Joined
Apr 5, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Age
27
I recently cleaned out my prop motors and gimbal on my Phantom 4 because I was forced to land on a dirt path and it felt like there was dirt grinding around when I moved the gimbal up and down.
I contacted a drone repair store and asked how to safely clean the gimbal.
He suggested I rinse it with 99% Isopropyl alcohol.
I rinsed it out but there is now a film residue on the lens inside.
I don't know how to clean it, please help!
56474523_462561864486129_5890863953625481216_n.jpg
 
I recently cleaned out my prop motors and gimbal on my Phantom 4 because I was forced to land on a dirt path and it felt like there was dirt grinding around when I moved the gimbal up and down.
I contacted a drone repair store and asked how to safely clean the gimbal.
He suggested I rinse it with 99% Isopropyl alcohol.
I rinsed it out but there is now a film residue on the lens inside.
I don't know how to clean it, please help!View attachment 110252
Yes that bit ugly,,tryed unscrew lens cap,,,soft lint free cloth should do it
 
He suggested I rinse it with 99% Isopropyl alcohol.
Bad and good suggestion. You should have disassembled the gimble before rinsing. This looks to be inside the actual lens itself and not on the inside of the screw on glass filter area that @ianzone mentioned. Most likely due to evaporation staining. If it is inside the actual camera lens, it is possiblly on the sensor itself as well. That will take some mighty tedius effort, even if possible to clean.
 
Bad and good suggestion. You should have disassembled the gimble before rinsing. This looks to be inside the actual lens itself and not on the inside of the screw on glass filter area that @ianzone mentioned. Most likely due to evaporation staining. If it is inside the actual camera lens, it is possiblly on the sensor itself as well. That will take some mighty tedius effort, even if possible to clean.
If I am not able to clean it directly after removing the lens cap, would it be possible to rinse it again?
With the lens cap removed it should improve air flow and potentially allow a cleaner evaporation right?
Keep in mind I had no intentions of cleaning the lense when I rinsed the gimbal.
The alcohol made its way down to the lense.
Any chance it brought some of the dirt from the gimbal motors down with it?

Thank you for your quick and detailed response!
 
Possible these fine liquids get in ,,,I would use can of pure oxygen that they use for computers to blow out any grains lodged in there,,I would certainly wAtch any strong cleaner etc close to those fragile ribbon cables,gezz I don't want to say it alright to rinse again,,I might be up for replacing your lens ,I do have one but hate you to wreck it,try clean first before any more juice on there,,
 
I would be concerned using any canned air around a lens or sensor as there is a chance of dust depositing where you don't want it. Yeah I know from personal experience. That residue looks like it will be removed manually. If you can safely get to it, good for. Otherwise, leave it to a pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotorCycle-Man
Any glasses lens cleaner will work GREAT......crumple the lens cleaning tissue and Use a GENTLE rub across the lens "NOT IN Circles".....finish with a new crumpled lens cleaning tissue and You should now have a clean lens..I Hope the best for you.

By crumpling the lens tissue......If you have dirt on the lens it will be caught in the folded area and Not scratching the coated lens !
 
I would be concerned using any canned air around a lens or sensor as there is a chance of dust depositing where you don't want it. Yeah I know from personal experience. That residue looks like it will be removed manually. If you can safely get to it, good for. Otherwise, leave it to a pro.
If I'm not able to clean it myself do you have any recommendations for online drone repair shops?
 
Any glasses lens cleaner will work GREAT..
This is true. However, if the ISO has penetrated inside of the actual lens.....this is an issue. From the image posted, it looks to me to be in the inner of the actual lens itself.
 
Isopropyl alcohol is denatured - chemically modified - so you can not drink it. This chemistry is probably the residue you see on the lens. This may help pure drinking alcohol. Or even etherified alcohol. (Alcohol ether, I put in a 1 liter bottle from the pharmacy) I take to degreasing and clean my microscope slides. Good luck.

Translated with Google translator german / english.

Unfortunately, do not speak English, only German! :-(
 
Last edited:
Did you just dunk the whole gimbal and camera in the alcohol? If so you may have a problem.
 
Beware, misunderstanding !!
Of course, I did not mean I dive the camera and gimbal in alcohol !!! I thought, so far could one think, that I only meant cleaning the lens with a soft cloth, damp with a little pure alcohol. After all, we do not want to drink the camera and gimbal! :)
 
Usually the best method is common clear water and very soft cloth.
But as the front glass usually covers the lens, how come to get dirt on it. Cleaning the front glass is a piece of cake but even for the lens you can use only the water. Of course not much. I usually put a drop on the lens or on the cloth and wipe it very gently. Do not press with the finger.
 
Isopropyl alcohol is denatured - chemically modified - so you can not drink it. This chemistry is probably the residue you see on the lens. This may help pure drinking alcohol. Or even etherified alcohol. (Alcohol ether, I put in a 1 liter bottle from the pharmacy) I take to degreasing and clean my microscope slides. Good luck.

Translated with Google translator german / english.

Unfortunately, do not speak English, only German! :-(
You are thinking about methanol which is added to ethanol as a denaturing agent. Methanol is extremely toxic to the optic nerve causing irreversible blindness.

IPA is a different compound.
 
I would be looking for a replacement camera assembly. While it might be possible to repair it might be beyond the extent of your resources and won’t be cheap to get someone to do it. Probably a poor investment as you might find the camera is never as good as it was before you gave it a bath.

Did you use IPA?

I can understand the drone tech suggesting rinsing the external mechanical components hopefully followed by blowing out with air but liberal application around the lens barrel couldn’t be a great idea.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotorCycle-Man
You are thinking about methanol which is added to ethanol as a denaturing agent. Methanol is extremely toxic to the optic nerve causing irreversible blindness.

IPA is a different compound.

Yes, but you must to drink it, LOL.
 
It is just a camera. I would take it to a camera shop and have the lens cleaned professionally. If they have to take it apart, they have the proper tools and also have the proper cleaners to do the job.
Just a suggestion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MotorCycle-Man

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,358
Members
104,936
Latest member
hirehackers