Lens Cleaning Question

I have a lens cleaning question, I work in a very harsh oily dirty environment as you can not doubt tell by my screen name . My lenses are frequently hit and coated by paint from paintballs. After several cleaning with different lens cleaning fluids there always seems to be an oily reside that seems to accumulate on my lenses that is difficult to clean off.
I was shooting an event with my fiend and colleague Romain Maniere, he mentioned that he uses a 50- 50 mix of 90% Isopropyl Alcohol and Either to clean his lenses and this removes this oily residue. He said that he was advised to use this mixture for lens cleaning by the Canon people in France.

Before I try this I was curious what everyone here thought about this

Gary
http://www.paintballph​otography.com

I don't know anything about the alcohol cleaning solution, but I recommend NOT getting your lens hit by paintballs! LOL
I think that even the best lenses were not made for this kind of abuse
I hope someone more knowledgable can answer your question.

This is interesting topic and I also would like to know other peoples ideas on this.
I think you are using just a protector filter on your lens right? Hoya suggest
not to use any chemical to clean filter which has coating on it (like UV).
Isopropyl mix sounds pretty strong cleaning fluid to me but lets hear what others think

UV filter would keep the lens safer from this "oily substance" and you could soak them(the filters used) in a mild warm soapy detergent(diluted dishwasing solution to cut the oil) to clean them. then let them dry, clean with a lens solution and you're ready to go again. You may want to invest in a few extra filters so you can change them out as needed while shooting.

I am surprised that you never used a filter from day one

Ugh, forgot to mention you can use cotton swabs and a mild detergent solution on the lens also to remove the oils. And yes, +1 what Roy said!!
Every lens I buy I always I put a uv filter on it in minutes after being released from it's box. Scratched filters are cheap to replace, scratched lenses get a little pricey.

The problem with UV filters and paintball is that filters are NOT designed for impact and will often get smashed into very tiny shards which could be very problematic, especially if the shards get mixed in with the paint. That would be one heck of a "rubbing compound" that I would NOT want to wipe around on the surface of a lens.

In my opinion, for this sort of situation one needs to find a material that is optically acceptable but non-breakable for a protective barrier. My first thought is Lexan or some similar plastic, but I have not tested any available materials. I would suggest a query to suppliers of photo equipment to the motion picture industry, as you often see something hitting the "lens" of a movie camera with no subsequent problem.

Ether (presumably diethyl ether, or ethoxyethane - same thing) is extremely volatile and highly inflammable with a very low flash point. If you were to use it, even in combination with propan-2-ol (IPA), I'd advise extreme caution: use only in a very well ventilated area, and avoid any sort of naked flame or ignition source. Be aware that the ether fumes are denser than air, and can travel for quite a distance across surfaces or through drains.

That said, both DEE and IPA are great organic solvents, and are relatively non-corrosive. Another, much less volatile alternative might be acetone (dimethylketone).

SkipD wrote in post #5763449
The problem with UV filters and paintball is that filters are NOT designed for impact and will often get smashed into very tiny shards which could be very problematic, especially if the shards get mixed in with the paint. That would be one heck of a "rubbing compound" that I would NOT want to wipe around on the surface of a lens.

In my opinion, for this sort of situation one needs to find a material that is optically acceptable but non-breakable for a protective barrier. My first thought is Lexan or some similar plastic, but I have not tested any available materials. I would suggest a query to suppliers of photo equipment to the motion picture industry, as you often see something hitting the "lens" of a movie camera with no subsequent problem.

I can accept that response. And I agree that a lexan or safety glass shield of some sort could be available or easily devised to protect the lens from impact. They use them on Mythbusters frequently and I'm certain some of the stuff flying at those cameras has more velocity and mass than a paintball!

what say to a cokin holder with a hitech (polycarb) UV filter? wash 'em in dish detergent and air dry, no problem.

gary, my son plays and he says you're the best in the biz!

Have you ROR (Residual Oil Remover) on a Pec pad? That should do the job.

PaintballPhotography.c​om wrote in post #5762434
I have a lens cleaning question, I work in a very harsh oily dirty environment as you can not doubt tell by my screen name . My lenses are frequently hit and coated by paint from paintballs. After several cleaning with different lens cleaning fluids there always seems to be an oily reside that seems to accumulate on my lenses that is difficult to clean off.
I was shooting an event with my fiend and colleague Romain Maniere, he mentioned that he uses a 50- 50 mix of 90% Isopropyl Alcohol and Either to clean his lenses and this removes this oily residue. He said that he was advised to use this mixture for lens cleaning by the Canon people in France.

Before I try this I was curious what everyone here thought about this

Gary
http://www.paintballph​otography.com

Are you referring to the side of the lens or the FE, if it is the FE that is hit, it would probably shatter, and then you would have much bigger problems, so I assume the barrel of the lens.

If so, just clean it with probably anything, as long as you are very careful to not let it seep into any of the switches/rings/holes on the lens.

Oh, and I would definitely have a UV filter at least on there!

Thanks for all the input here I really appreciate it. Somehow this tread, like many I have posted has turned in to a discussion of camera protection, I wonder why

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Ouch..........do you get hazardous duty pay?

So you're THAT guy.

Then, uhhh, I dunno, ask canon....

But when you get hit, either the filter breaks, and most likely so does the FE, or the filter holds, and you clean it (in dishwasher if needed!) or replace it