It's arrived - or rather I picked it up

[earth titan]

12" lightbridge is now in my grubby little mitts.

2nd hand off flea bay, and looks like a busy few evenings getting it sorted.

Turned the mirror colling fan on to test it and discovered where the previous owner had been keeping all the fur from the family dogs. Therefore the primary will now need a good clean which will be a treat for me as a mirror cleaning virgin.

Will post progress as I go and stick a few piccies up.

[Capricorn]

The delicate cycle of the washing machine works best,

No need to add fabric conditioner.

Don't tumble dry.

[TheThing]

might help you out a bit?

[simon84]

Is a clean absolutely necessary? Maybe just removing the mirror cell from the bottom of the tube and blowing any loose materials off. You'd be surprised how much dirt you can have build up on a mirror before it causes any problems viewing.

[Sirius_Starseed]

I was watching this on eBay (not that I had any intentions of buying it) but one can dream

[earth titan]

Took the mirror cell out this evening. Filthy was not the word for it! It lierally had hairs stuck to it and lumps of what looked like paint.

Following all the very fine advice on these forums I have very carefully cleaned it with gentle solution, cotton wool buds and rinsed very carefully.

A close examination once clean shows mirror has two minor marks on whick looks like pitting and a few very fine miniscule scratches, which only show up under very bright and acutely angled light.

I'm hoping neither of these impact the optics too much - will have to wait until the clouds lift.

Reassemled it and colimated it. Cheshire and laser both agree although the secondary needed a bit of tweeking, the primary was fine.

Just need better weather.

[MrJulius]

Was the price so good that a little extra hair did not bother you?

Or were you deceived by the seller?

You did not by any chance take some pictures before cleaning?

I hope it turns out okay

[earth titan]

Tis the problem with buying of E-Bay. The price was good, in my opinion, but then everyone has their own ideas of what a good price is.

I guess I want it to be like new and am prepared to put some time and effort into it, to get it back to that status. The marks are very superficial, but only first light will tell.