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Plastics Formula Polymer

Meet our new Plastics Formula Polymer. For several years we were approached at trade shows and exhibitions and asked if our Red and Legacy Colorless polymers were compatible with plastic optics. Since the solvent blend in these formulas isn't compatible with some plastics our engineers finally hit the lab to develop a plastics-safe polymer. This polymer is the result!

Plastics Formula Compatibility

Photonic Cleaning Technologies contracted a coating lab to test our FCPL Plastics Formula Polymer on a variety of plastics and they found polystyrene, some acrylics, and Zeonex safe, as well as some polycarbonates. If your plastic type is sensitive to solvents such as alcohols you should test before wholesale application. Even some acrylics, polystyrene that have problems with alcohols can sometimes be cleaned with our Plastics Formula depending on properties such as molecular weight and crosslinking of the plastic. Our engineers believe the key may be that our polymer is only on for a short time and dries, so it will work even when optics are not considered "compatible" with certain alcohols. Specially formulated to safely remove all contaminants from optical surfaces, First Contact is a proprietary blend of solvents designed to clean first surface mirrors, diffraction gratings, and diffractive optics to the molecular level. First Contact is low-adhesion, leaves no residue, and is carefully designed not to thermally shock or remove coatings – simply apply, dry, and peel to reveal an atomically clean, contaminant-free surface.

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Proven Results

Sequential progression First Contact cleaning BRDF test.
[LIGO / Caltech / MIT]

When your interferometer needs to measure movement thousands of times smaller than a proton, your system’s optical components must be completely free of contamination and residue in order to perform with unprecedented precision. Learn how First Contact outperforms traditional drag wipe cleaning methods, ensuring a pristinely clean, protected surface.

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Shipping Restrictions
We cannot ship to P.O. boxes. We must have a physical address in order to ship First Contact Polymers.

Coated Optics
Certain coatings have inherently poor adhesion, especially if manufactured without effective substrate preparation, particularly gold and silver coatings and replicated aluminum gratings. Always test on an inconspicuous or non-critical area first.