How many times can you clean the laser lens before it “dies”?

[TheBluRayBandito]

Curious to know if there’s a limit to how many times you can clean the lens with rubbing alcohol. My lens started to give me issues, so I took it apart and cleaned it. It’s working top notch again, but I was wondering how long I can keep at it until it no longer works. This is my second time doing it; first time was almost a year ago.

I’m not using top notch alcohol (50%), and I’m sure that plays a factor to lifespan.

[bhampton]

My guess is several times.

I read the disc cleaning discs can Cause damage and was about to throw out one I have when I noticed it doesn’t have brushes... it has small holes in the disc that make a little tornado over the lens. Decided maybe that’s why I still have it.

[TheBluRayBandito]

Originally Posted by bhampton

My guess is several times.

I read the disc cleaning discs can Cause damage and was about to throw out one I have when I noticed it doesn’t have brushes... it has small holes in the disc that make a little tornado over the lens. Decided maybe that’s why I still have it.

I never even considered a disc cleaner. I thought my player was finally done since it stopped reading discs, so I looked up some DIY tricks. Found the rubbing alcohol/q tip one. I was hesitant to do it because I tried this TWICE on my PS2s (2 different ones!) back in the day, and they completely ****ed it up. No issues here.

[slimdude]

I wouldn't clean the lens until its really necessary because, it shouldn't have to be cleaned that often. I had my Oppo 203 over three years, and I've never had to cleaned the lens. It's been functioning flawlessly ever since. Before you attempt to clean the lens again, try cleaning the disc(s) first and see if it help.

[TheBluRayBandito]

Originally Posted by slimdude

I wouldn't clean the lens until its really necessary because, it shouldn't have to be cleaned that often. I had my Oppo 203 over three years, and I've never had to cleaned the lens. It's been functioning flawlessly ever since. Before you attempt to clean the lens again, try cleaning the disc(s) first and see if it help.

Um, you know I wouldn’t be opening it up if I didn’t have a real reason, right? My discs weren’t the problem. At first The player would take a long time to read, then it just stopped reading any kind of disc.

It’s weird because the drive wasn’t even dirty. I’m guessing the player is made with poor quality material. (I have a Sony blu Ray player.)

[jvonl]

Years ago I sent my Oppo (don't remember which one, perhaps the 83?) back for service. They returned it saying it was a dust/dirt issue, and included a dvdDR cleaning disc. I've used it sparingly ever since with no issues. I figure Oppo knows what they're doing....

[kevers7290]

Originally Posted by TheBluRayBandito

Curious to know if there’s a limit to how many times you can clean the lens with rubbing alcohol. My lens started to give me issues, so I took it apart and cleaned it. It’s working top notch again, but I was wondering how long I can keep at it until it no longer works. This is my second time doing it; first time was almost a year ago.

I’m not using top notch alcohol (50%), and I’m sure that plays a factor to lifespan.

I know that alcohol is scarce right now because of COVID, but I would strongly suggest investing in some "pure" (99%) isopropyl alcohol. Using anything in a lower concentration and you risk damaging your electronic equipment. This is especially true of something as delicate as a laser lens.

[marox79]

I recently bought a cleansing DVD that comes with a fluid. It wasn't expensive. Like €4 plus shipping. My J5900ZF would play the movie for about a minute and then reboots and that was my plan A. Plan B would be taking it to the repair shop, since it could be an issue some players are experiencing due to faulty firmware.