Re: [Leica] Lens Cleaning

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>]

Cleaning lenses.  Hey no big deal.

Hi Gang,
The old timers around here have probably been waiting for the usual lens
cleaning lesson from the old fart! ;-)

As has been noted in several posts, it seems a bunch of you lads have
got your tails in a twitch about cleaning Leica glass, hell the only
thing you haven't mentioned  yet is gasoline and burning it clean! ;-)

This cleaning thing is such a no brainer I'm always surprised how many
go through such turmoil over using a little spit & polish or heavy
breathing, a shirt tail or well worn under shorts technique.

For the new folks: :-)

You have been creating the finest lens cleaning cloth every time you sit
on your under shorts! Sure better than those expensive impregnated
cleaning cloths.  There isn't anything softer or with better cleaning
capabilities than a good bit of heavy breathing on the lens surface and
a gentle circular rubbing with a piece of well worn under shorts.

I bet you just been throwing out the "worn soft"  worlds greatest under
short cleaning clothes all these years without giving it a thought.   So
from now on here's the plan:

Cut the largest piece of the under short left, fold it up, put in small
freezer bag to keep it clean and put it in your camera equipment bag,
from then on anytime you need to clean the lens, blow off anything extra
lying around on the surface, no don't go and buy them airgun things,
waste of money what the hell do you think a full set of lungs are for! 

Blow stuff off, breathe hard with your hot breath on glass and gently
rub!  Clean as a whistle!  And apart from buying the original
undershorts you have used a "no cost" cleaning cloth!  Now isn't that simple?

Now you young lads don't come back to me with all kinds of mamby pamby
scratch lens stuff and whining, it don't happen if you follow the old
fart's instructions correctly!  Been using this method for more years
than most of you have been on planet earth or using Leica. Yep and my
lenses are sparkly clean all the time.  Well Ok sometimes! ;-)

Now enough already.  All together now, under shorts off, oops!  I mean,
clean just washed undershorts, cut out sit upon side, breath hard on
glass, rub and clean. If it still looks grungie, breathe again, rub again.

For the timid in the crowd may I suggest watching Leica techs cleaning a
lens and you'd go into cardiac arrest! Yep sometimes it's, breath hard
and rub.  And I mean rub hard!

So relax, the money you just saved by not buying them airgun and
impregnated cloth things, buy film, go take pictures. Have a clean lens.
:-) And for heaven sake have fun!  :-)

ted