NedsHead - 13-10-2016 at 03:07
Does anyone know if it is possible to polish away light scratches from a microscope eye piece, and what about the objective lens?
I have a 10x eye piece that came with a mic I purchased at a garage sale, the mic appears to be a former school microscope and this particular eye
piece has seen better days, if there is a chance it can be fixed by polishing, without making it any worse, I'll give it a try.
I was thinking of using Cerium oxide from a glass repair kit and a microfibre cloth, but maybe that will be to coarse?, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4-OZ-Glass-Polishing-Kit-Cerium-O...
What do you think?
[Edited on 13-10-2016 by NedsHead]
Harristotle - 13-10-2016 at 03:46
You could try it.
Often those lenses are coated with various layers, and trying to repolish means that you damage these.
Good luck!
Sulaiman - 13-10-2016 at 03:50
since none of the lens surfaces should be in focus, a good clean may be enough.
Polishing a lens would remove any multicoating and probably introduce abberations.
I guess that the cost of used eyepieces and objectives is less than the cost of setting yourself up as a lens grinder/polisher.
CuReUS - 13-10-2016 at 05:18
maybe you could try rubbing it with a banana - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS2NMeUBArs
zed - 11-11-2016 at 15:31
Polishing with Cerium Oxide? Sure why not try it?
Might mess up the lens, might not. Worth a try.
You are aware that when buffing with Cerium Oxide under friction, the surface of the lens actually flows a little bit, to fill in gaps? Kinda like
"low temperature" melting.
diddi - 11-11-2016 at 15:47
you can buy very fine diamond paste. it is used for gem stone faceting which I do. it is MUCH finer than cerium oxide and much better for this
purpose. you can buy cheap sets of various grades of grit quite cheaply as little kits. they range from about 200 grit to 100,000 grit
try say 3000 and 15000 for glass
wg48 - 11-11-2016 at 17:51
I suggest you clean the lens first.
If you still think repolishing is the way to go try it first on a spare piece glass or even better a lens. Perhaps scratch it first. You will need
to swot up on the process.
You will probably need to remove the lens which may be very difficult. Note carefully which way round they were so you can reassemble them correctly.
Unless your into it for the fun I would not attempt it.
nezza - 13-11-2016 at 01:54
Do not try to polish the scratches out. It will invariably impair the performance of the lens. Clean it with a lint free cloth or at worst an approved
cleaning fluid.