Now I understand - sorry.
I would try to keep everything off of the scope other than cleaners designed for optics or plain water and a soft cloth.

Before you start your cleaning, wrap the scope in a towel end to end so that the lenses are protected and use some safety pins to hold the towel in place.
This should help protect the scope from the cleaners and lube.

As far as the scope finish, I don't think the biodegradable cleaner should bother it too much.

Until I started using the quick release mounts to remove the scope for cleaning, I always wrapped the scopes in a towel and pinned the towel in place before cleaning.