Repair tube.

[Robindonne]

So i just picked up a secondhand telescope.  And besides it’s mostly in very good condition, no great signs of (ab)use.  It does have a small mark from a screw that probably went through the tuberings i assume.  It has a small Half circle 4mm diam Mark in it.  Has anyone ever repaired these kind of small marks in a glossy black painted tube? Or just live with it and prefend further damage by doing all kinds of repairwork

Edited June 30, 2020 by Robindonne

[RT65CB-SWL]

I have a few minor scratches and scuffs on my 'scopes and does not really bother me. If it was on one of the optical surfaces then it would.

I am thinking of 'covering' my 're-modded' ETX105 and C6/SCT in some sticky-back carbon fibre effect vinyl film/sheet and also flocking the
interiors too.

[DaveL59]

I'm in the process of a full strip down and repaint of my TAL-M scope, but then its old and the paint was quite battered. In fact its all painted now just waiting on me to decide about flocking the OTA and doing a couple other bits before I reassemble it all, redo the felt etc. I did think about getting it powder-coated but with lockdown etc it wasn't feasible so went with hammerite spray painting, hopefully it'll be durable enough.

Touching out a small area can be a pain, both blending the area and matching the colour but should be possible. A lot of car places can colour match and make up a can if there isn't an off the shelf one to suit. I've a couple scratches on the TAL100RS tube that I'd like to sort, maybe but likely will leave it till it gets to the stage of needing a total respray, will likely overhaul the TAL-1 one day but no rush and other things will prevent me for a couple months at least anyway.

Wasn't so sure on the wrapping idea, I wonder how well that works if needing to rotate the OTA in the rings and if that'd cause it to life/wrinkle. Did consider it as others have done that bit whether I've the abilities to get it laid nice and bubble-free etc I'm not so sure  

Edited June 30, 2020 by DaveL59

[Robindonne]

No the wrapping or covering up is not something I prefer i think.  But thats a matter of taste maybe.   I think the scope is like 5-10 years old and 99.99999 of the paint is perfect.  It just that tiny, possible, eye-magnet what could bother me later.   I was thinking to steal a drip of black nailpolish from my daughter, or as you mentioned car paint.   But if its tried before i would love to see a result.   I think these 4/5 mm screwmarks are, next to dents and scratches, the most common damages in the scope-scene.  

[DaveL59]

Perhaps try a black sharpie marker pen and see if that hides it well enough?

Think I did that on the SW130 on a scratch and while it still shows it's a bit better than it was. Not worried about a redo on that OTA tho, not for a scratch at least.

[Peter Drew]

I would stick a "smiley" patch on it.    🙂  

[Robindonne]

Had to google the Sharpie marker.  Is it a brand in the UK?   Same like our Edding waterproof markers? Or does it leave some more fluid-like stuff then a normal marker?  The normal marker is used a lot by me on a lot of brackets etc.  That works very good on the Black satinpainted metal. The scope however has a thick layer and glossy.  I tried to add a picture of that mark but It seemed to be disappeared😬.  Its that small i think, or its hidden by the tuberings. I’ll wait some days to see if someone has a paint-dedicated solution. If not then i think i start with one of these small carpaint-brush sets

[Robindonne]

7 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I would stick a "smiley" patch on it.    🙂  

Thought about this one indeed😅

[fozzybear]

2 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Had to google the Sharpie marker.  Is it a brand in the UK?   Same like our Edding waterproof markers? Or does it leave some more fluid-like stuff then a normal marker?  The normal marker is used a lot by me on a lot of brackets etc.  That works very good on the Black satinpainted metal. The scope however has a thick layer and glossy.  I tried to add a picture of that mark but It seemed to be disappeared😬.  Its that small i think, or its hidden by the tuberings. I’ll wait some days to see if someone has a paint-dedicated solution. If not then i think i start with one of these small carpaint-brush sets

car chip paint from an auto parts supplier, you know the one for stone chips (like a small bottle of nail varnish) maybe....

[DaveL59]

42 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Had to google the Sharpie marker.  Is it a brand in the UK?   Same like our Edding waterproof markers? Or does it leave some more fluid-like stuff then a normal marker?  The normal marker is used a lot by me on a lot of brackets etc.  That works very good on the Black satinpainted metal. The scope however has a thick layer and glossy.  I tried to add a picture of that mark but It seemed to be disappeared😬.  Its that small i think, or its hidden by the tuberings. I’ll wait some days to see if someone has a paint-dedicated solution. If not then i think i start with one of these small carpaint-brush sets

you can get them here. There's also paint pens which are easy to use, I use them to touch small chips up on binos so a number of options assuming you can match the colour and finish.

[Waldemar]

Doesn't one of the rings cover the mark? Well...yes.. apparently it did...

Edited June 30, 2020 by Waldemar

[John]

Tele Vue stickers are useful for covering up marks

 

 

[DaveL59]

44 minutes ago, John said:

Tele Vue stickers are useful for covering up marks

 

 

 

Still recall the days when you went to view an Alfa and if there was a cloverleaf sticker  you'd immediately check if it was hiding a hole or rust  

[fozzybear]

2 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

Still recall the days when you went to view an Alfa and if there was a cloverleaf sticker  you'd immediately check if it was hiding a hole or rust  

them were the days....

[DaveL59]

Just now, fozzybear said:

them were the days....

I reckon on a quiet wet day I can hear mine dissolving  

Still it started fine and drove well today tho did sound a bit out of sync when first started up. But it has pretty much sat unused for a month or so now.

Edited June 30, 2020 by DaveL59

[John]

My Dad used to drive Alfa's. He said you could watch them reverting to Alfa Particles when it rained.

 

[fozzybear]

6 minutes ago, John said:

My Dad used to drive Alfa's. He said you could watch them reverting to Alfa Particles when it rained.

 

same said for my first car mini clubman P reg so how old was that. wet carpet when it rained.....

Edited June 30, 2020 by fozzybear

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, John said:

Tele Vue stickers are useful for covering up marks

 

 

Trouble is, Televue stickers are very expensive. The free eyepieces that come with them aren't complete rubbish though.

 

[Peter Drew]

I caused a small chip on the paintwork of my dad's Jag whilst pushing my motorbike past it in the garage. I managed to patch it with a spot of mud.