Best cotton wool for cleaning primary

[inFINNity Deck]

Here is a video that explains how to clean the four surfaces of a SCT:

 

I found this quite useful and used it myself, only replacing the cotton wool by Kleenex.

Nicolàs

 

[Astrobits]

As a mirror maker I would always recommend the fingertip method.

Why?

Fingertips are very sensitive and will detect any hard material allowing you to stop from dragging it along the surface with potential scratching as a result. The hard bit can then be dealt with before continuing. It is amazing just how hard some bits floating about in the atmosphere are. Once they settle on the mirror they can stick quite firmly to the surface and can corrode the Aluminium coating producing Aluminium Oxide which is scratchy enough to be used as a mirror grinding material. I know, I use Aluminium Oxide for final stages of grinding mirrors.

Using any man made material disconnects you from sensing hard, scratchy bits and can result in longer scratches as a result. Furthermore, man made materials will never be guaranteed 100% free from contaminants. A very high percentage, yes, but never 100%. If you must use man made materials use the lightest pressure possible such as dragging a sheet across under it's own weight as mentioned in previous posts here.

It is best to use a tight fitting cover for the mirror whenever it is not in use to minimise the frequency of cleaning.

Nigel

 

[neil phillips]

13 hours ago, Astrobits said:

As a mirror maker I would always recommend the fingertip method.

Why?

Fingertips are very sensitive and will detect any hard material allowing you to stop from dragging it along the surface with potential scratching as a result. The hard bit can then be dealt with before continuing. It is amazing just how hard some bits floating about in the atmosphere are. Once they settle on the mirror they can stick quite firmly to the surface and can corrode the Aluminium coating producing Aluminium Oxide which is scratchy enough to be used as a mirror grinding material. I know, I use Aluminium Oxide for final stages of grinding mirrors.

Using any man made material disconnects you from sensing hard, scratchy bits and can result in longer scratches as a result. Furthermore, man made materials will never be guaranteed 100% free from contaminants. A very high percentage, yes, but never 100%. If you must use man made materials use the lightest pressure possible such as dragging a sheet across under it's own weight as mentioned in previous posts here.

It is best to use a tight fitting cover for the mirror whenever it is not in use to minimise the frequency of cleaning.

Nigel

 

Tottaly convinced by these arguments. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge. Its what i am going to do. Orderd distilled water. Will attempt this soon. Will post the result. Wish me luck guys. Thanks again for everyones input, it really has helped a lot. 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by neil phillips

[faulksy]

On 14/03/2021 at 12:05, scarp15 said:

RO Distilled marine type III,

Iain, where do you get this from ? cant find any thanks

[scarp15]

28 minutes ago, faulksy said:

Iain, where do you get this from ? cant find any thanks

Hi Mike

I haven't been out for any for a while and actually still have some left over. Originally from a Garden Centre and their aquarium department. Basically aquariums ought stock this or else very similar. 

[kirkster501]

Primark 100% cotton wool.  Costs 99p or so for about 200 pads.

[iapa]

2 hours ago, faulksy said:

Iain, where do you get this from ? cant find any thanks

You can get RO (reverse osmosis) water from an aquarium, it is used to top up water in tanks.

A local Dobbies may have some.

[faulksy]

4 hours ago, scarp15 said:

Hi Mike

I haven't been out for any for a while and actually still have some left over. Originally from a Garden Centre and their aquarium department. Basically aquariums ought stock this or else very similar. 

thanks iain

2 hours ago, iapa said:

You can get RO (reverse osmosis) water from an aquarium, it is used to top up water in tanks.

A local Dobbies may have some.

thank you iapa

i will try pets at home tomorrow

[scarp15]

13 hours ago, iapa said:

You can get RO (reverse osmosis) water from an aquarium, it is used to top up water in tanks.

A local Dobbies may have some.

Yes that's it Dobbies, that's were I got mine from to, I wasn't sure how widely distributed they were.

[iapa]

There’s a few

https://www.dobbies.com/locate-store

 

[neil phillips]

Update cleaned the primary. Probably my inexperiance with the technique. Still managed about a 3.5 inch sleek on one corner lol. But in the big scheme of things if you look at those large big mirror clips that havent stopped the mirror performing. I doubt it will amount to much. The reflectivity of the whole mirror is much greater. I think i felt it. on reflection ( no pun intended ) i should have moved away but tried to free it off the mirror. in what felt like only tiny hand movement. Hey ho, when the lunar images come i am sure it will seem less important.