FWIW, on my Scotts SS oil filter (2015 BMW R1200GSA motorcycle), all I’ve ever done is spray it down with brake cleaner. Both the filter screen and SS filter housing get cleaned. I spray it down over the drained oil container. The Scotts has a magnet mounted in the filter, so it catches most of the “bad stuff”. And since it’s SS colored, it’s pretty easy to tell when it’s clean or if there’s still oil on it. The filter is rated to 30 microns, which is much better than the OEM disposable oil filter, IIRC.I like the idea in principle: less waste, less dependence on carrying a spare filter or looking for one in a remote location, and it eliminates the possibility of a disintegrating paper filter. But I'd want to talk to a BMW tech before I tried it, and someone involved in approving warranty work. I'd also want to know more about how to clean it. Seems like that might be a PIA, and if you don't clean it properly you'll be reintroducing some of the dirty oil and/or particulates you'd be discarding if you were using a disposable filter. If there is a lot of downtime associated with cleaning the stainless steel filter, and letting it dry (?) I'd look into getting two filters. The filter alone is just $68. Then you could do a quick oil change, swap in your clean filter, and drop the dirty filter into a bucket of cleaning solution / degreaser / soap and water - or whatever they recommend - but your Gren is ready to drive.
NOTE: this might be totally unrelated, but most mechanics disapprove of washable air filters, like the reusable K&N filters.
Since brake cleaner evaporates dry relatively quickly there’s no reason to have two IMHO. And even if it’s not 100% dry, brake cleaner won’t hurt your engine in those small amounts. The oil and any crap on the filter comes off without scrubbing or use of any brushes. Think of it like cleaning the SS filter on a French press under running water.
Ultimately, the trick is going to be finding a reputable company with an excellent track record that makes a high end SS filter before I go reusable.
With that said, I’m going to contact the company I linked above. Before I do, can anyone give me a short list of:
Year, model, brand of vehicles that uses the same engine as the IG?