How should I clean my optics?

[hm2 clark]

Actually a bigger question. I keep my scopes with covers on them when at home. But I take the covers off when I go hunting. They get dirt and pine sap on on the glass. I clean while in the stand with glasses cleaner and a soft cloth. But my hands are also dirty,gritty and sappy. And its dark. And I'm trying to be quiet while my backpack is trying to hide the cloth from me. What do you guys do while hunting? And then what do you do for a more thorugh job at home?

[explorecaves]

At home, I use as pure of alcohol as I can find. If it is stubborn, I will use a little dawn dish soap diluted with water (10% soap max) then before the water has dried, follow up with alcohol. It could very well take 5 minutes of cleaning the glass, but it leaves them nice and clean without scratches.

Edit: FYI - my degree is in Lasers and Optics so I work with this process daily.

[bwaites]

At home, I use as pure of alcohol as I can find. If it is stubborn, I will use a little dawn dish soap diluted with water (10% soap max) then before the water has died, follow up with alcohol. It could very well take 5 minutes of cleaning the glass, but it leaves them nice and clean without scratches.

This!

[jurassic]

Actually a bigger question. I keep my scopes with covers on them when at home. But I take the covers off when I go hunting. They get dirt and pine sap on on the glass. I clean while in the stand with glasses cleaner and a soft cloth. But my hands are also dirty,gritty and sappy. And its dark. And I'm trying to be quiet while my backpack is trying to hide the cloth from me. What do you guys do while hunting? And then what do you do for a more thorugh job at home?

How does pine sap get on the lenses?

[LRRPF52]

I have seen some pretty specific instructions from scope manufacturers as to how to clean the glass, and many will include soft cleaning rags with them like NF and Vortex do.

I have been using a specific microfiber cloth since about 2 or 3 years ago. For a hunting rifle, flip caps might be a good idea to protect the lenses as you are busting brush, climbing into and out of the stand, etc.

[hm2 clark]

Pine sap gets on things because (1) I climb tree during dark. (2) I screw in hooks by hand to hang stuff on. (3) Since its like 87 degrees out, sap runs out. (4) over the course of a 14 hr hunt in the tree, I kinda touch everything in I brought up there with me. (4) That pretty much tranfers the pine sap to just about everything.

[frank]

I bought one of those lens pen things that are sold by many companies (all the same). Works great to throw in a pocket or range bag for cleaning off dust. Pine sap- not so much...