[font color=\'#000000\']Ok, I gave 2 products a try today.
I decided to use a mirror as this would show off clearly if any dust was still around after the application. It would also show if the rubber left any unwanted film.
The first product I tried is a rubber based product called rubber-sep. This is a liquid which one paints on. There were 2 problems with this product - the first is that it is designed to apply on in micron thickness. I applied as much as what I felt would enable one to include a tag to lift it off. The problem was that after 1/2 hr it was still pretty liquid - so I scrapped that idea.
The other problem that I came up with was that it's ok applying a liquid to a mirror, but I'd really be concerned trying to apply it into a camera body where you are trying to work into a cramped space. Getting this stuff over the edges of the sensor would have caused untold grief. You'd have to start digging around next to your sensor with instruments etc!!! No thank you.
The second product I tried was a rubber based impression material. - Yip the same stuff we use to take a mould of your mouth. That seemed a lot more promising as it's applied with a gun and one can put on fine tips for easy application. It's viscosity is also way better for easier control, and is capable of picking up incredibly fine detail (hopefully trapping the dirt). It's also designed to set no matter how thick.
Anyhow I tried this to the mirror as well, but I'm not too sure that it picked up any particles, rather took a great impression of them!!!
There are a few different viscosities of this material and I'll be trying out different products over the next few days.
Another problem I found with this whole method of cleaning was the tenacity that each material would cling to the mirror. It's purely a matter of hydraulics. Because of the incredibly close fit of these materials there is a very strong suction created between the material and the mirror. The material comes off very easily if you can lift one side, but if you try lifting the material from 2-3mm inside of the edge, it becomes very difficult to peel off. I'd personally be very worried about putting that amount of strain on a sensor. I'm not too sure how we'd manage to get a lifting tag that close to the edge every time.
Anyhow I'll be putting some ideas into action over the course of next week, and I'll keep you posed if I come up with anything.
Clint[/font]