Cleaning gratings

Contact with the ruled area of a grating will damage its groove structure.

Dust should only be removed from the grating surface using filtered air.

Fingerprints may occasionally be removed, but more often damage the groove structure.

Surface defects

Two types of surface defects may cause trouble and misunderstandings. One is inherent in the surface of the grating, the other is caused by handling.

The most common handling problem is careless removal or replacement of the plastic grating cover. If this is not done carefully, it is easy to scratch the soft, delicate aluminum film surface. It is important to carefully remove the tape that holds the edge of the cover in place and then slowly lift the cover. The cover should be replaced the same way.

Some gratings have visible surface defects. Many are cosmetic defects that one can see with the naked eye, but which do not adversely affect the performance of the grating. Also visible are occasional grooves on gratings that are ruled too lightly, known as ruling streaks. These ruling streaks also do not affect the performance of the grating.