View Full Version : SF x-300 cleaning
Team Chuck Norris
11-13-11, 21:13
I use a Surefire X-300 on both a Glock 22 as well as in the 12 o'clock position of my M4 (bcm 14.5" upper with pws). The glass face accumulates carbon and other contamination as a result the blast from shooting.
I am wondering what should be used for cleaning? I have used rubbing alcohol (which does not work too well) and I have tried Shooter's Choice bore cleaner on patches (which works better).
My goal is to have the glass face completely cleaned but I do not want to damage the glass or any seals or any part of the X-300.
Any ideas of what to use and how to do it? Has anyone used any cleaning method which has provided a bad or destructive result?
I am thinking about using Zooke lens treatment (or some other anti-fog treatment) as a way to prevent some accumulation. Anyone have experience with anything like this?
Kindly please advise.
el_chingoton13
11-13-11, 21:21
Pencil eraser.
Team Chuck Norris
11-13-11, 21:29
Toothpaste
It is interesting that you say that. Thirty years ago I was a bicycle mechanic. On top end hubs, during a build or rebuild, we would use toothpaste to clean and polish the ball bearings prior to greasing and installation. We would pack the bearings in the hub with toothpaste and spin the axle with an electric drill. It was one of our "secrets." It was thought to gently polish the bearings to make them smoother. Anyways, I appreciate the idea.
Sure ;) I picked the idea up from a Kyle Defoor class
Either toothpaste or an eraser are good for removal of the carbon. Its better yet to add a little SLP on the lens for range work and then wipe it off for low light work.
Flitz polish both cleans and treats the lens so future cleanup only involves a wipe. I have been using Froglube now with basically the same results.
Dennis.
Go to Wal Mart and get a WD-40 pen. It will clean the lens. After that leave a light coat on the lens and it will make clean up a breeze next time.
Flitz polish both cleans and treats
I need to remember this...
I've got a light that I let stay dirty for too long. When I finally cleaned it a day ago, I did it wrong and ended up grinding particulates into the lens, which has affected the integrity of the beam.
Teachable Moment: If you have a LOT of smut on the lens, it's not a bad idea to spritz it with something, first. Water, WD40, spray degreaser or carbon killer, SOMEthing, so that you aren't just taking a paper towel and grinding dry crap onto a polished surface.
Like I did.....:mad: If I can't polish it out, I need to get a new light.
SWATcop556
11-16-11, 11:50
Its been suggested but I'll add my experience into the mix. I have always found the pencil eraser was the best option until I tried the toothpaste. After cleaning one with an eraser then hitting it with the toothpaste I was amazed at the difference. Toothpaste with a Q-tip was the easiest way to remove the buildup yet, and this was after about 2500 over three days down the pipe then the pistol sat in the safe for three months (training G17).
I carry one of the little travel tubes of Crest gel toothpaste in my cleaning/repair kit and have yet to find anything better. I also hit the lense with a touch of oil prior to a training class to help with cleanup.
Look - I believe you guys that toothpaste cleans the lens.
But knowing that toothpaste is an abrasive, I really gotta wonder about repeated uses.
Anybody been using it for years?
Surefire only recommends using an eraser: http://www.surefire.com/faqs
The toothpaste recommendation is all over the web, but I've only used an eraser.
I have used Flitz for a couple years now with no issues. One application usually lasts at least 3 range sessions and allows for a simple swipe with a clean cloth or my finger to clean it. I am now using Froglube since I am using it on the gun anyways and it seems like it needs to be reapplied each use, although it also makes cleaning a simple wipe and reapply proposition. (I don't think Froglube was made to stick to hardened glass).
I was worried a bit about Flitz drying out the washer seal, but that turned out to be not an issue. Now with Froglube, I have no worries about the washer at all anymore.
I see no need to get an eraser or anything all that abrasive near the glass with proper PM.
Dennis.
But knowing that toothpaste is an abrasive.....
Knowing that a #2 pencil eraser is also an abrasive substance generally helps..... ;) There's a reason that the comm bubbas used to flip out when we'd used a #2 pencil eraser to clean radio connectors, instead of the white rubber/vinyl ones.
Surefire also insists that certain lights of theirs, known to be usable under rifle-level recoil impulse for thousands and thousands of rounds, are not suited for weapon-mounted usage, and the reps do the wink-wink/nudge-nudge when they tell you this. So if one is worried over lens-cleaning implements based on a warranty standpoint, that's certainly understandable, and erasers are known to work. Nobody's saying "do ONLY this/not that...."
...but if this is skinning a cat, one way is using a flensing knife, the other is using a carpet-cutter. Neither is the same as using a sandblaster, though likely less fun depending upon how much one might hate cats.
I have pre-treated the lens with chap stick. Post shooting, it cleans with a cloth or paper towel with ease.
My fix was simple. I put a sacrificial lens cover on that I can clean or replace as needed. Here's what I did.
Buy a Surefire F04 diffuser lens (http://www.surefire.com/F04-Beam-Diffuser). The diffuser is a plastic lens that is sandblasted on one side to make it opaque instead of clear. I wanted 100% of the beam getting through so needed a clear lens.
The lens pops out of the rubber housing. Polish the rough side with 1500 grit wet sandpaper and water to take most of the rough off. That will get it sort of clear but scratchy. Using plastic polishing compound and an automotive paint buffer do a final polish for maybe 30 seconds. The finished product is a perfectly clear lens I can slip on and off as needed.
The light with lens cover fit in my 6390 safariland after a little heat gun remolding. I tested the idea out at a recent competitive night shoot where about 160 rounds were fired.
Here's how it went.
The gun with cover after the match
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z67/bonecreekgunclub/2011%20Zombie%20shoot/100_3613.jpg
Front view
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z67/bonecreekgunclub/2011%20Zombie%20shoot/100_3615.jpg
Cover slipped off of light
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z67/bonecreekgunclub/2011%20Zombie%20shoot/100_3616.jpg
You can see the carbon built up where the lens cover ended on the light body
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z67/bonecreekgunclub/2011%20Zombie%20shoot/100_3617.jpg
The cover worked perfectly! The lens cover cleaned up with a little rubbing alcohol as did the body of the light. The rubber slip ring of the lens cover took some elbow grease as the carbon had "soaked in" to the porous rubber. Next time I will coat the rubber with ArmorAll before shooting to see if that makes it easier to clean.
I intend to leave the lens cover on all the time to act as a sacrificial lens that does not degrade performance. If the gun is ever dropped the cover will protect the light lens. The cover also keeps me from having to risk using desperate measures to clean a lens and damage a high dollar light. At worst I will be out $14 for a new diffuser if it is damaged.
For me the gun is a home defense and range trainer. I would imagine anyone who carries a handgun daily in more abusive conditions would really benefit by a cover like this.
My fix was simple. I put a sacrificial lens cover on that I can clean or replace as needed. Here's what I did.
...
I intend to leave the lens cover on all the time to act as a sacrificial lens that does not degrade performance. If the gun is ever dropped the cover will protect the light lens. The cover also keeps me from having to risk using desperate measures to clean a lens and damage a high dollar light. At worst I will be out $14 for a new diffuser if it is damaged.
For me the gun is a home defense and range trainer. I would imagine anyone who carries a handgun daily in more abusive conditions would really benefit by a cover like this.
Not a bad idea, but seems like a lot of extra work solve a problem that is more easily solved with the methods above, with the chapstick method being likely the easiest if you happen to carry some in your pocket anyways.
More importantly it would not work in any of the more fitted holsters many use including Raven Concealment or pretty much any other holster I have seen other than the Safarilands (which seem like they were made for the older Insight M3's)
Dennis.
Mine got pretty dirty during the Magpul Dynamics Course in Tucson. So I took some FrogLube and smeared it onto the lense and let it sit. Then I took a red shop rag and it wiped right off with very little elbow grease.
Not a bad idea, but seems like a lot of extra work solve a problem that is more easily solved with the methods above, with the chapstick method being likely the easiest if you happen to carry some in your pocket anyways.
More importantly it would not work in any of the more fitted holsters many use including Raven Concealment or pretty much any other holster I have seen other than the Safarilands (which seem like they were made for the older Insight M3's)
Dennis.
It definitely took some time to polish the lens and then more time to "refit" the holster which I had to do anyway because according to Safariland "no one uses the pressure switch". Pretty much any holster can be made to work but it is something that would most easily be done during manufacture for the tightly fitted holsters.
I'm just partial to my removable cover because it avoids me having to use gun lubes and solvents that may, over time, deteriorate the seals on the light. I'm also guaranteed to not get scratches on my lens from frequent cleaning.
I got the idea after reading of lens cleaning struggles like JSantoro's and thought of the removable lens covers motocross racers use. I'm happy with it because once the initial work was done it's good to go.
FWIW.
This sure looks to me like this would fit an X300.
Buyer beware: I didn't mic it, I just held the 2 lights together bezel-to-bezel. But it's close enough that if I was interested, I'd buy one.
http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/ekmps/shops/bduimportsltd/images/aa-maglite-lens-accessory-kit-278-p.jpg
according to Safariland "no one uses the pressure switch".
Oooooo...don't get me started on THAT load of malarky...! :p
They'd be just as wrong if their assertion was "no one sells that pressure switch." Occam's Razor alters either to "those pressure switches came out after we designed our molds, and we don't want to go through the expense of changing them because they're not common enough to make that expense worthwhile." No way of knowing, but that's far more likely and complete.
Fortunately for them, it's a simple fix (heat gun, painter's tape, and coffee-stirrers swiped...uhhh, liberated!...from the local sissy-coffee shop, and 10min).
A sacrificial lens makes sense if one exclusively uses a holster that's not fitted to a specific light, like the Safariland offerings, where the modification is relatively simple. The de-mist lens that comes with the PVS-14 gets used for the same purpose, instead of for the one it was supposedly made. Fitted holsters only or swapping back and forth, a procedural solution trumps an engineering solution.
Neat trick!
Toothpaste worked. Lens is scratch-free, again. *happy dance*
If one really is worried about the light seals and scratches and such then an old flashlight geek trick is to cut a piece of cell phone screen protector to fit the lens and just use that as a sacrificial lens. They come in crystal clear and you could even use matte to smooth out the beam for more flood if you wanted that as well. No bulk, no mess, no modifying holsters and easy to remove. Get the cheap ones on sale for old cell phones nobody has anymore... If you are really concerned, you can mount multiple layers with pull tab edges for instant tactical removal to get a clean protected lens during a protracted gunfight :D.
For what it's worth, I have had 5 different X200's and X300's mounted on my duty guns for a few years now and many thousands of rounds downrange cleaned and protected with Flitz and I see no seal degradation or scratches. Now with Froglube being non-petroleum or solvent based, I am even more convinced that the seals will be fine.
Dennis.
If one really is worried about the light seals and scratches and such then an old flashlight geek trick is to cut a piece of cell phone screen protector to fit the lens and just use that as a sacrificial lens. They come in crystal clear and you could even use matte to smooth out the beam for more flood if you wanted that as well. No bulk, no mess, no modifying holsters and easy to remove. Get the cheap ones on sale for old cell phones nobody has anymore... If you are really concerned, you can mount multiple layers with pull tab edges for instant tactical removal to get a clean protected lens during a protracted gunfight :D.
Dennis.
Thanks for the phone cover idea Dennis. That sounds better than the bulky slip on cover.
"instant tactical removal":lol: I can see the marketing now.
<Announcer voice>
Tired of smudged light lenses during extended tactical engagements? Fix it now with TACTICAL LENS COVERS!!! Have you burned through all 7 of your 33 round CCW magazines and notice your light dimming? Just tear off a TACTICAL LENS COVER while your wife brings up the ammo wheelbarrow to restock and you'll be good to go! Tactical wheelbarrow sold separately.
</Announcer voice>
Charlie-2-6
11-23-11, 05:02
I have pre-treated the lens with chap stick. Post shooting, it cleans with a cloth or paper towel with ease.
+1. I think I first saw/heard mentioning about it by Kyle Lamb IIRC. Works like a charm.
If one really is worried about the light seals and scratches and such then an old flashlight geek trick is to cut a piece of cell phone screen protector to fit the lens and just use that as a sacrificial lens. They come in crystal clear and you could even use matte to smooth out the beam for more flood if you wanted that as well. No bulk, no mess, no modifying holsters and easy to remove. Get the cheap ones on sale for old cell phones nobody has anymore... If you are really concerned, you can mount multiple layers with pull tab edges for instant tactical removal to get a clean protected lens during a protracted gunfight :D.
For what it's worth, I have had 5 different X200's and X300's mounted on my duty guns for a few years now and many thousands of rounds downrange cleaned and protected with Flitz and I see no seal degradation or scratches. Now with Froglube being non-petroleum or solvent based, I am even more convinced that the seals will be fine.
Dennis.
I have a ton of the cell phone screen protective film. Will put it to a different use now. Thanks,
-Jax
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