What is the best way to clean lenses in welding hood?

[DEA]

I know this seems like a simple question but what is the best method for cleaning the protective plastic lenses on a welding hood? No matter what you do it seems like when you just touch them they get scratched.
Thanks
DEA

[enlpck]

Short ansewr: thats whay they are so easy to replace. We keep spares in the shop and when they get bad enough, replace them. They can get amazingly scuffed and still be fine for welding if you keep the dust off.

In use, carefully wipe dust off, or, for adherant dust, I use a little (emphasis: lille, like a small drop) of hand dish detergent with a lot of water. Among the things that kill the plate are grinding dust. Keep the hood out of the line of the grinding plume. Pitting is forever.

[Bigger Valves]

don't be scared to replace it.. and do it often.. it's amazing sometimes how slow it'll get bad and by the time i really realize it it's like night and day when i change. i've learned to keep lots of new lenses on hand.. all it does is help tremendously.

[Roger]

I remove cover lens to clean with dish detergent and water same as enlpck.

Only way to remove dust without scratching is with clean soft brush. Can roll small section of tissue into tight tube and tear getting ragged brush edge for disposable lens brush.

Old style tinted welding filters I clean the same way only when really needed. You limit need to clean by keeping fingers off surface and only touching edges. This is good practice as I don't know how to clean auto darkening filters without damage.

Gold and silver film welding filters I clean same way but scratches can remove filter protection in area of scratch. The gold filter is only very thin surface layer easly damaged. The UV and IR filter layer on auto darkening welding filters is also very thin film filter.

[dee]

Originally posted by DEA
I know this seems like a simple question but what is the best method for cleaning the protective plastic lenses on a welding hood? No matter what you do it seems like when you just touch them they get scratched.
Thanks
DEA

A company called "Magic" packages a foaming, antistatic plastic cleaning spray. It floats most of the abrasive from most plastic surfaces and allows it to be carried off, flushed, or otherwise removed before rubbing with a brush or towell causes fine scratches. Of course a brush itself will scratch the lense without any dirt even on them. Of any cleaner on soft plastic, this is the most gentile. If you can clean it without touching it with anything other than perhaps water that would be best- it's impractical, and somewhat expensive when cleaning electronic lenses.

Dont let anyone tell you different, these things are a scandal. You buy them in bulk and change them out often.

[dee]

Originally posted by Roger
I remove cover lens to clean with dish detergent and water same as enlpck.

Only way to remove dust without scratching is with clean soft brush. Can roll small section of tissue into tight tube and tear getting ragged brush edge for disposable lens brush.

Old style tinted welding filters I clean the same way only when really needed. You limit need to clean by keeping fingers off surface and only touching edges. This is good practice as I don't know how to clean auto darkening filters without damage.

Gold and silver film welding filters I clean same way but scratches can remove filter protection in area of scratch. The gold filter is only very thin surface layer easly damaged. The UV and IR filter layer on auto darkening welding filters is also very thin film filter.

Roger,
I liked the tip about the field-expedient lense brush, and wasnt aware the UV protection was so thin a coating. My preference for cleaning is that plastic cleaner magic and a CLEAN moistened cotton "t" shirt piece of cloth- a brush seems to work OK on coated glass lenses but I never had much luck on plastic with them. Its almost like the dirt takes on a different character on a piece of plastic. I own lense brushes and can rarely make effective use of them, but when I can get the lense out of the shield I'll spray it with a detergent, flush it with water, and blot it dry. I have the impression paper is too hard and abrasive for the purpose.

Have you tried the t shirt? (have to manage the pick-up of abrasive dirt by "turning" it frequently and using VERY little pressure)

[customwelds]

We have lense cleaning stations in our shop at school that utilize a weird sort of...I guess you could call it tissue paper and a windex type solution. It works, but it fills the clear lenses up with several miniscule scratches, doesn't really effect vision until you build up a good deal of them (I havn't in a schools years of welding so far) so I guess that works well.

[Zrexxer]

I've had good luck with Novus plastic cleaner/polish. I use it on my motorcycle helmets where the plastic visors cost a LOT more than $0.60 to replace

On welding helmets, ehh, clean em, wipe em, scratch em, replace em. They're a "consumable" commodity.

Now what we need for our welding helmets are tear-offs like on a racing helmet! Yeah! Then you could just reach up with your free hand and rip one off when it's cloudy without ever breaking your arc! lol!

[customwelds]

Or some roll-offs that are automatic on an auto hood, they block a certain amount of light from the sensors while welding then roll a new film on without you even having to let go of anything! hahaha, motorcycles rule...