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You can actually end up with an excellent scope using a Meade Lightbridge (made by GSO), or a GSO dob, or a Skywatcher dob (made by Synta) as the starting point.
The critical starting point is decent optics. Most are decent, many are very good, a few are excellent and there are a few lemons, probably in the order of 10%.
The critical things to focus on to lift the out of box performance to the next level are:-
Scope motion. Which you are already onto with new Teflon pads and laminate.
Proper cooling and air circulation. Its already got a fan blowing on the base of the primary, which is a good start. The early scopes made by GSO (which includes the Lightbridge) and by Synta didn't have any fans at all. You could also give consideration to installing a fan to blow across the face of the primary to remove the boundary layer. That isn't so easy to do on one of these scopes but I did it using an "air tube" around 50% of the inside of the tube and installing an air pump on the side of the base. I used a 12v live bait aerator pump. It worked really well.
Tube baffling. Flocking the inside of the metal tube with matte black felt and using a light shroud around the open part of the tube will help a lot with stray light, scattered light and contrast.
Focuser motion. Reworking the focuser and honing some of the internal components with proper lubrication and adjustment on re-assembly, will improve the focuser motion and control immensely. You won't end up with a Feathertouch, but you will end up with something a lot nicer than what comes out of the box.
The above all having been said, considering the price point they actually perform pretty well out of the box, but they can be improved upon a lot, with a little time effort and know how!
Cheers
John B
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