How to Clean the Scope Lens: A Complete Guide

A rifle scope is a precision optical instrument that deserves reasonably cautious care for its longevity. Most of the best quality Riflescopes are expensive such as 308 scopes, ar 15 scopes, and scopes for hunting rifles.

You can increase the useful life of your expensive rifle scopes by keeping them in good condition. One of the most important parts is the scope lens. Because high definition multi-coated lenses of the rifle scopes offer optimal light transmission to provide you with clean, clear, and crisp images of the target.

One of the most common causes of rifle scope damage, after breakage, is damage to the coating of the scope lens by water, dust, or dirt. The dirt, dust, or even smudges on the lenses minimize the crispness and sharpness of the rifle scopes not only in low lighting conditions but also during the daytime.

One of the most important things you must do is to clean the scope lenses regularly for long-lasting use of the scopes or sights. Because clean lenses give you a better view of your target.

There are excellent tools available on the market to properly clean the lenses of your Riflescope. These tools help you to get the desired level of cleaning. Some of them are listed below.  

  • Lens Pen
  • Microfiber scope Lens Cloth
  • Lens Cleaning Solution
  • Lens Tissue
  • Blowers and Brushes

Lens Pen

A lens pen is a new tool in optical lens cleaning. You can use it for all optical lenses such as binocular lenses, monocular lenses, rifle scope lenses, and red dot glass.

The lens pen consists of a dust removal brush and a non-liquid cleaning element. Lens pen Cannot dry out quickly. A single-lens pen can be used for more than 500 cleanings. It is safe to use and user-friendly.

Microfiber Scope Lens Cloth

Microfiber is synthetic fiber smaller than 1/5 the diameter of human hair. These microfibers are made from polyesters and polyamides.

It means the Microfiber cloths are made of plastic. Its fibers are so small and can clean much smaller spaces by trapping dirt instead of just pushing it around.

Is Microfiber scope Lens Cloth Washable?

Yes! You can hand-wash the microfiber lens cloth by using lotion-free dishwashing liquid and allow it to air dry.

Lens Cleaning Solution

There are many lens-cleaning solutions available on the market by lens manufacturing companies. These are specially designed by considering sensitive optical lens coatings.

They are also inexpensive and give you the desired level of cleaning. Household window and mirror cleaners are not recommended for lens cleaning.

Scope Lens Tissue

Another product for lens cleaning is Lens Tissues. They are different from ordinary Facial tissues. Because they are specially designed and manufactured for lens cleaning only.

The lens tissues are inexpensive and for one use only. Facial tissues are not recommended for optical lens cleaning, Because facial tissues can be abrasive and may contain oils and lotions which can damage your rifle scope lens.

Blowers and Brushes

The best method to remove the dust by air is to use a blower. Compressed air is not recommended for dust removal because it may damage the lens.

You can also blow the lens with your lung power to clean the lens. There is a multitude of blowers by different manufacturers available on the market.  
Different types of lens-cleaning brushes are on the market. Camel hair brushes are very popular and work very well for lens cleaning of rifle scopes. Avoid touching the brush bristles with your oily fingers.   

Precautions and Instructions
Here are some Precautions and instructions for riflescope lens cleaning.
  • Always read the Manual instructions for scopes and other materials used for cleaning to ensure that they are used properly.
  • Don’t touch the lenses of the scope because it may leave fingerprints and oil from your skin on the lenses
  • Don’t try to “buff away” a scratch in your lenses because it may damage the lens of the Riflescope
  • Don’t use saliva to clean the lens
  • Don’t use compressed air
  • Don’t use paper towels
  • Don’t use ordinary cleaning cloths or facial tissues to clean the lenses
  • Don’t use household window glass cleaner
  • In extremely cold climates do not breathe on the lenses to clean them, as it can damage the glass components   
  • Always put the caps on the lenses every time you are not using them. It will prevent dust, dirt, and other foreign matter from getting to the lenses.
  • An air blaster is recommended for lens cleaning instead of blowing
  • You can use microfiber lens cloth for lens cleaning
  • A special Lens Cleaning solution is recommended instead of a household window glass cleaner.

There are many ways to clean the lenses, but we will share one of the best and safest ways to get your lenses clean so that you can spend more time in your hunting or shooting and less time cleaning your scope.

Lens Cleaning Of Rifle Scope

  • Open the objective and ocular lens covers and inspect for dirt, dust, and smudges that should be cleaned off of the lenses.
  • Remove as much dirt, dust, and other particles that could scratch the coatings as you can with an air blaster or soft bristle brush such as camel Hair Brush
  • You can use a lens pen or special lens cleaning solution to eliminate minor smudges and fingerprint blotches from the lens.
  • Apply the optical quality lens cleaning solution on the lens tissue or Microfiber lens cloth, it is better than applying a special lens cleaning solution directly to the lens.
  • Start from the center of the lens and move in a spiraling motion and go outward to the edge of the lens. Use lens tissue only once and then discard it.
  • Inspect the lens for any remaining dust spots or streaks
  • If there is any leftover residue or streaks, then repeat the procedure again.
  • close the ocular and objective lens covers. The lens of your scope is clean now.

Tips

  • Prevention is better than cure
  • Always use good Quality lens cloths or brushes
  • Brush or blow the dirt off first before rubbing the scope to Cleaning
  • Remove the water, dust, or dirt from the lens Promptly
  • The most common Damage is Breakage
  • Make it a regular routine to clean the lenses of your Riflescope

A final Few Words

As you have seen that cleaning the lenses of the riflescope is not a very hard job. You can keep your scope in good condition by following these simple steps.

You must keep in your mind that top-quality cleaning tools make sure that your scope is always reliable when you need it most. We hope that after reading this article, now you are able to clean your rifle scope easily.

Have a Good Day.

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