The golf Rangefinder is one of the necessary tools for a golfer. While it may not increase your skill, it will certainly help you to line up the shots more precisely by measuring distance. You have to clean the body and lens separately and it can sometimes take a bit.
How to Clean the Golf Rangefinder?
There are mainly two parts that we are going to focus on when we are cleaning the rangefinder. These are obviously the body and the lens. But before you start your cleaning process turn off the rangefinder and take out any removable parts like battery, SD card, and rubber grips (if possible).
Battery and SD card can get damaged if it comes in contact with the cleaning agent. So removing them is very necessary. The same can be said about rubber grips. But if yours doesn’t have removable rubbers then just skip those areas and clean them with a dry cloth.
Cleaning the Body
Once you are done taking out everything you need to focus on cleaning the body. Most of the golf rangefinder comes with a cleaning cloth. But in case yours didn’t have any or maybe you can’t find your cloth then any microfiber cloth will work too.
Other than clothes, you will need some cleaning agent to clean the body and lens cleaner for the lens. You need to have separate clothes to clean the body and lens or else the dust will only go from one place to another and it will not actually get cleaned.
Clean any Extra Dirt
If there is any dirt or dust on the body you can use your hand, nail, or any appropriate tool to pick it off. But make sure to be gentle when doing so or else the body can get scratched.
While it doesn’t affect the performance of the device it can be not appealing to look at. One of the perks of cleaning the rangefinder is it will look as good as new. So no one wants it to look all scratched up after cleaning.
Clean Using Cleaning Agent
Now that you have removed all the extra dirt from the outside, it is time to start cleaning using a cleaning agent.
To clean with the cleaning agent, all you have to do is spray the cleaning agent on your microfiber cloth. Now gently rub the whole body with it. You can put a little pressure on it but be careful not to be too hard on it.
Using a wet and a little warm cloth is better than dry and normal ones. It will give you a smoother cleaning experience. It will also clean better because cleaning agents work better in a little warmer environment.
Cleaning the Lens
You have to be a bit more careful while cleaning the lens than you were with the body. If you mess up anything while cleaning the lens it can affect the performance of the device. But it is necessary to keep the lens clean too because dirty lenses also mess with the measurement of the device.
To clean the lens you have to get a new cloth or use a part of the cloth that you haven’t used for cleaning the body. The lens cleaning agent is generally separate from normal cleaning agents. These normal cleaning agents can even harm the lens. So getting a new cloth is the safer option.
Start by spraying the lens cleaner on the cloth. Then take the cloth and wipe the lens clean. For maximum efficiency, use a zig zag pattern to clean the lens. That way the extra dirt from the previous swipe gets clean the next swipe. Also, make sure not to push it too hard when cleaning.
Cleaning the Inside of a Golf Rangefinder
Cleaning the inside is a pretty hard task to do. It is better to just send it for repair than try to do it yourself. You don’t usually need to clean the inside of the rangefinder. The only time you may need it is when there is moisture or dirt on the inside screen of the lens.
You can follow any video to open up the rangefinder. If you open it up make sure to have some zipper bags to store all the small things so that none of them gets lost in the process. While you are at it you can clean up the inside too.
You can use a toothbrush to reach the hard to reach areas on the inside if you want to clean the area. Take some cleaning agent and mix it with water then dip the toothbrush in the water and use it clean everything. Use the lens cleaning agent and fresh cloth to clean the inside lens and screen.
After you are done cleaning the inside you have to dry it thoroughly before putting them back together. Drying is very important because if not done correctly it can cause a short circuit and damage it beyond repair. Keep it open and air dry it for a whole day. Then put it back together and you are good to go.
FAQ
Q: How do I get the moisture out of my rangefinder?
Ans: The quickest solution is to put it in a rice bowl.
Q: Do rangefinders wear out?
Ans: No there isn’t anything that wears out in a rangefinder. But you may want to keep the battery outside of the device since the battery can get wear off in time.
Q: Do pros use rangefinders?
Ans: It is not allowed on the professional scene thus pros cannot use it.
Conclusion
Bushnell is one of the best golf rangefinder brands in the market. While it is not used on the competitive scene it is a useful tool nonetheless. If you want to improve your golf then it is a very good device to have but it also needs proper maintenance to be accurate. So checking and cleaning it from time to time will be something that you need to do.
irwin a steinman says
I put mine in Damp Rid and in two days the moisture was gone
but its still dirty.