At 01:30 PM 2/4/2001 -0500, Rich (Doggre@xxxxxxx) wrote:
[snip]
>Now I just have to locate some methyl alcohol. Drug stores I've checked so
>far don't seem to have it. The two camera stores I
>went to yesterday didn't have it, either. Maybe a chemical supply co. will
>have it, surely?
Should. Goes by various names: "methanol," "methyl alcohol," etc. Use a
search engine to find other equivalents. You definitely want the pure stuff --
no additives of any kind (otherwise, you could just use gas-line antifreeze,
which is primarily methyl alcohol). You can also substitute 99 0sopropanol
(which, in Canada anyways, is available at pharmacies). The 70olution (the
other 30 0s either mostly or exclusively water) is sometimes called "rubbing
alcohol," but I don't recommend it in case some gets into the lens (though to
be fair, you'd have the same problem with Windex; moistening the cleaning pad
first and then cleaning the lens surface while holding the lens upside-down is
the best strategy). In any case, isopropanol isn't quite as good at dissolving
grease/grime as methanol, but if it's all you've got, it's most likely more
than good enough.
Also, I purchased some stuff called "Eclipse Optic Cleaning System," which,
despite its high-falutin' name, is nothing more than pure methanol. This
stuff's made in the USA by Photographic Solutions, Inc., Buzzards Bay, MA
02532, phone number (508) 759-2322. The claim to fame of this stuff is that it
*is* a system -- comes with special pads (called PEC*PADS) that are ultra-clean
(supposedly 99.999 0.000000ree of impurities). The pads are probably more
important than the methanol, and can be purchased separately. I like the pads.
PSI's methanol is probably way over-priced...
Garth
"A bad day doing photography is better
than a good day doing just about
anything else."
The Unofficial Olympus Web Photo Gallery at:
http://www.taiga.ca/~gallery/, or
http://www.enable.org/~gallery/
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