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cleaning the primary mirror has any one attempted it yet

crbazzer

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crbazzer

crbazzer

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I finally decided to give it a go today,It was a bit nerve racking to start with and I was sweating like a pig just thinking about what damage could be done if I wasn't carefull.having completed the task successfully it's not that big of a deal and I would certainally do it again no problem.the mirror looks brilliant now so just can't wait for some clear skies to try it out.obviously it needed collimating afterwards but that's not a problem.

So for anyone wanting to have a go,research a little bit (a couple of vids on utube were a great help) and give it a go,its not as bad as people make out,just be careful.one more thing everyone says you must use distilled water to rinse the mirror after cleaning but it is difficult to get hold of so I used deionised water and it worked fine leaving no streaks.so good luck and don't be afraid. Just to add,it was the mirror from my 12" dob.

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Digz

Digz

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Right, now I know who to blame for the clouds...... :)

Seriously, good work. I must admit its something I dont have the courage to do yet, but seems as the chip in the mirror isnt effecting anything I think the dust has a reprieve :)

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crbazzer

crbazzer

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Go for it digz,it not as bad as you might think,but I know what you mean,I was a bit scared to start it but it turned out OK and the mirror looks superb now,well worth the effort.took me a few weeks to pluck up courage to attempt it.but its really not that hard.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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it's not at all dangerous as long as you follow the various good tutorials. I never touch my mirrors, just give them a long rinse/soak and then a final rinse. this gets off all but the very occasional bits and they can stay put really.

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Skybrowser

Skybrowser

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Some say it's not really necessary to clean the mirror as there is no deterioration in performance if it gets a little dusty. I therefore hung on for several months before deciding it looked so bad that it needed a spring clean.

I followed the instructions on the You Tube vid (I think we've all watched the same one here) and took great care, as if I was handling something very fragile. Anyway, it came up a treat. I did manage to get distilled water for the final rinse and it looked like new.

First time out with the scope and I noticed a hell of a difference. Maybe my eyes got fully dark adapted, maybe the seeing was good, maybe there was no moon, but all in all, it just looked so much better.

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crbazzer

crbazzer

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maybe its psychological, and i know they say it doesn't matter if the mirror is dusty, but surely if its clean it will reflect the light so much better,either way to me if it looks like new i feel better and i will know that the viewing is as good as i can get, so long as the collimation is ok. It certainly won't do any harm and it can only do good.so congratulations to all who have attempted it and for those who haven't.then go for it.

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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Make sure you use distilled water though next time as deionised water contains impurities.

+1

Deionisation doesn't remove all impurities it can still have organic molecules and bacteria:eek: in it.

You can use regular tap water to wash the mirror just make sure the final rinse is with Distilled water.

Regards Steve

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