Re: [Leica] Opticlean--available in the US

[bentua <debugger@jps.net>]

Does the chemical not affect the lens coating?  Seems like a pretty
"strong" chemical.  I'd be scared to use it in my expensive lenses.
What if it peeled of part of the lens coating?  This may be the
liability that the manufacturer is concerned with.
Ben

David W. Almy wrote:

> Jim Brick wrote:
> >
> > I live in Sunnyvale and I will stop by Mr. Berg's place and buy some
> for
> > myself. And I'll report to the LUG about what I find.
>
> Jim,
>
> Don't jump in the car just yet. Being a good Leica zealot, and having
> exhausted every source in the US, I called England and ordered
> Opticlean
> directly from the factory, sending a certified check. It is my
> understanding that Mr. Berg's address, I think correctly listed in a
> previous post, is a US-based relative of the managing director of the
> company. He just uses this address (his home?) as a way to cash checks
>
> and forward orders to the UK. They claim that they do not sell
> directly
> in the US due to liability fears. Hard to imagine, but their legal
> system apparently is a little more sane than ours. (I sleep with a
> lawyer every night, so I can say this. She does real estate and
> bankruptcy, gets you coming and going....)
>
> Opticlean comes in little nail polish bottles, with the consistency of
>
> nail polish. You paint it on your lens, wait two minutes, and peel off
>
> the residual film. It cleans down to the molecular level. I have found
>
> that it is best for polishing rather than raw cleaning. You can/should
>
> clean first with lens cleaning fluid/tissue, then use Opticlean for
> the
> last ten percent.
>
> The stuff works, albeit with practice. It removes the last
> difficult-to-remove haze that, despite my best efforts, often seems to
>
> be there, usually visible only when looking through the lens around a
> strong light source (like a table lamp). BTW, try that -- looking
> through your lens around a strong light source. It'll suprise/scare
> you
> to death. My sense is that the dust specs don't matter much, it's the
> haze that'll kill ya.
>
> Cheers,
>
> David W. Almy
> Annapolis, Maryland