Cleaning camera sensor on the Canon EOS 6D

I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of having to poke into the sensor region of the 6D, one of my mainstay camera for low light and night photography. Since I bought it many years ago I have never ventured  anywhere close to the sensor much less fiddle anywhere near the sensor

After numerous lens changes, moving the camera in and out of the cold into the warmth of the car or house the sensor has picked up some dodgy looking dust and/or spots. Though it did not impact imaging of the night sky or have any grave consequences on the ensuing images, the sheer number of these imperfections have started to show up especially on narrow aperture settings shooting towards a light source or bright expanse. I have a feeling liquid condensation may also have been a culprit.

So I took the plunge. I decided to take the blow it, wet wipe it and dry cleaning it strategy. The blower to remove any potential grit or hard dust particles off the sensor, wet wipe to scrape remaining spots or mark off the sensor and the dry swipe to finish it off.

Having the sensor cleaned professionally at camera shop would cost anywhere in the region of NOK650. A set of 1x wet and  1xdry wipe costs NOK60/each. It took me 3xsets to get it all sorted out. And I'm left with 6x used wipes which I re-wet and use for external cleaning of lenses and cameras.

Before image:

After image:

I admit the issue is not fully resolved ie. it's not 100% dust/dirt free, but at least I will be able to target those remaining persistent spots in PP and maybe tackle them again in the next "sensor" cleaning session. It's only a lowpass filter coating clean up anyways ... I shouldnt be too hung up about wiping them clean now and again.


Note:
What is being swiped by the wipes is actually the lowpass filter which sits on top of the infrared absorption glass which in turn finally sits on top of the actual CMOS sensor. So if the cleaning operation really did go south there's the option of actually getting rid of that lowpass filter and turning the 6D into an astro camera (more reds in future Milkyway shots)!!!

"Sensor" cleaning 6D