Cleaning/lense material used in typical dome cameras?

[DaleTX]

I was thinking about potential emergency measures that might have to be taken in the case of vandalism, where paint gets on the camera (spray/enamel paint, not just latex paint). I could have several potential paint removers ready, but I think most of them might damage plastic. Are these camera lenses usually glass, or plastic? I believe there's also probably an outer plastic window on most cameras, so that most likely would get damaged by the paint remover chemicals.

As an alternative to chemicals, what about a power washer? Is that capable of removing spray paint without damaging a camera? What sort of PSI would be used for that purpose? I know you can cut steel with high enough PSI so obviously, there's a "Goldilocks Zone" for this sort of thing.

 

[Phil]

If a camera gets painted you will never clean it adequately, you will need to replace the dome cover.
You only have to consider that a thumb print on the dome is enough to ruin night-time performance - no way that you are going to clean paint off and get back to the required standard of cleanliness / clarity.
You might be lucky and be able to rotate the dome bubble and use the unaffected side.
You should be able to purchase a replacement cover from an authorised Hikvision reseller.

 

[DaleTX]

Sounds like something worthy of an episode of MythBusters. If a powerwasher worked, it would be by mechanical action, but it might also damage the seal allowing water inside. Note that i was talking about emergency actions that could be taken to restore surveillance coverage - whether there is some distortion of the cover caused by the paint remover or not, that's still better than no working camera.

Worst case scenario I suppose, it could just be sanded off and then buffed smooth. Not sure how a rough surface would impact the image - the cover is not in focus so the amount of distortion woiuld be limited (not considering the IR LEDs for the moment.)