did I damage the AR coating on my lens?

[ixfd64]

Last year, someone mentioned that a Q-tip wrapped in Teflon tape works very well in cleaning lenses. I tried it on my Spyder's lens, and it worked like a charm. However, I've recently noticed a few circular markings on the lens that would not come off. I've also tried compressed air, but it didn't seem to work either.

Is it possible that I have damaged the AR coating on the lens?

 

[Alexizupinhea]

I'm not an expert, but I was pretty sure the AR coating is on the inside, not the outside. Maybe just try cleaning it again.

 

[aryntha]

Probably not. You might want to use a lens pen, or Eclipse fluid (not very much of it) and a Sensor-Swab. This combination is often used to clean AR coated DSLR sensors that are very, very sensitive.

 

[bobhaha]

I'm guessing this is a 405nm laser (don't know the WL product line by name)... If so, there is a chance that the diode itself can be degrading... My 6x bluray diode is degrading and it looks like little dark dots surrounded in wriggly dark rings (hard to explain)..... Can you get a picture of the output of the laser?

 

[Bionic-Badger]

Unless the AR coating is just some plastic layer, it's usually applied to the glass via vapor deposition or other methods. This makes it very hard to remove the AR coating short of physical scratching. It's probably as bobhaha suggested and the diode itself is degrading.

 

[ixfd64]

No, this is a green laser, not a Blu-Ray one.

 

[ixfd64]

I've attached a better picture.

Again, this is a green DPSS laser, not a diode one.

 

[aryntha]

I still don't think you damaged it. But you probably need to somehow get the top off to get better access to the lens.

That said, again, see if you can go to a camera shop and get some Eclipse or Eclipse 3 fluid (which is formulated specifically to be 'careful' with AR coatings') and some foam (not cotton) Sensor Swabs, or a "PecPad" lint-free pad to wrap around a normal swab.

Try these, and see if it gets rid of the problem.