Velcro bits on primary

[tripleped]

Hello all! Haven’t posted in awhile but have a question about my Heritage 150p. Getting really nice views with this scope but I have noticed that since I did the light shroud and dew shield mods with craft foam and Velcro that the Velcro  apparently “shedded” on the inside surface of the shroud and on the primary. Couldn’t really get a good pic that shows it but no doubt there’s little white Velcro pieces all over the primary. I used standard general purpose Velcro brand, not a knock off product. Again I love the views but I’m wondering if the white pieces are causing some light scatter which could be affecting the view without me realizing it. Is there a safe way to remove these? Somewhere I recall reading that computer screen dust blasters are not good due to the propellant? Is this true? I would have to remove the primary to clean it since the ota is too long with the dew shield attached and I’m not removing it for fear of causing even more Velcro to shed . The mirror otherwise looks good. I  am certain that 95% of the white specs I’m seeing are the Velcro. Suggestions for cleaning?   Thanks in advance!

[bosun21]

Point the telescope down , then remove the dew shield and light shroud. This would ensure that any additional Velcro pieces would fall out of the telescope tube. You can then retract the telescope and use an air bulb blower on your mirror (still pointing down) This should remove the vast majority of the Velcro pieces. Before reassembling give the shield and shroud a good shake and blow with air also. Reassemble while still pointing down. I would only bother doing this if the soiling of the mirror was bad.

    HTH  

       Ian 

[Dave scutt]

Hi tripled.

If the view's your getting are still good I wouldn't clean the mirror I've heard that they can get quite dirty and still give good view's. 

I recently cleaned mirror not because it was dirty I had pinched optics, so I thought I'd clean it while it was out , I used a drop of washing up liquid and the finger method to clean along with distilled water, if your fingers are rough maybe medical grade cotton wool.

There's a thread where I asked the question about cleaning the mirror and there is a very handy YouTube video about it.

Dave

[DaveL59]

As Ian has said, if you set the OTA so it points downward before removal that'll prevent more falling onto the primary, before reassembly tho I'd run a vacuum cleaner over the DIY shroud and velcro fixings to get as much loose fibre off, in fact I'd have done that before first fitting but too late to suggest that now, one for the next time perhaps. I do the same when flocking too as there's always some loose stuff that'll find its way where you don't want it to go. No need for max-power, low would be fine and using one of those attachments with a brush at the end will prevent getting the shield/flock sucked in and crinkled up.

[Scoobyroo]

Thanks for this thread...  had a very similar question RE: mirror cleaning on my (now shrouded) Heritage 150P 👍