If an optical element—such as a lens or a mirror—gets dirty or dusty, then light gets scattered from the dust and dirt and reduces the performance of the optical system.  On the other hand, if you clean the optical element and leave a scratch, light will scatter from the scratch and permanently reduce the performance of your system.  That’s why there’s a lot of attention paid to cleaning optics, as outlined in this article reprint. Sounds like a situation just screaming for ultrasonic cleaning.  For some types of glass, the article says ultrasonic cleaning is just the ticket.

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