Cleaning Solutions

[Photo Badger]

Hello everyone!

here i have 2 different cleaning solution. and both are alcohol based. one is called isopropyl alcohol (containing 70% of isopropyl) and the other one is denatured alcohol (containing 95% denautred ethyl alcohol).
so the thing is, which one is the most recommended one from these two? down to the point, i feel that the denatured alcohol simply drys up faster than the isopropyl. but cleaning power, i'm not too sure. so wanna ask you peeps with your experience on it.

thanks!

 

[Octarine]

What do you intend to clean? Both should be fine for glass and plastics, but don't use on rubber.

 

[sinned79]

please dun use this to clean your sensor filter too. i am not a chemical person but the wrong chemical may damage it.

 

[TWmilkteaTW]

TS.. you didnt tell us what you intend to do with this 2 solutions. So how we answer you whether which 1 is more recommended for your purpose?

 

[Photo Badger]

@Octarine
I'm intended to clean the lenses and body. and what do you mean by not using rubber?

@sinner79
I'm aware about it. cannot anyhow use these kind of solution to clean sensor. just cleaning external part of the equipment.

@TWmilkteaTW
actually its for cleaning, but which one do you think that you feel is better? i notice that the isopropyl will leave some residue especially on the camera screen and the lens.

 

[sinned79]

i only use a damp cloth to wipe clean my DSLR if i need to.

 

[soeypixels]

i never use anything like this ..

body / lense body
slight damp cloth then followed by a dry cloth

front and back element of the lense (all lense have filters)
i use lens pen / blower

sensor - i don clean at all, unless is too extreme
i just blow them only

 

[Herman Deng]

i never use those to clean just clean the lens with the solutions bought from camera shop

 

[Turboredbean]

I dont use alcohol to clean the externals of my cam. just like what others do, a clean damp cloth will do. for lenses, i just use a blower and a 3M fiber cloth, since i dont usually take out the filters. For sensors and view finders (internals)... i leave that to the pro's (CSC).

 

[daredevil123]

isopropyl is the one you want. This is assuming you know what you are doing... Used in very small quantities using a q-tip on glass elements. Especially useful when cleaning hard to remove spots or fungus.

 

[Octarine]

@Octarine
I'm intended to clean the lenses and body. and what do you mean by not using rubber?

Body only needs a damp cloth, that's enough. Lenses need a blower, soft cloth and Isopropyl only for stubborn dirt and finger prints.
Using alcohol on rubber can damage the rubber (depending on the material).

 

[Photo Badger]

I'd like to thank everyone for the replies.

well basically, sometimes those dirt and oil get stick to your camera and the lenses. you know especially when you have events like BBQ-ing, the oil might be very sticky and even the smell of the BBQ can still be there for few days. So i'd like to ensure that its clean from it.

normally if for events that doesn't have so much dirt then i usually would use a microfiber cloth like the 3M and perhaps dip a bit of water to clean it. dust? definitely its a job for a blower (not using your mouth to blow).

and don't tell me to use perfume to cover it. LOL! ><

 

[edutilos-]

The Isopropyl Alcohol in Guardian is not pure alcohol, IIRC it is 70%, so it will not dry up so well.

Denatured Alcohol may seem to dry up faster - I'm not sure what the Guardian brand contains but it can include additives which may leave a film on your lens. I doubt it will be harmful but that's something to take note of.

Denatured alcohol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personally, given the two I'd probably use the Isopropyl Alcohol; and only when necessary. Cleaning lenses is a good habit but it is good not to overdo it as while lens coatings are much tougher than from the old days, I suppose given continuous buffing with solvents (unnecessarily), they may well give out too. This isn't really an issue to be concerned about, but well, why rub the lens with alcohol when it is clean? I would only use the solvent when there are stains which cannot be removed after a strong blower and microfibre cloth are used (gently, at that).