Anyone got a simplified mirror cleaning guide?

[darkskybondi]

I haven't had a chance to use my Skywatcher 10" Dob for years since I've been living overseas, but now I find myself marooned in Sydney for the foreseeable future (best place to be marooned!) with some excellent clear skies, I'd like to clean the mirror. There was dust on it which I attempted a year ago to remove with canned air; that wasn't a great idea.



I have no distilled water or anything, will I need it?


Would love your advice; if it's possible to do this project at home, I would like to get it done.


Naturally, I realize what a nightmare getting the mirror back in and collimated will be. One thing at a time, though!



Thanks in advance!
- DSB

[Startrek (Martin)]

I exclusively use newts for visual and AP
My procedure to clean my mirrors -
1/ Prepare kitchen bench as work area and place well used lint free cotton towels down to place and dry mirrors
2/ Remove mirrors
3/ Wash mirrors in sink using warm to hot tap water first to get dust and grime off using just a medium flow from tap spout
4/ Then wash mirror with cold tap water and cotton balls in a circular motion starting from centre and moving to outside. Only apply light pressure
5/ Rinse off mirror over sink using distilled water directly out of bottle ( 2 or 3 good splashes of distilled water
6/ Tilt mirror at 45 degrees whilst rinsing off with distilled water and let the beads of water run off until almost all water is gone
7/ If any small beads of distilled water remain on mirror , use a cotton tip to absorb or pick them up ( just a light dab on the bead , don’t wipe or press hard )
8/ Let mirror completely dry out on bench top for 20 minutes or so , then re install in telescope
9/ Do not use soaps or solvents on mirror , just warm to hot tap water , followed by distilled water
10/ Avoid touching the mirrors with fingers where possible

Maybe others have different procedures but this one works for me

Cheers

[sn1987a (Barry)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y8xFnXFVGQ

[glend (Glen)]

As Martin said. I find rolling a soft paper towel to a point, is an excellent tool for wicking water beads off the mirror surface, without leaving lint behind. It is actually not necessary to touch the mirror surface, as the water bead will wick itself into the soft paper towel.

Also, imo and based on online procedures, it is ok to use very mild dish detergent when washing with cotton balls. Detergent will usually remove pesky gum sap deposits, used with warm water. Plain water alone will not remove sap clouding or sap beads.

[bojan]

Yep, mild dish washing detergent (couple of drops on the wet mirror) is OK and recommended by many.

[Don Pensack]

Barry's link is best--fingertips work fine to clean a mirror because if you feel a piece of grit, you stop. A cotton ball can drag that piece of grit across the mirror.

[gary]

Another video, this one from Dave Kriege at Obsession cleaning the mirror
of one of his 22" UC Dobs in the driveway on the Big Island in Hawaii.

https://youtu.be/tQrkJubzyP0

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Originally Posted by Don Pensack

Barry's link is best--fingertips work fine to clean a mirror because if you feel a piece of grit, you stop. A cotton ball can drag that piece of grit across the mirror.

I also use fingertips instead of cotton balls or tissues, I then use a spray bottle with warm soapy water directed at anything the fingertips find.....

[Pepper (Steve)]

Is pure/filtered rainwater as good as distilled water?
I don’t really wanna visit the shops to buy distilled water.

[erick (Eric)]

Mike's article? http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-345-0-0-1-0.html