Hi everyone
At what point should I decide to clean my 10" dob primary mirror. I have had the scope for over a year now, have looked at some YouTube videos and wondering what to do.
Some say that you need distilled water and techniques to dry it .
Is this over the top, or is it really needed? What have other done?
Thanks
Peter
Plenty of how to info on the web on the topic of cleaning mirrors. Yes distilled or demineralised water is necessary to avoid water spotting of the surface. You can use simple tap water to wash the surface but rinse it with pure demineralised water to avoid the spots. There are various suggestions around concerning the use of sterile cotton balls to dab the surface, to dislodge dirt. Plenty of reading to do. The video of the guy washing his mirror in the kitchen sink is pretty good.
There is also this http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-345-0-0-1-0.html
posted by Iceman,
from the Projects and Articles section of the IceinSpace website which you should read for a discussion of the topic
After 12 months it is probably fine. I had my 10" dob for several years and only washed the mirror once (using the IIS guide above). A bit of dust doesn't make much difference, but scratches will.... The hardest part is probably getting your collimation back when you've finished. I got deionised water from work (better than distilled) and used fresh cotton wool balls. Leaving it balanced on a towel to drip dry was scary, as I recall, in case it fell over!
