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Tech Talk: Quick Guide to Proper Light Maintenance

Posted on January 15, 2011

Mike Graham pensive in front of MVP video panels.

Written by Mike Graham, product manager for CHAUVET Professional

The key to maintaining long-lasting lights is keeping them clean and properly lamped if they are not LED fixtures. It’s important to keep all of your lenses, gobos, and reflectors as clean as possible.

1. How to clean: Use something with a high alcohol or high vinegar content, as both tend to evaporate quickly. If you have a layer of grime on your lenses from pyrotechnics, dust or oil based fog fluid, spray some WD-40 into a small bowl and add a little rubbing alcohol to it. Mix it up and wipe down the lenses with this. The WD-40 will lift up the dirt and the alcohol will help it to evaporate. Then go back over them with a glass cleaner.

2. What not to use when cleaning: Never spray glass cleaner into the light. This can damage sensors. Also, never use de-greaser. It leaves a film that will bake on to the glass as soon as it heats up. Do not use old rags as they may have solvents on them from a previous use. Clean cotton cloths are the best. Cloth diapers work well and are inexpensive.

3. How often should you clean? Clean out your lights every time you re-lamp. LEDs should be cleaned every three months depending on the environment in which they are used.