Do you flock the main mirror?

[DannyLee]

hi all,

just picked up a second hand 200p OTA in pretty good order for a good price,  but on getting home I am a bit surprised to see that the underside of the main mirror has been covered in black flock like the inside of the tube.

So I thought the idea was to get rid of mirror heat, not keep it locked in with an insulating layer, or am I wrong?

Any input appreciated

Cheers

Dan

[John]

It's not usual to flock the primary mirror edges or back as far as I know. And certainly not the front !

The essential places to flock are the section of the tube opposite the focuser and the section of tube for around 12 inches above the primary. I've also blackened (not flocked) the edges of my secondary mirrror as well.

I guess having flocking across the rear of the primary mirror is not going to do any harm but I can't really see the point of it either.

 

[DRT]

1 hour ago, John said:

The essential places to flock are the section of the tube opposite the focuser and the section of tube for around 12 inches above the primary.

I have certainly heard many people mention the first of those areas, John but have not heard of the idea of flocking 12" above the primary.

What is the rationale behind that?