Safest way to clean sand off a lens?

Hi and happy new year to you all....... Today i took a trip to the beach to take a few shots of my fiancee riding one of her ponies. A friend also came along and brought with them their overly inquisitive little puppy for the walk! Well, whilst walking along the beach with my camera over my shoulder, the puppy decided to check out what is up the lens hood of my 70-200.... She dived in nose first, leaving a smear from her wet little nose all over the front element! Worse though, there are a few tiny grains of sand also on there......

I have tried blowing them off with a rocket blower, but the sand is stuck in dried dog snot.... i'm gonna need to give it a good clean with some pec pads and eclipse fluid, but i need to get rid of the sand safely first so i don't scratch the front element!! any ideas how i'm going to remove the sand safely?

I usually use a uv filter at the beach to protect the front element from sand, but as it was soo damp out and no sand blowing in the air i just didn't think to put it on....

Oh well, any suggestions are very welcome....

Steve

Blow alot more..

And then perhaps a brush.., More blowing, more brushing, and then more blowing.. And then lenspen the dog juice off

a can of compressed air works wonders and will be higher pressure than a typical bulb type blower, i always have a can in my bag

Your lens is weather sealed. Just spray some water on it and the sand should run off easily.

steve75 wrote in post #11552840
Hi and happy new year to you all....... Today i took a trip to the beach to take a few shots of my fiancee riding one of her ponies. A friend also came along and brought with them their overly inquisitive little puppy for the walk! Well, whilst walking along the beach with my camera over my shoulder, the puppy decided to check out what is up the lens hood of my 70-200.... She dived in nose first, leaving a smear from her wet little nose all over the front element! Worse though, there are a few tiny grains of sand also on there......

I have tried blowing them off with a rocket blower, but the sand is stuck in dried dog snot.... i'm gonna need to give it a good clean with some pec pads and eclipse fluid, but i need to get rid of the sand safely first so i don't scratch the front element!! any ideas how i'm going to remove the sand safely?

I usually use a uv filter at the beach to protect the front element from sand, but as it was soo damp out and no sand blowing in the air i just didn't think to put it on....

Oh well, any suggestions are very welcome....

Steve

that's the problem with using your seat belts only when you think you'll need them .

i'd flick the sand off with a rag and move on.

ed rader

Car buffer.

Not talking from experience here, but, I would:
1) Try compressed air
2) A brush
3) Getting some water on the lens to loosen the sand and brushing it off.
4) Eventually using a lens cleaner and a lens cleaning cloth once all the sand is off.

Here is my idea, tape around the plastic area on the front lens, drop some water on glass, blow it off, repeat and repeat. Why I say tape it so the water and sand doesn't get between the little cracks. Good luck

Very gently with a damp cloth (don't drag it across the whole element in one motion), then leave the lens somewhere safe with the cap off so it can dry out. A few bits of sand isn't going to be like running sandpaper across the element.

I would recommend a filter next time you are around sand, salt water or animals, good luck with the clean. I am more of a take off the filter when it is harming you instead of only put it on when it is benefiting you, prevents these types of incidents. I think some compressed air or water should work.

Don't overanalyse it.
It's not a big deal.
As Ed Rader said, just flick it of with a rag and move on.

I have 2 rocket blowers , one for blowing and one for sucking .
Squeeze out the air and then suck up sand . If not loose enough , fog with breath .
I use the little squeeze blower they use on babies - my red one is for sucking [red = danger] and blue one for blowing .
There are also some little baby vacuums for keyboards that work OK .

Don't overanalyse it.

SERIOUSLY. Put a few drops of water on the lens and use a damp cloth to pick it up.

amusing thread.

c2thew wrote in post #11554857
Canon's business model: Never give the consumer what he/she wants.

So, why are you here on a Canon forum?

What has Canon NOT given "the consumer" in your opinion?

I'm waiting!

Way to neurotic thread creator. Just use some alcohol to dissolve the snot and then blow it off. Or just wipe it off with your t-shirt. Thats what i'd do.