Advise requested on cleaning the laser in a CDP

Actully I have the same question - how to care for a CDP. I hope you don't mind me riding on your thread. Mine is a Copland CDA 289 HDCD player. I've had it a little over two years and just lately I've experiencing skips or repeats on CDs which played fine until now. I've never tried using any cleaning products on my CDs or on the CDP. I guess the obvious thing to try is to clean one of the skipping CDs and see if it makes any difference. I guess I'll do just that while we wait responses here...

Most eye glass place carry these and recommend that only this method be used for cleaning PLASTIC lens'es.

I use it on mine, and on the CRT outputs on my projector.

It works like a champ.

loontoon

When my 8-year old transport developed some erratic skipping behavior I gently cleaned the lens using a Q-tip dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol and dried it with a clean one. The result: the transport wouldn't even initialize CD's. A call to the manufacturer informed me that a new laser assembly offering about 95% of the performance of the original one was available for about $300. In a fit of wishful thinking I pondered whether the alcohol shorted something out. The manufacturer suggested I leave the cover off overnight and retest.

The next day the transport continued to play dumb. I studied the mirror finish on the lens with the aid of a magnifying glass. This worked best at an acute angle because looking directly down upon it did not yield an accurate picture of its topmost surface. Only then could I clean it flawlessly. But despite my best effort the transport still refused to initialize any CD. Clearly my cleaning efforts had disturbed something.

I got to thinking about lenses and focusing and repairs and technicians. I dove back into the unit. This time I noticed my lens rests in an elastic cradle. Apparently the Q-tip's pressure on the lens had depressed the lens out of range, too deeply into the cradle. I pried it back into intuitive alignment with the top of the swing arm in which the lens assembly rests. The result: the transport was working again. Yippee! I was back where I started with a perfectly clean lens. Unfortunately the transport still skipped.

In desperation I returned the unit to the manufacturer who replaced some capacitors and lubed the bearings for $225. Result: no skipping at all and normal operation restored. Ta da! The moral: no condition is permanent. Dig into that NAD and give it a bash.

Loontoon what is it that most eyeglass places carry that I should get for cleaning the CDP laser ?