More sensor cleaning - beware the blower!

Hi Guys just a note to tell you of the woes I've had this week with my *iSTD and how I solved the problem.
One of the first things I bought following the purchase of my new camera was a new blower which i bought from Jessops - a model called the 'Hurricane' - it looked suitably big and powerful. I used it once with no probs, but earlier in the week I noticed some tell tale grey spots so I gave the sensor a good sharp blast and then peered in to see to my horror that the the sensor was covered in gunge. I did a little test fire on a skylight filter which confirmed my initial conclusion - the blower was dumping a horrible greasy residue that left a nasty greasy streak when wiped with a lens cloth. I wouldnt have been surprised if the blower was 10 years old but 4 weeks!
I frequent a newsgroup called alt.lasers where there has recently been some talk of a wonder optical cleaning product called 'Opticlean' someone had posted a link to a photo shop in Taunton who sell it on the net so I went on there and ordered 2 bottles (£15 for a bottle smaller than a bottle of nail varnish - it better be good!) Its a liquid you paint onto the surface of whatever needs cleaning and it sets to a gel which you then peel off with the supplied sticky tabs and it takes the grime - including fingerprints etc - with it.
Well the magic stuff arrived this morning and I have just given my sensor its fourth treatment and I am confident it will be the last. I expected to take a few gos to clear the muck due to the amount deposited and with each application it has improved to the point where now there is very little contamination on the surface.
Its a tricky job and you need a steady hand - plus i closed the shutter back over during curing to preserve batteries and to avoid ingress of more crap but its well worth a look if you ever get more than the usual dirt on the sensor.
Needless to say that blower will not be going near my camera again!!

The manufacturers (or distributors) site is here
http://www.caliope.co.uk
and the shop in Taunton's link is here
http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/pp/Photography%20Supplies/Cleaning/Opticlean%20Polymer%20Lens%20Cleaner.html
Hope it helps
Rob (feeling mighty reliveved!)

This image shows what it was like before I started


and this what it was like following the first application - quite a difference!

...not so sure about putting sticky gel on the CCD...
Because the CCD is electrically charged, some gunk can get really stuck. I'm not sure that the gel will always remove it.

FYI, I've followed the instructions available on the web regarding the use of Eclipse fluid and PecPads, both of which are available in the UK. I have personally cleaned my *ist-D sensor twice with excellent results. Second cleaning produced a 100% clean sensor

Here's a link to the description:
http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning

Matt

You may also want to look at this:
http://www.ephotozine.com/news/fullnews.cfm?NewsID=1858