Cleaning paint off a lens

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jay-man

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Jun 19, 2015
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This might be a silly question, but while shooting a few weeks ago someone shot a spray paint can close enough that some paint drifted back and got on my lens. I didn't notice it at first, but it was enough that everybody did have speckles on their arms. I think the can may have actually had some kind of wood weather proofing in it, but either way it looks like speckles of paint. I can't see any difference when I look through the lens, but it does seem like it should be removed if possible.

Any suggestions on how to go about this without damaging anything? It's a Hawke Sport HD 2-9x40--not an expensive scope, but it's what I can afford so I want to take care of it if possible.

Thanks guys!

Jay
 
That's a good question. You have to be very careful that whatever you use does not damage the coating on the lens. You might try rubbing some cooking oil on it with your finger. Let it soak keep rubbing it. Maybe lightly scrap it with your finger nail if necessary. Then wash with soap and water. Chemical cleaners and solvents are very risky. And use no abrasives. If that doesn't work then just don't worry about it, if like you say it doesn't affect it.
 
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Called Hawke, and they said acetone would be fine because it dries off so quickly and works with my scope (Hawke Sport HD). From what I can find online it looks like acetone is risky business depending what kind of scope/coating/rings you have, but that it's workable for a lot of scopes. Obviously you don't want it to get on the paint or rings or anything--wet your soft clean cleaning implement of choice and go to work with that. If Hawkes says it works with my scope I'm willing to try it, but I think I'll try 30cal's oil and soap idea. That sounds much less risky so I'll try that first when I get a chance hopefully this evening.
 
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SO--finally got around to cleaning the scope. Probably 10-15 specks of paint dried on of various sizes, plus dirt and dust and something dried on that I couldn't really see. I spread oil with a q-tip, let it soak, then ran my fingernail over the scope until it felt smooth. I say "ran" because I barely applied any pressure at all. Then soaked up the oil and carefully used soap to clean it off. To finish up I used a glass-cleaning cloth to polish things up, and the lens looks great now. Thanks 30cal!

Jay
 
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