100% isopropyl alcohol is best. If you can't get pure isopropyl alcohol, use rubbing alcohol. It is "usually" 70% isopropyl alcohol. But, rubbing alcohol is a generic names. It can change over time and different countries put different things in rubbing alcohol. Same with methylated spirits. It is basically the same as denatured alcohol. It can contain a lot of different ingredients. Since you don't really know what is in it, it is hard to say if it will leave contaminants. I hope this helps.
A nasty fingerprint, or a chunk of dirt or grease is probably worse thing you could get on a bulb. You could clean those off with other cleaners. But a lot of bulbs have a special coating to change the characteristics of the light they emit. You risk removing any special coating the bulb may have. Even with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), you should keep it brief to reduce the chance of removing special coatings. Also, the other chemicals may leave a film that could cause hotspots and cause the bulb to eventually crack due to uneven expansion.
One of my HID's light bulbs from the fog lights was touching the plastic housing and started melting a small part of it and now that melted plastic is on the light bulb . How can you remove that without damaging the hid bulb?
That's a new one on me. Depends on how well the plastic bonded to the glass. You might be able to pop it off with a razor blade. Other than that, once you give up and are ready to buy a new one, might as well try to heat it up with a hairdryer and see if it will release from the glass.
You can use those things, but they may leave a thin film that can make the bulb get hotter in some places than others. That may eventually cause it to crack. A drop of dishsoap and water will clean most stuff off. If at all possible, follow up with rubbing alcohol.
It "probably" wouldn't hurt, but depending on the bulb design, there could be a special coating on the outside. The lacquer thinner might remove or damage the coating. Probably best to check with the manufacturer or use something more gentile like rubbing alcohol or even watered down rubbing alcohol.
Even a paper-towel and alcohol would remove fingerprints and most other contaminants, but it would leave behind paper fibers from the paper towel. Any cloth that doesn't leave fibers behind would be better. So a cotton cloth or a micro-fiber cloth should work fine.
Ethyl alcohol would "probably" be fine, but I think it is a little more harsh than isopropyl. So, there is a chance it could damage delicate coatings that might be on specialty halogen bulbs. If you suspect there is a coating on the bulb, it would be best to stick with isopropyl alcohol. If it is an expensive bulb, you could check with the manufacturer to see if they have a recommendation.
I don't bother with halogen. It causes no real difference you can notice to the lighting, and, some say it can harm the longevity of the bulb but that's just a baseless story. When Halogen lights came out people got their fingers burned trying to change the bulbs. They won in court because the finding was that they had a reasonable expectation that they could change them as normal while in reality they run much hotter and require either much more time to cool or protection when trying to change them. Now they advise not trying to change them with bare fingers in an effort to avoid liability.
Thank you, I got a food drip on the bulb in my toaster oven air fryer and knew there was a specific way to clean but not sure how. Thank you again.
How about cleaning car bulbs with methylated spirits?
100% isopropyl alcohol is best. If you can't get pure isopropyl alcohol, use rubbing alcohol. It is "usually" 70% isopropyl alcohol. But, rubbing alcohol is a generic names. It can change over time and different countries put different things in rubbing alcohol. Same with methylated spirits. It is basically the same as denatured alcohol. It can contain a lot of different ingredients. Since you don't really know what is in it, it is hard to say if it will leave contaminants. I hope this helps.
Thanks. On closer inspection, it turns out that a bulb I just put in was scuffed! But it's working....... so far.
small scratches anyway
can you use brake cleaner or parts wash to clean the HID bulbs?
A nasty fingerprint, or a chunk of dirt or grease is probably worse thing you could get on a bulb. You could clean those off with other cleaners. But a lot of bulbs have a special coating to change the characteristics of the light they emit. You risk removing any special coating the bulb may have. Even with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), you should keep it brief to reduce the chance of removing special coatings. Also, the other chemicals may leave a film that could cause hotspots and cause the bulb to eventually crack due to uneven expansion.
One of my HID's light bulbs from the fog lights was touching the plastic housing and started melting a small part of it and now that melted plastic is on the light bulb . How can you remove that without damaging the hid bulb?
That's a new one on me. Depends on how well the plastic bonded to the glass. You might be able to pop it off with a razor blade. Other than that, once you give up and are ready to buy a new one, might as well try to heat it up with a hairdryer and see if it will release from the glass.
Can you use mineral turpentine to wax grease remover something like this as it's all I have
You can use those things, but they may leave a thin film that can make the bulb get hotter in some places than others. That may eventually cause it to crack. A drop of dishsoap and water will clean most stuff off. If at all possible, follow up with rubbing alcohol.
Thanks fella that was great info
Accidentally touched it 😭
can I use lacquer thinner to clean HID bulbs?
It "probably" wouldn't hurt, but depending on the bulb design, there could be a special coating on the outside. The lacquer thinner might remove or damage the coating. Probably best to check with the manufacturer or use something more gentile like rubbing alcohol or even watered down rubbing alcohol.
So For high-temperature bulbs, don't use a micro-fiber cloth?
Even a paper-towel and alcohol would remove fingerprints and most other contaminants, but it would leave behind paper fibers from the paper towel. Any cloth that doesn't leave fibers behind would be better. So a cotton cloth or a micro-fiber cloth should work fine.
fixpro256
Thx.
can I use ethyl alcohol for cleaning halogen bulbs?
Ethyl alcohol would "probably" be fine, but I think it is a little more harsh than isopropyl. So, there is a chance it could damage delicate coatings that might be on specialty halogen bulbs. If you suspect there is a coating on the bulb, it would be best to stick with isopropyl alcohol. If it is an expensive bulb, you could check with the manufacturer to see if they have a recommendation.
thanks for replying, guess its better to stick with isopropyl alcohol then.
I don't bother with halogen. It causes no real difference you can notice to the lighting, and, some say it can harm the longevity of the bulb but that's just a baseless story. When Halogen lights came out people got their fingers burned trying to change the bulbs. They won in court because the finding was that they had a reasonable expectation that they could change them as normal while in reality they run much hotter and require either much more time to cool or protection when trying to change them. Now they advise not trying to change them with bare fingers in an effort to avoid liability.
Replacing xenon bulb with an led