I need advice - Cleaning the mirrors

[Apprentice]

Hello StarGazers community!

I have just recently decided to pursue my long lasting passion for astronomy. I have had the Astromaster 130EQ scope for over 2 years, but only used it a couple of times when I bought it was lying there because I got discouraged by collimation.

I have recently decided to take it on, and had my first outdoor session. Needless to say that it got me hooked. I started out with purchasing some modifications such as the accu focuser.

Since I want to put the center mark on my primary mirror, I thought it might be best if I clean the primary the mirror while I am at it. I will order the accufosuer from Astrohop.eu, and I would like to buy a cleaning set while I am at it.

Could you guys push me in the right direction when it comes to buying the right set on their store, which will help me clean my primary as well as eyepieces?

I am quite afraid that I didn't clean my eyepieces and they see to have some spots on as well as the slight fingerprint on the barlow lens. Is there any time limit as to when should that be cleaned?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Carbon Brush]

At only 2 years, leave the mirrors.
Unless of course you have left the tube open to the elements.

Eyepieces are a different subject. They have hard coatings so can be cleaned with minimal risk of damage.

As a good starter, buy a bottle of 'Baader Wonder Fluid' and the cloth. It is listed on the FLO site though you will probably buy more local to you..
Don't worry about the odd name. It is really good stuff and it will last you for years.
I use this on all my eyepieces.

Edit......Just to be clear. Baader fluid for eyepeices - not mirrors.

HTH, David.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Carbon Brush
Addition

[Annehouw]

Hi Apprentice

First and foremost: are you sure the mirror needs cleaning? It needs to be very dirty to notice anything at all. So, if it just is a little bit dusty, leave it alone.

If you insist on doing this, here is a procedure I follow.

You do not need special cleaning liquid, just some dishwater soap, lukewarm water, distilled water, cotton balls and a blower (not from a can, just the one you squize) and a bucket.

- Pour a few centimeters of lukewarm water in the bucket and add a bit (only a bit) of dishwater soap liquid. Make sure it is well mixed.

- Gently take the mirror out of the scope and be careful not to touch the surface with your fingers

- Put the mirror in the bucket.

- Let it soak for half an hour or so.

- Now, take the mirror and set it on its side, while holding it. Soak a cotton ball in the water of the bucket and gently sweep it over the surface of the mirror without putting pressure on it. A movement parallel to the surface of the mirror. Radial from the center of the mirror to the outside. Change cotton balls a few times.

- Once done, get the mirror out of the bucket on lay it on it's backside on a towel. Throw away the cleaning water and rinse the bucket. 

- Set the mirror at an angle in the bucket again (supported by your hand) and with the other hand, pour distilled water over the mirror (can be directly out of the bottle). Make sure all the soap is washed away.

- Get the mirror out of the bucket again, put it on another towel, but this time standing at an angle supported by one hand.

- Use the blower to blow away any remaining water droplets.

- You can now put it on the towel to dry the backside of the mirror and then re-insert it into scope again, being very careful not to touch the surface of the mirror.

- Admire yourself in the mirror

 

It looks more complicated on paper than it is in practice. If you google on "telescope mirror cleaning" you will find several other procedures that will work as well.

 

But again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Annehouw

[Trikeflyer]

I wouldn’t use any commercial product on the mirrors. As pointed out, it might be a good idea to leave them, however if you do clean them,  be careful and very light - don’t overdo the cleaning. My routine - seen on you tube you can search it online) is to run tap water over the mirror to wash of the debris, put some Luke warm water in a bowl with 1-2 drops of mild washing up liquid and with cotton wool just gently drag it over the surface - no pressure or rubbing just let the weight of the wet cotton wool do the work and only drag one piece across once. Then you will need distilled water - not just deionised - I use proper distilled - it’s expensive but used sparingly can last a while. Just stand the mirror gently on its edge in the dry bowl and pour the distilled water over the mirror to remove any detergent etc. Leave the mirror standing on its edge to fully dry.  Do not be tempted to dry off any spots as they will smudge and you will be back to the drawing board. Once fully dry - re assemble.

I’m sure everyone will have a strong opinion and their own routine - this is the way I do it and it seems to work ok for me.

eyepieces can be cleaned as stated above with an air blower , some type of optical cleaning fluid like baader and a microfibre cloth.

Steve 

 

[davhei]

For cleaning eyepieces I use acetone and the fog from my breath together with cotton swabs. Lots and lots of cotton swabs. Before going at them with the swabs I would highly recommend an air blower that you find in places that sell camera accessories. Like a rubber bulb that you squeeze to blow away bigger dust particles that otherwise might scratch your lenses.

Works well for me.

[steppenwolf]

At just two years, I'd be very surprised if your mirror requires cleaning unless it has been stored open to the elements so only clean it if it really is filthy for some reason! Lots of methods and videos but this is how I recommend doing the job:-

 

 

[Apprentice]

Thank you guys for all the quick replies.

I will take your advice and leave the mirrors for now, will only blow off the dust from the primary, and center spot it.

So having aceton or perhaps 70% ethanol will do the trick for the eye pieces? With cotton buds of course (lots of them). I have the Baader Q-turret set that are multicoated orthos + 32mm plossl.

 

EDIT: I also have questions about the mount. It seems poor quality, and the slow-mo controles a bit tough to turn, while it isn't very smooth. Do you reckon I can use WD40 for the R/A and Dec worms? And I noticed that the plate with the degree markings for the DEC is freely turning, is that something that is supposed to happen?

Edited May 13, 2020 by Apprentice
Questions regarding the mount

[Apprentice]

Can anybody tell me if this would be a good choice:

https://www.astroshop.eu/lens-cleaners/lacerta-reinigungsset-fuer-optiken/p,62923

 

I am leaning towards getting this, as it contains the air blower which I would need to blow the dust and other particles from my primary mirror as well as eye pieces.

 

Thanks!

[davhei]

28 minutes ago, Apprentice said:

Can anybody tell me if this would be a good choice:

https://www.astroshop.eu/lens-cleaners/lacerta-reinigungsset-fuer-optiken/p,62923

 

I am leaning towards getting this, as it contains the air blower which I would need to blow the dust and other particles from my primary mirror as well as eye pieces.

 

Thanks!

Dust blower looks fine. I personally wouldn’t use the brush and I would also stay clear of cleaning solutions that contain fragrances or other additives that might leave residue on the lenses.

Edited May 13, 2020 by davhei

[miguel87]

5 hours ago, davhei said:

For cleaning eyepieces I use acetone and the fog from my breath together with cotton swabs. Lots and lots of cotton swabs. Before going at them with the swabs I would highly recommend an air blower that you find in places that sell camera accessories. Like a rubber bulb that you squeeze to blow away bigger dust particles that otherwise might scratch your lenses.

Works well for me.

I definitely wouldn't put acetone on my coated lenses. I'm no chemist but it doesnt sound like a good idea to me.

Edited May 13, 2020 by miguel87

[John]

I use a manual "hurricane" blower to remove loose debris from mirrors or lenses.

Over the years I've found the Baader Wonder Fluid applied via a micro fibre cloth the best for eyepieces and objective lenses. A bottle lasts for many cleans:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-optics-cleaning-protection/baader-optical-wonder-fluid.html

 

[davhei]

1 hour ago, miguel87 said:

I definitely wouldn't put acetone on my coated lenses. I'm no chemist but it doesnt sound like a good idea to me.

I’m no chemist either but Televue in fact recommends using it for cleaning optics on their website. That’s good enough for me.

Edited May 13, 2020 by davhei

[John]

Whatever fluid you use, apply it sparingly via a microfibre cloth or similar. Don't apply the fluid direct to the lens. Capillary action has a nasty habit of sucking the stuff between lens elements

 

[Apprentice]

So I ordered the Baader Wonder Fluid along with their cloth. Guess its best, and also all my eyepieces are Baader (qturret set though). So I guess that is that. Will have to buy the air blow separately..

Thanks again all!

[Erling G-P]

Regarding mirror cleaning; does anyone know if the factory applied center markings on Skywatcher's mirrors will survive the above recommended soak in soap water, and the distilled water rinse afterwards ?

[Skipper Billy]

7 minutes ago, Erling G-P said:

Regarding mirror cleaning; does anyone know if the factory applied center markings on Skywatcher's mirrors will survive the above recommended soak in soap water, and the distilled water rinse afterwards ?

Yep - well mine did!

[Trikeflyer]

So did mine

[JG777]

My centre spot OO mirror survived a clean. Also you can use deionised water which is usually a lot cheaper and is interchangeable with distilled water for cleaning purposes, mirror was spotless with no smears.

[Aftoforakias]

On 13/05/2020 at 15:02, Apprentice said:

I started out with purchasing some modifications such as the accu focuser.

Hey Apprentice! I have some questions about that accu focuser you mentioned.

Whenever you can, please give me some info about:

which focuser is that? Can you provide a link?

have you already installed it?

did you have to do a custom mod or not?

if it is already installed, how is it working compared to the manual default focuser?

Thanks in advance,

Spyros

[Apprentice]

6 hours ago, Aftoforakias said:

Hey Apprentice! I have some questions about that accu focuser you mentioned.

Whenever you can, please give me some info about:

which focuser is that? Can you provide a link?

have you already installed it?

did you have to do a custom mod or not?

if it is already installed, how is it working compared to the manual default focuser?

Thanks in advance,

Spyros

Hi Spyros,

 

I still haven't received the motor focuser, but this is the one that I ordered:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-cables-leads-accessories/skywatcher-auto-focuser.html

 

I should get it on Monday or Tuesday, so when I attach it I will let you know how easy or not it was. I do think that it should fit with no problems.

Which scope do you own?

[Aftoforakias]

On 16/05/2020 at 16:26, Apprentice said:

Which scope do you own?

The exact same one as you do, that's why I was so interested in the upgrades you are planning.

I want to purchase items that will also be useful for my next telescope (whenever I get one and whichever that will be)..

Spyros

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Aftoforakias

[Apprentice]

7 hours ago, Aftoforakias said:

The exact same one as you do, that's why I was so interested in the upgrades you are planning.

I want to purchase items that will also be useful for my next telescope (whenever I get one and whichever that will be)..

Spyros

 

I agree with that, that is why I bought the eyepiece set from baader, which includes barlow. It is a value purchase and will benefit any other scope I might buy in the future. I would suggest new eyepieces as a first purchase though, I found the stock EPs to be of low quality.

The motor focuser should improve shaking significantly, so I will let you know when I try it (still waiting for the delivery).

 

Did you get around to placing a center dot on your primary mirror? I am planning on doing that tomorrow, and also made a collimation cap to assist me with collimating my secondary mirror. I find the collimation to be the most frustrating thing, at least until I get the hang of it.

 

Also a question, can I ask you to explain the focal extender, why did you decide to buy it? And of course when you get, let me know what is the benefit

 

[Aftoforakias]

Hey Apprentice,

this conversation https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/353998-budget-purchase-advice-for-beginner/ guided me towards getting the Focal Extender.

The effect is similar to the barlow, meaning that what I'll get from it is 2x the magnification of my current eyepieces. Here's some more info on the differences of the two types:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/346379-barlow-vs-focal-extender/ Hope it makes sense.

As for the center of the mirror, I haven't marked it yet.

Together with the focal extender, I have also ordered this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html

I have already found many guides about collimation (and Astro Baby's one is probably the one to use http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/ )

First I will wait for my purchases to arrive, then I will attempt to mark my mirror's center, probably using this https://garyseronik.com/centre-dotting-your-scopes-primary-mirror/

I'll let you know about my results but it may take some days..

Spyros

Edited May 19, 2020 by Aftoforakias

[Apprentice]

On 19/05/2020 at 08:42, Aftoforakias said:

Hey Apprentice,

this conversation https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/353998-budget-purchase-advice-for-beginner/ guided me towards getting the Focal Extender.

The effect is similar to the barlow, meaning that what I'll get from it is 2x the magnification of my current eyepieces. Here's some more info on the differences of the two types:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/346379-barlow-vs-focal-extender/ Hope it makes sense.

As for the center of the mirror, I haven't marked it yet.

Together with the focal extender, I have also ordered this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html

I have already found many guides about collimation (and Astro Baby's one is probably the one to use http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/ )

First I will wait for my purchases to arrive, then I will attempt to mark my mirror's center, probably using this https://garyseronik.com/centre-dotting-your-scopes-primary-mirror/

I'll let you know about my results but it may take some days..

Spyros

So an update, I marked the mirror, cleaned the tube interior while at it, blew the dust off and finally got the motor. Unfortunately the bracket doesn't fit on the focuser, so I tried some DIY methods, and apparently the gear track on the focuser tube got damaged, so now I am left with a bogus focuser with really bad focusing movement and no motor installed. Will see what I will do next. But for this scope, this motor doesn't fit out of the box, if you have a different bracket it might work, but I suggest you save your money on this purchase..