Brillo pads any good for reflector Mirrors??

[Sgt Pinback]

I am so new to this, that I have only peeled off the Sun Spotters warning sticker - and not afraid to ask silly questions...

Having unpacked my new Skywatcher Heritage 130p reflector and 'read the manual', I thought the section on cleaning was a bit vague, so I have a couple of related practical questions please - about the big hole in the front:

Q 1: This is an outdoor past-time. What do you do if you suspect that the mirror has got a bit dusty? The manual suggests a soft puffer brush, which sounds sensible (if your arms are long enough), but surely you would just be blowing the dust around? Do you clean it upside down and then use a vac? Does the mirror detach?

Q 2: A passing fruit bat has been eating berries and scores a direct hit down the open tube... OK I made that up, but: What do you do if you get a mark on the mirror that in any other circumstance you would wipe off with a damp cloth? The mirror would be intact, but the puffer brush no good here. Is it terminal, do you need it done professionally?

Q 3: I fumble and, in slow motion, the eyepiece falls into the telescope. Noooo... Ring-a-Ding. Is that curtains for the telescope? Can you get replacement mirrors, or is that 95% of the telescope cost?

Thankfully none of these have happened to me yet, but I am sure they have to some. Thanks, Tony

[Chris]

The general rule of thumb is to NOT clean the mirror unless it is very dirty indeed, and I'm talking of several years of dust, muck and dead insects. Having said this I would indeed clean it if the fruit bat got involved:D

I've only ever cleaned a primary mirror once and I used this Youtube vid as guidance:

You would need to remove the primary from the scope first, there tends to be screws in the side of the tube at its base for this.

Chris

[rowan46]

1 dust on the mirror has to be pretty bad to affect viewing quality to any degree so leave cleaning it until it reaches that point

2 http://www.celestron...barticleid=1738 (nb in the case of fruit bats and bird droppings clean asap as the acids in their faeces can cause damage to the silvering)

3 don't drop eyepieces. but mirror spares for the common scopes can be sourced on ebay and the like

[nephilim]

Firstly, if its dust it really doesnt matter, the advice i've heard is, if it affects your viewing slightly dont clean it, if it affects your viewing quite a bit dont clean it & if it affects your viewing badly rinse with warm soapy water & then with distilled water & leave it to airdry. Replacement mirrors are expensive so my advice would be 'BE careful'.

Steve

[Sgt Pinback]

Great practical advice and a useful video link, thanks all.

I hope I never need it!

Tony

[NGC 1502]

Errrm, you have just got to be having a laugh here, mentioning Brillo pads for cleaning mirrors, but just in case anyone is reading this who doesn't know - under absolutely no circumstances should Brillo pads or any abrasive be used to clean telescope optics.

Cheers, Ed.

[the bishop]

WOW :eek:

Brillo pads any good for reflector Mirrors??

i think i did about 3 double takes at your heading,

in a day where the snow has driven me crazy once again, another 6"

i did have a good old laugh when i realised...

but just to agree with NGC 1502

**** but just in case anyone is reading this who doesn't know -

under absolutely no circumstances should Brillo pads

or any abrasive be used to clean telescope optics!!!

but thanks for making me smile

[Mzungu]

and as for cillit bang...

[damnut]

Hi There,

If you must clean it, all good advice above. Also worth investing in Baader wonderfluid & Microfibre cloth.

Only clean if it looks like there is a birds nest on the mirror. And then think twice.

Cheer

[Naemeth]

and as for cillit bang...

Bang, and that expensive thing you used to call a mirror coating... is gone!

Personally, I'd use distilled water to wash it, but only when it's really really dirty. I've had mine since March, it had been unused before then for several months, it's a little bit dusty, but not very. It's too much to risk damaging the coatings, recoating a mirror isn't cheap.

[MorningMajor]

I did find the Brilo pads introduced some diffraction spikes!

[E621Keith]

Hi There,

If you must clean it, all good advice above. Also worth investing in Baader wonderfluid & Microfibre cloth.

Only clean if it looks like there is a birds nest on the mirror. And then think twice.

Cheer

No, No, No. Baader fluid and micro fibre cloth is for lenses. They shouldn't be anywhere near a mirror. Aluminium coating on mirror is extremely soft and scratches extremely easily. Even if the mirror has protective overcoat, it is still weak compare to those on lenses.

The only good way to clean mirror is the one shown in Steppenwolf's video, and even then it's not 100% safe. Hence don't clean if is not absolutely necessary.