Tube flock and mirror wash

[Starflyer]

I do like my little Skywatcher, but I also like to tinker

I was inspired by Daz's mirror wash and Dave's flocking threads. Here's a few pics from last night;

Tube before flocking;

(click to enlarge)

Mirror before wash;

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Mirror after a very gentle wash with very dilute soapy water, tons of cotton wool balls used, many rinses with filtered water and then a quick blowdry with SWMBO's hairdryer;

(click to enlarge)

Tube flocked and part assembled;

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Secondary edge flocked and job finished;

(click to enlarge)

I popped home at lunchtime and got it collimated, the forecast looks good tonight so hopefully I'll be able to get a couple of hours of observing / imaging done. I'll let you know if I can see any difference.

Thanks for reading,

Ian

[James]

Ian, the third picture down - I'm really worried as it looks like you've painted your mirror black? :shock:

I'm looking forward to hearing if its made a difference!

James

[SteelRat]

Good work Ian. That flocking looks spot on 8)

[DaveGibbons]

Ian, You have done a grand job there! I must admit I liked your mirror before you cleaned with it's own little galaxy of stars

Cheers

Dave

[Whippy]

Looking good the Ian, I'll be doing the same to mine at some point...

Tony..

[blinky]

My mirror is a lot worse than yours was. I am just too scared to do it though!

[daz]

Ian

What did you use for flocking?

[Starflyer]

Ian, the third picture down - I'm really worried as it looks like you've painted your mirror black? :shock:

:D

Thanks Mathew, Dave and Tony, the hardest bit was getting the flocking smooth and square in the tiny tube.

Hi Craig - the scariest part for me was removing the mirror from the cell, I knew if I slipped with the screwdriver it would all be over :shock: The wash worried me too but went really well, I soaked it for about 30 mins and nearly all of the fluff / pollen came off when I lifted it out of the water. I'd read lots on doing this; I only used the weight of the wet cotton wool ball and followed the one ball one wipe rule.

Hi Daz - I used a self adhesive felt from here; http://www.craft-felt.co.uk/sarmtr.htm I've got enough left over to knock up a 'camping mat' dew shield

I did get set up last night; the Pleiades cluster looked as lovely as ever, the nebulosity in Orion s sword was quite well defined. I set up the lappy to try and grab some images of Mars, it was clear one minute and then I looked up and there was almost solid cloud

I'll keep you posted and I'm hoping the next batch of my images will show some increase in contrast.

Thanks,

Ian

[dogfish]

Wow Ian,

You're brave. It looks great though. Here's hoping it'll make a difference to your imaging.

Cheers, Martin

[legion48]

Great job Ian. I wish I had the nerve to try it. :?

[markcol]

Looks a meticulous job Ian, looking forward to your assessment of the improvement when you get a decent night with it!

Cheers

Mark

[beamish]

Cor blimey Ian that's a fantastic transformation and improvement. Brave very brave, well done.

Karlo

[George]

Nice job there and the flocking looks good, my mirror is filthy compared with yours (thats only 8 months old) I'll leave cleaning mine now until end of season.