Our standard mix, which we also have been using for years with no ill effects,
is a 1:1 mix of 70% ethanol with Windex. Our university gets upset about people
using ether. Of course, it's still necessary to wipe it off quickly, and it's
essential to use lens tissue or Kimwipes, not Kleenex. Hope this helps.

Lesley Weston.




On Thu, 20 Jan 2000, Mike Kirby wrote:

>
> Dear Susan.
>
> For years, our Organisation has been using the following solution to clean
> the oil immersion lenses of our +/- 600 microscopes with no reported ill
> effects.
> Mix 3 parts absolute alcohol (methanol works as well) with 7 parts ether and
> store in a glass bottle with a glass stopper.
> The big trick with using a solvent to clean an objective, is not to leave it
> on the front of the lenses for any length of time, otherwise you run the
> risk of damaging the matrix that holds the front element in place, so wipe
> on and wipe off immediately!
>
> Mike Kirby
> S.A.I.M.R
> Johannesburg
> South Africa.
>
>
>