Changed my tune on using a toothbrush for sensor cleaning

I always thought canned air was good enough for dust on the sensor (I mean, it works for keyboards, right?). But after 3 tries at a shoot near Asheville, I still had spots in the same corner. A fellow repairer at a swap meet told me to use a soft brush and a sensor swab with methanol (like the Eclipse stuff) and it took off that stuck-on gunk in one pass. Anyone else fought with stubborn sensor dust and found a weird trick that actually works?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_torres14d ago

Trying the methanol swab trick was a game changer for me too. Canned air just pushes dust around or misses the sticky stuff completely. A proper swab with fluid dissolves that grime without smearing it worse. Swapping straight to a wet clean saved me from repeating the same frustration every shoot. Your swap meet tip is gold because most people never hear about it unless they dig online. Did you run into any issues with streaking after using the methanol?

miab8714d ago

Yeah I was the same way until a stubborn speck drove me crazy too.

hugo23814d ago

Man, I feel you on that. That one stubborn speck just digs in and refuses to budge no matter what I try. Had one last month that was stuck right between two pixels and I swear I spent a good ten minutes just trying to wipe it away. It's like the screen knows exactly when you're about to give up and that's when it finally moves.