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Telescopes: Refractors, SCT, Dobs, etc. Phase Masks/Gratings Forensic Fingerprinting
Large Observatories

Achieve Atomically Clean Optics with First Contact Polymer

First Contact Polymer is specially formulated to clean and protect precision optical surfaces. Safe to use on all kinds of glass, most coated optical surfaces, fused silica, aluminum-coated mirror surfaces, and much more.First Contact™ is the safest cleaning product and the only protective film that also cleans an optic.

Diffraction Gratings and Phase Masks

Cleaning gratings, such as replicated aluminum diffraction gratings, with First Contact™ Polymer Solution must be done with great care, but we and many customers have been successful cleaning replicated aluminum gratings. Traditional methods are time consuming and require hazardous chemicals. Replicated gratings are very fragile and easily damaged. A thin coat of spray polymer will exhibit very low adhesion and give you the best opportunity for success. First Contact™ simplifies cleaning replicated gratings and can eliminate many hazardous chemicals.

Phase masks, often fused silica or quartz, are easily cleaned with First Contact Polymers. Simply apply a generous amount of First Contact™ to the phase mask and allow it to dry. If the contaminants are only particulates the application rate may be as little as 1 ml for each 3.5 square inches, 22.5 square centimeters; but if there are skin oils or fingerprints use 1 ml for each 2 square inches, 13 square centimeters. When lifting oils from a contaminated phase mask a thick polymer coat will help dissolve the oils. If the oily contamination is heavy, it may help to rinse with an organic solvent prior to using First Contact.

High Powered Laser Optics

As an alternative to the drag wipe method, First Contact is a "touch-free" one-part strip coating system designed to clean precision optics to the molecular level. Available in kits and bulk bottles, simply apply, dry, and peel off the polymer to reveal a pristinely clean surface.

Observatory Telescope Mirrors

First Contact is trusted to clean large, unprotected mirrors in some of the world's premier observatories, such as the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii at 14,000 ft atop Mauna Kea, ESO La Silla ITT, SLRSC Western Range Depot Optics Group, and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Fingerprint Lifting for Forensics

Ideal for print lifts and print preservation, First Contact matches surface contours, holds particulate material (such as dusting powders) in their exact relative orientation, and fixes the print without distortion. The formula is uniquely suited to preserve and collect latent prints from frozen, textured, mottled, and other hard-to-process surfaces.