab it through. The mirrors are easily accessible and just take a quick wipe. And the lens pulls out in a jiffy and also just takes a quick wipe.

kikolobo · February 2, 2018, 6:26am

Thanks. Would order a bunch!

mad_macs · February 2, 2018, 4:43pm

I was amazed how cheap the Zeiss wipes were on amazon. I bought 200 of them!

jbmanning5 · February 2, 2018, 4:51pm

They last a long time also. I have some (unopened - do I need to say that? Lol) from several years ago that still work great.

dwardio · February 2, 2018, 9:16pm

Great question. There’s lots of great support info at https://glowforge.com/support

This one is covered here:

https://glowforge.com/support/topic/cleaning-service-and-moving/cleaning#things-that-need-wiping

dwardio · February 2, 2018, 9:18pm

I’ve hit 1 or 2 from a recent bag that were duds (dry as a bone). Still, from Amazon they are dirt-cheap, so tossing less than 1% isn’t problematic (for me).

rusty.tracey · February 3, 2018, 4:50am

I’m not sure about acetone, however we used a mild lab grade acetic acid (purified vinegar basically) to clean the lenses on the Bystronic 3.5kw laser. We’d remove the lens, place it in a special holder that securely held it lay a lens cleaning wipe (just like the zeiss ones) on the lens, then drop 3 to 5 drops of acetic acid onto the paper, wetting out the lens. Then pull to the side sliding the cleaning wipe off the lens without any direct downward pressure on the lens itself in order to preserve the special lens coating on the optics.

dannyc · February 6, 2018, 7:08pm

Thanks for the answer @jbmanning5 , that’s right. I’m going to close this thread.

Thanks for reaching out about this!