oil immersion lens care

[lettuce]

Originally Posted by Ditiola

...so I decided to clean off the oil and accumulated dirt with alcohol. Following this procedure I was getting even worse images with the oil emersion lens in fact it was virtually unusable. I read somewhere that you should never use alcohol as very often the various lens elements are glued together with glue that will dissolve in alcohol. (Apparently Zylene used to be the preferred solvent but I think it is carcinogenic) I though I had ruined my lens, but for some unknown reason it have slowly returned to its original condition.

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Yes, very important that you don't use alcohol on lenses.

I've read that older microscope lenses are very sensitive to alcohol (the cement holding them is prone to degradation of sorts), but new lenses shouldnt have any problems with alcohol. I've been cleaning my immersion lens with isopropanol every time - just a drop of alcohol on a microfiber cloth does wonders. Make sure you clean it in a circular motion and use a clean part of the cloth after every wipe (to avoid smudges).
So far, haven't had any issues.

[waxcap]

I've been doing some hunting around about cleaning objectives. There is a really good "How to" from Zeiss here.

And onother comprehensive essay here

From the above resource it's apparent that Isopropyl Alcohol is OK for non-oil lenses but most immersion oils aren't soluble in alcohol which is why Xylene, Toluene etc. are used for deep cleaning oil lenses. For what it's worth, if you do get some Xylene, don't use it inside your house and NEVER try and pour some from a tin into a dropper bottle over your kitchen sink It is very volatile, stinks and seems to contaminate everything within a 2 metre radius!

Dave

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by waxcap

and seems to contaminate everything within a 2 metre radius!

Dave

Including you Dave!

Having worked for a long time with organic solvents as an industrial chemist, I wouldn't advise anyone to use these chemicals at home unless they have fully read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and understand the dangers.

John

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

Including you Dave!

Having worked for a long time with organic solvents as an industrial chemist, I wouldn't advise anyone to use these chemicals at home unless they have fully read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and understand the dangers.

John

I'm old enough to remember the time when one could buy benzene as a useful solvent for the microscopist

Chris

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

I'm old enough to remember the time when one could buy benzene as a useful solvent for the microscopist

Chris

That reminds me of the times we sent young trainee chemists to the store for a pack of 'Benzene' rings

The girls used Xylene to remove their nail varnish

John

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by FungiJohn

That reminds me of the times we sent young trainee chemists to the store for a pack of 'Benzene' rings

The girls used Xylene to remove their nail varnish

John

a step away from Radium Girls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . . . .
"For fun, the Radium Girls painted their nails, teeth and faces with the deadly paint produced at the factory"

Chris