telescope cleaning...

[smt1988]

the main lens on my refractor scope had water get in to it. ive tryed cleaning it but it just keeps smearing getting worser and worser can any one recommend a place that will clean it for me

[damnut]

Hi Smt1988,

What refractor is it and are you able to get the lens cell out easily??.

Cheers

[smt1988]

its a celestron travel scope 70 yeah you can get the lens cell out easy

[John]

If you can get to the dirty lens surface you could do it yourself with the Baader Optical Wonder Fluid and micro fibre cloth:

First Light Optics - Baader Optical Wonder Fluid

Having the lens cleaned professionally would cost a lot more than the above.

[smt1988]

true il give that ago the badder fluid

[damnut]

Hi SMT1988,

Would echo advice above the baader cleaning kit is c£15 which includes cloths, any screws removed mark with a bit of tippex and do not overtighten on the way back in.

It would probably cost more than the scope to have it done professionally.

Good luck and avoid dust & scratches!!

[wiseman]

I have managed to get a finger mark on the secondary of my sw goto dob, whilst farting about with a dew heater, its easy to get to, is the baader wonder fluid the best solution ( ha ha) for this also please?

Errr, I just checked the FLO site and it said this

Note: Baader Optical Wonder is primarily a lens cleaner, it is not suitable for cleaning Newtonian mirrors.

so thats not the answer for me then, having a newtonian !!

Cheers

Wise

[Moonshane]

I find acetone works well on eyepieces and lenses especially where greasy marks are concerned - beware if you have any hard plastics nearby though, it'll melt them.

[perfrej]

I clean everything I have in terms of glass (coated or aluminized) with a mild soap and cotton balls. Very gently, smoothly and with not too much fluid. You can probably use isopropanol as well which I do with sensors. Stick with pure cotton for the optics and dedicated sensor cleaning swabs where applicable.

[smt1988]

placed and order yesterday for some baader fluid hopefully it will be here tomorow

[smt1988]

the Baader Optical Wonder Fluid worked really good not a mark on my lens at all now thanks for recommending it

[Earl]

[JamesC]

I have managed to get a finger mark on the secondary of my sw goto dob, whilst farting about with a dew heater, its easy to get to, is the baader wonder fluid the best solution ( ha ha) for this also please?

I rinsed my secondary mirror recently. I didn't want to remove the mirror and then have to reattach it so I removed the entire spider. I was worried about getting water on the glue pad holding the mirror on so I rolled out a bit of blue tack and used it to temporarily seal around the join while holding the sides of the mirror (tricky). I then put washing up liquid on the reflective side and then rinsed it off under the tap while trying not to get too much water round the back. I then rinsed it off with deionised water. Hopefully this would get rid of the print, but if it didn't then I would probably try gently using the pad of a finger to move the washing up liquid around a bit. Opinions on mirror cleaning vary. Depending on where the print is and how bad it is you might be best leaving it for now.