How do you clean your ground glass and make it brighter?

[Ig Nacio]

Hi,

How do you clean your ground glass and make it brighter?

I was looking at my camera's ground glass and at a friend's
ground glass. His looks brighter; not the brightest, but
brighter. Compared to his ground glass, mine seems to
me a bit dimmed. Not opaque, but relatively dim.

Is there something I could do to clean it, to make it brighter;
or at least, to make it as bright as possible?

All your suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance, kind regards!

[Two23]

I wash mine in the kitchen sink using a little dish soap, then rinse off with distilled water.


Kent in SD

[Embdude]

I wash mine in the kitchen sink using a little dish soap, then rinse off with distilled water.


Kent in SD

I do the same and use comet - a gritty dry cleaning powder. The older the GG the brighter it gets as these can get pretty dirty over time...

Generally the finer the grind the brighter it can get but you will start to see bright spots and edge vignetting from indirect light approaching the edges.
I have seen projection foil used in place of glass to give a perfect zero grain image but vignetting is greatly incerased with wider lenses...

[Ig Nacio]

Hi,

Thank you for your messages : )!!!

I used today a bit of dish soap. It looks good.

Then, this afternoon I saw Embdude's suggestion
to use 'Comet'. Is 'Comet' a bit abrassive? In
the nearby supermarket, one can get 'Ajax' that
seems to me similar in the description to 'Ajax'.
I have used 'Ayax' to clean away difficult stains
from surfaces. I just wonder if 'Comet' or 'Ajax'
won't be very strong on the ground glass. 'Ajax'
has also bleach. Can one also use bleach? I have
liquid bleach here at home that I can even dillute
a bit.

Thank you again, kind regards!

[tdicorcia]

One caution with strong cleaners. If your GG has inked lines for framing or a grid, there is a possibility that they will "cleaned off" or at least lightened by aggressive cleaners or a solvent. Best to test a spot if this is a concern. Mild dish soap plus soaking time worked well for me. Same for a fresnel. And if there is a fresnel, make sure you note the order and orientation of fresnel and GG when you remove them, so you can put them back the same way.

[Embdude]

I haven't tried bleach but that is a very strong chemical. I use a wet finger and gently rub a bit of comet... Ajax is basically the same stuff... as mentioned you can erase or fade any guide lines drawn on the glass. If the glass is clear then you can be much more aggressive with abrasive cleaners... I cleaned a Cambo monorail GG once that had a decal for grid lines and it completely came off! ouch.

[Wishegan]

Just in case it’s needed: https://web.archive.org/web/20061230032013/http://www.satinsnowglass.com/grids.pdf

[nolindan]

Grid lines on Sinar ground glass can come off with a spritz of Windex.

I no longer clean the ground/grid side of ground glass. Since the ground side is on the inside of the camera it should not accumulate any grime or grease-pencil marks.

[RichardRitter]

Grid lines on Sinar ground glass can come off with a spritz of Windex.

I no longer clean the ground/grid side of ground glass. Since the ground side is on the inside of the camera it should not accumulate any grime or grease-pencil marks.

It does over time. You just don't notice it.

[Rick A]

I use Bon Ami or Bartenders Friend cleansers on glass surfaces, they are less abrasive than Comet or Ajax and rinse away easier. I use a sharp "HB" pencil to restore any grid lines that have been worn away.

[Tin Can]

I don't replace grids, I prefer wide open

Especially on ULF

I find grids distracting