Two flocking questions

[Rusty Strings]

I've been reading the various posts concerning OTA flocking and being a obsessive tinkerer I feel compelled to have a go with my explorer 200, two questions spring to mind

The self adhesive felt material looks as if it could be a beast to apply in such a confined space, is it applied in one piece or would cutting into smaller "tiles" be more practical?

Isn't felt a bit absorbant, after a dewy night out wouldn't it get damp/wet?

John

[themos]

I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to use felt. And I look forward to learning the trick of applying the material on the inside of a tube.

[James]

I have some flocking paper that I will apply just as soon as I get round to it (could be months... :? ). Its pretty water resistant so I'm not worried about dew/water.

Apparently the recommended way to put the stuff on is in strips...

James

[Andrew*]

I've just unwrapped a roll of this stuff.

It's very black, and doesn't seem to shed anything. Of course I will look out for anything coming off it. Someone on the forum posted a link to this site - can't remember who? And yes, I imagine it won't be easy to flock the whole tube in a oner, but I'll try it and let you know how I get on...

Andrew

[Rusty Strings]

I'll be keen to hear how you get on Andrew

I must admit to being a little scepital about felt only because of its absorbancy, can anybody whose used it comment, condensation on mirriors is one thing but I wouldn't fancy having to dry out the OTA after a damp night.

What does flocking paper look and feel like and is it absorbant?

John

[beamish]

I have some flocking paper that I will apply just as soon as I get round to it (could be months... :? ). Its pretty water resistant so I'm not worried about dew/water.

Apparently the recommended way to put the stuff on is in strips...

James

Is that like the stuff from Hobbycraft ?

[tom.yates]

Ive flocked loads of newt with no problem

[James]

Is that like the stuff from Hobbycraft ?

Not sure - its the stuff from Scopestuff .

James

[beamish]

Looks almost identical, though a fair bit pricier :shock:

[tom.yates]

Here ya go guys just type a search( flocking a newtonian telescope)

[Starflyer]

I've just unwrapped a roll of this stuff.

It's very black, and doesn't seem to shed anything. Of course I will look out for anything coming off it. Someone on the forum posted a link to this site - can't remember who? And yes, I imagine it won't be easy to flock the whole tube in a oner, but I'll try it and let you know how I get on...

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

That's the stuff I used for my little newt; http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,19946.0.html.

I can see a few fibres on the mirror now, but virtually nothing compared to the amount of dust and pollen that was on it before the wash. I guess you could give the felt a very light spray with a flat black paint to lock the loose fibres in if you thought it necessary.

The felt doesn't (to my knowledge) absorb much dew. I had a couple of imaging sessions in February where the dew was dripping off everything, I put the gear away in the garage afterwards, with dust caps on and the following evening the mirrors were clear. If the felt had been damp, with the dust caps fitted, I would have expected the mirrors to have been fogged up?

Warning - that felt is very very sticky - Warning

Cheers,

Ian

[philsail1]

John,

I "flocked" my 200mm Skywatcher Newtonian using the self adhesive "Hobbycraft" paper, but I stuck it to some thin white card first and then slid the card down the inside of the scope's tube (after first removing the main mirror, the secondary mirror and spider, and the focusser. It sounds daunting but it was straightforward. I've several photos of the job. They were on one of the threads on SGL but they've been removed (Why do photo's get removed after a while?) so I'll post them again when I get home from work tonight.

I used a bit of the paper to "flock" the inside of the dew shield of my latest acquisition - my TAL100RS. The shield is only some 6 inches long so I thought I would cut the flocking paper into two inch strips and stick them onto the inside of the shield. This was very, very fiddly for as soon as the paper touches anything - it sticks! (even to your fingers). I had the devil of a job getting the strips straight, and getting them to match up edge to edge to eachother.

My method of sticking the flocking paper first to a sheet of thin card (thin enough to easily conform to the inside tube of your scope) involved a bit more preparation (you have to carefully cut the card (by trial and error) exactly to the inside circumference of your scope. It then should slide inside (keep it a fairly tight fit) and when you place everything back it easily holds in place, and you have a perfectly smooth inner flocked lining for your scope - which if ever the need should arise, you can simply slide it back out again!

Hope this is of some help.

regards,

philsail1

[themos]

I am liking that idea, philsail1!

[Astronut]

Is that like the stuff from Hobbycraft ?

Not sure - its the stuff from Scopestuff .

James

James - I'm about to order some flocking paper from scopestuff.

If you don't mind telling, how much was the shipping cost? I'm thinking of getting 2x 2ft rolls and 1x 1ft roll. I haven't done any exact measurements yet but I estimate that's how much I'll need to do the whole tube with some left over (better too much than too little)

Ian

[James]

James - I'm about to order some flocking paper from scopestuff.

If you don't mind telling, how much was the shipping cost? I'm thinking of getting 2x 2ft rolls and 1x 1ft roll. I haven't done any exact measurements yet but I estimate that's how much I'll need to do the whole tube with some left over (better too much than too little)

Shipping cost $26 but that included two rolls of flocking paper, a fairly heavy dovetail bar and a couple of other bits and bobs. Came out at £12.50ish with the then exchange rate. I've no idea if two will do my scope (a little smaller than yours) but I intend to only do the top area near the focuser.

James

James

[Astronut]

Thanks James. That's not as much as I expected so I'll get some ordered asap after I've done some measurements.

[Astronut]

Just ordered 2x 2ft rolls and 1x 1ft roll from Scopestuff. I'll have quite a bit left over so I'll put some on the edge and back of the secondary mirror.

While I was at it I've added a Telegizmo 'scope cover to the order as the price is quite a bit cheaper (about half price!) than UK prices.

The shipping costs have to be added after they've packed and weighed it but I reckon I'll save some cash on the cover

[philsail1]

Sorry John, (Rusty Strings),

I cannot find the photos I took of the procedure I used to flock my Skywatcher 200mm - by sticking the flocking paper to sheets of card and then sliding the whole lot inside the tube.

I hope you are successful in whatever method you choose to use.

Regards,

philsail1

[solo]

John,

I went down the 'glue and sawdust' road to flock my 8" newt.I stripped the tube assembly bare and coated the inside 1 foot at a time with pva glue and chucked a couple of handfulls of sawdust in there then rolled it around to get an even distribution.I stood it on end and tapped the tube to let the loose stuff drop off and then finished off with a couple of coats of matt black. It's eally effective. I do get the odd fleck of sawdust on my mirror occasionally but it drops off if I turn the tube to a horizontal position and give it a tap. I did this about three years ago and its still as good as the day ( two days actually ) I did it.

Cheers, John.

[Rusty Strings]

Thanks for all the replies guys

Think I'll be ordering the flocking paper from scope stuff. I'm planning a focuser upgrade so that seems to be a good enough time to strip the tube and flock it. I do like the idea of sticking the paper to a card tube and fitting that.

John

[philsail1]

Hello John,

How's the "flocking" going?

If you would like to see something of how I flocked my scope (by sticking the flocking materiel to a piece of thin card) I can remove the main mirror and slide the flocked card "tube" out and post some photos on SGL?

If you do decide to employ the method I used, here is a very brief description:- The method I used was still tricky! The removal of all the telescopes attachments (Main Mirror, Secondary Mirror and Spider, all internal nuts and bolts) was relatively straightforward. Just be methodical and draw positions of things, measure and list, and place all parts separate in safe places where they are unlikely to get damaged or lost. Weigh up the procedure. Try various thicknesses of card until you are happy with a thickness which will bend to the inside circumference of your scope without creasing. Measure and cut the card, and slide it in and out of the tube until you are comfortable and confident that it will go in without snagging on anything. Then you can proceed with sticking the paper to the card. Achieving this, without getting any creases was quite difficult - you had to make sure the card was held flat (I used drawing pins to pin my card to a sheet of hardboard - after first pushing the card into the empty telescope tube and marking it, and cutting it so that when pushed into the tube, the two ends butted up to each other quite tightly. I then pinned the card to the hardboard, and carefully applied the sticky backed flocking paper. You can let it overlap the card, because you can cut off any surplus flocking paper before sliding the card inside the tube. Ensure you leave a tiny bit of flocking overlapping the edge of the white card so that it covers the card edge joint where it "butts" up.

Any way, that's basically how I did it!

Let me know if you do want any photos - as I don't want to disturb the main mirror unnecessarily - but I would rather remove this than disturb the Moonlite Crayford Focuser installation at the other end! (as it required a lot more fine adjustment to get the focusser right, than any main mirror!).

Regards,

philsail1

[Astronut]

Thanks for all the replies guys

...I'm planning a focuser upgrade so that seems to be a good enough time to strip the tube and flock it. I do like the idea of sticking the paper to a card tube and fitting that.

John

I'm doing exactly the same thing - I've ordered a Moonlite CR2 from Steve and it should be here next week. Flocking paper from Scopestuff shouldn't be much longer. I'll be applying the paper directly to the tube though - might be tricky but I think if I peel the backing off bit by bit and start attaching along the tube seam so it doesn't mis-align as I go round the tube, it should, in theory, work. I'll be taking a short trip over the Pennines to Leeds this weekend to pick up some carry handles for the tube.

[philsail1]

"Rusty Strings!"

Here are some photos of my "flocked" 8" Newt. If you are going to try this method, don't forget to leave about 1/2" rim to get the main mirror back in (see photos). Oh! and don't forget to mark the tube and mirror end with a bit of sticky tape so you can put the mirror back in the same orientation.

I removed the main mirror this evening to check that the centre paper "spot" was indeed central. (after reading about the chap who was having difficulty in collimating his Newt - because the centre spot was off centre by several millimetres!). Mine was about a millimetre out in one direction - which I decided to leave well alone).

The flocked cardboard tube slid out with ease. After I put the main mirror back on the scope, and checked it for collimation with my "cheshire" collimator, it proved to be almost spot on.

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Hope the above photos help to clarify the method I used.

Regards,

philsail1

[Rusty Strings]

Hi philsail1

Thanks for the photo's, make's it all clear. Presumably there is a hole in the side of the card tube to accomodate the focuser tube, also does the cr2 fixings sit under the card?

John

[philsail1]

John,

I removed everything from the telescope tube. Measure the outside circumference of the telescope tube. Transferred this measurement to a flat piece of card. Formed the card into a loose tube and slid the"tube" of card inside telescope. Marked where it overlapped. Removed the card, and at first, cut the card slightly over the measurement. Slid it inside again, then marked it (you may have to do this two or three times, until you get the measurement and cut just right so that the card edges butt up fairly tightly (this will ensure the card holds itself nice and firmly against the inside of the bare tube. I then drew (from the outside) the size of hole (including the tiny holes for the eyepiece bolts) where the eyepiece and anything else was going to protrude through the card. I removed the card and cut out the holes (You don't have to worry about being too accurate as its going to be covered with black flocking paper).

I slide the card in again to check everything was OK. Made any small adjustments. Removed the card, and set about covering the card with the flocking paper (Making sure I stuck the flocking paper to the correct side of the card). I then used a gas canister powered blowlamp and heated an old wire coat hanger (which I'd bent straight), to gently burn through the flocking paper which had now "blanked out the holes I'd made in the card to accommodate focusser, etc. (I did this in my shed!) I found this method to be easier than trying to cut circular holes with a Stanley knife, or scissors (a small pair of nail scissors might work though). The flocking materiel burns through in an instant. I then brushed the bits of burned edges on the flocking paper, and slid the tube inside the scope until it butted up. Checked every hole was in line. Made any final adjustments. Then I temporarily stuck a piece of ordinary cellotape over the butted centre joint (on top of the flocking). Carefully removed the tube, and stuck more cellotape on the plain outside of the card, just to hold it. Then removed the tape I'd put over the inside flocking, and slid the tube back inside the scope. Positioned it so that all holes lined up, and then reassembled all fittings - bolted through the the flocking paper. (I made the holes where any bolts where going through, larger than the bolts so that when I tightened them it would not cause the paper to either rip or "ruck up" in a crease. Before placing the main mirror in tube, I gave the inside flocking a final clean with a soft clean paint brush.

The rest was a straightforward reassembly and collimating job. Ensure you mark where the mirror goes (with two pieces of coloured tape), Also mark the orientation of the spider.

I must add that this method of flocking, is my personal choice. There may be better methods, but this one worked for me!

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask - flocking is an operation you only want to tackle once (as it's so fiddly!) so you do need to be 100% clear on whatever method you use.

Regards,

philsail1