Haven't cleaned primary in eight years. Should I?

[pat]

The mirror has a slight amount of dust, actually very little. I've keep it this way.

So please clear up some questions I've heard:

Not cleaning a mirror regularly will hurt the coating.

I can leave it in my Orion 10" mirror cell when cleaning it, then use a blow dryer. Pat

[barkis]

Not cleaning your mirror, is far better than cleaning it badly Pat.

Please don't think I'm suggesting you would do it badly, but I have seen instances of just that.

No need to clean it for the sake of a little dust, they do really have to be bad before they become a pain to use. I think you will know when that time as come .

Ron.

PS. Dust is harmless, and will not harm the surface, unless it is rubbed with a cloth or something, then the result could be myriads of tiny scratches.

[pat]

Thanks, Just needed to know it wouldn't hurt to leave it alone. Also there is no car fumes ect. around it. Although I don't know if second hand smoke would make a differance. ( : Pat

[Tribal-Wolf]

It does depend what is on the mirror. I know of someone who had a spatter of brid dropping on their mirror, not much but little dots covering a fair area. He was told DO NOT clean it. After a couple of months something else got on the mirror so he sent it to be cleaned as he didn't fancy the job, he was told the mirror was ruined due to acid or alkali or something eating into the mirror from the bird ****. He was not a happy man.

[barkis]

Thanks, Just needed to know it wouldn't hurt to leave it alone. Also there is no car fumes ect. around it. Although I don't know if second hand smoke would make a differance. ( : Pat

If the deposits on the surface look uniform, I wouldn't worry.

Any splodge like concentrations are another matter, and should be investigated.