advice please on 12" mirror cleaning

[todd8137]

Hi all ,well the reflector is nearly a couple years old and have never cleaned the prime mirror ,the secondary.so i brought some cotton wool and some distilled water it says de ionized

is it the same as distilled water ,man at the garage told me its the same? so what are peoples thoughts on this ?.or not have watched a million videos on how to do this till am blue in the face ,so should a do it its a bit dirty not enough to alter the great views but whilst shinning a torch down it it looks like it does,what are your views have you cleaned your mirror what tips would you give me ?do you think i should send it of,which i bet will cost bomb or just bite the bullet and get it done,the only bit that bothers me if the water leaves marks i brought some not scented non colored hand soap,so if you have cleaned a reflector could you please tell me how you found the experience and any pit falls to watch out for as all the videos show me is what to do,and not what may go wrong i do not and would not use any cleaners for this cheers

todd8137

clear skies always (even tho autumn is on its way)

and yes my grammar is not the best

[Stephen]

1) NO! It's not the same stuff - de-ionized still contains impurities, distilled does not.

2) Do you "really" need to clean it? Best advice I've seen is if it isn't bothering you, don't do it

[GazOC]

I'd leave it Todd. Mirrors always look bad when you shine a torch at them, it seems to pick up every little spec. If its not affecting the views the scope is giving then its not really achieving anything TBH.

[todd8137]

1) NO! It's not the same stuff - de-ionized still contains impurities, distilled does not.

2) Do you "really" need to clean it? Best advice I've seen is if it isn't bothering you, don't do it

ermm will not use that then its not bothering me but i live close to a road, and have it in my head all those fumes from the cars will do some damage if left ? so back to garage with this then

thanks

[Ptarmigan]

so i brought some cotton wool and some distilled water it says de ionized

is it the same as distilled water

NO ! it is not.

the man at garage was wrong

de-ionised is water prepared with ion exchange resins ( there are many different types of resin) the resulting water may contain residual chemicals used in the re-activation of those resins as well as the ions that have been substituted for the calcium, sulphate and bicarbonate ions.

Have a look at this post > http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/155932-distilled-water-reflector-cleaning.html#post1949886

and at the rest of that thread.

[todd8137]

I'd leave it Todd. Mirrors always look bad when you shine a torch at them, it seems to pick up every little spec. If its not affecting the views the scope is giving then its not really achieving anything TBH.

thanks for your reply

i must have ocd because things have to be perfect for me all the time i should give it up ,i may just leave it for now

thanks

[todd8137]

NO ! it is not.

the man at garage was wrong

de-ionised is water prepared with ion exchange resins ( there are many different types of resin) the resulting water may contain residual chemicals used in the re-activation of those resins as well as the ions that have been substituted for the calcium, sulphate and bicarbonate ions.

Have a look at this post > http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/155932-distilled-water-reflector-cleaning.html#post1949886

and at the rest of that thread.

no in a word ,but just did the mind forgets things as you get older

i am thing of leaving it alone to be honest thanks again for your reply

[todd8137]

Thanks every one so far ,i may take a pic and post it and see what every one thinks should have done that to start with

todd

[Ptarmigan]

i am thing of leaving it alone

Phew. yes, that's a relief !! Caution I think is the watch-word

Distilled in glass is ok. And reverse osmosis is ok.