I have just discovered a scratch on my refractor (about half an inch long) as well as a really tiny one. I don't know how they got there in the first place, but I feel devastated....
I put a bit of colour on them and they look better, but if you look closer they are still there....
Maybe I should buy a small bucket of metallic paint, but if the colour is not exactly the same it will be just as noticeable a what I have just done.
I even always put bubble wrap on it to protect it... Maybe I touched something while moving it in and out of the balcony.
I feel so sad. (I am a maniac perfectionist...)
Maybe I should paint it all over with a new colour? On the other hand they are small so I don't know if it is a good idea?
Don't worry to much about it , its an instrument that looks to be , being used and loved .
I discovered a tiny dent , ( 10mm x 3mm and <0.25mm deep ) on my iStar OTA a while ago , don't know how it happened ? and only I know where to look to find it ,, these things happen .
But dropping a TV 17mm Nagler 1 metre to cobble stones .. , that sux big time .
Will any of the auotmotve touchup systems work on it ? If it is not through to the undercoat there are several polishing compounds\pens or similar that promise to mask and blend scratches so they become invisble.
I personally don't like scratches etc when they happen but it's a fact of life. I'd be far more concerned if any part of the optical train got marked.
Thanks everyone.
Yesterday evening I tried one of these pens http://www.faber-castell.com.au/5575...cv2_index.aspx (which I had at home) and it is not that bad... I wanted to see how it looks in the sunlight and I cannot say I am really happy but at first sight one doesn't notice so much. Knowing where it is and looking closer you can still see it but all in all it is not that bad.
I will look into the automotive paint though. Maybe they have a colour that matches my scope 100%. It is metallic blue, and the pen I had is normal blue, that's why it cannot hide the scratch 100%.
No, unfortunately I cannot rotate it out of view...
Anyway, here it is. It looks better in reality though. I think the photo enhances differences in colour. The white marks are just light reflections.
Anyway, I am going to an art shop not too far from here later today as they might have a colour that matches it better, and they do have metallic colours too...
I dropped a spanner on my refractor the other day and knocked a small chip off. Strangely, I don't care how battle scared my reflectors get.
I think I would be a bit the same if I had refractor, I don't care too fussed for my newts' casings. they get knocked around abit as it is due to their size!
I bet you were born around September or there abouts.... I am the same ..... not happy if it's not Absolutely Right ....it just has to be perfect in our eyes ... nothing else will do.
Sometimes I have to tell myself to ' lighten up ' ... so what if it didn't turn out as expected....you've done the best you could do.....
Don't they sell those Smart Pen things at Good Guys, which are meant to touch up scratches on cars of any colour with one stroke?
If it worked it might be good for your telescope.
Though I'd probably have a dummy run - scratch my car first and see how good it was at fixing that.
Regards,
Renato
@ FlashDrive... Ironically I was born in March.... But I still drive people crazy with my perfectionism.
@ Renato Thanks, I will have a look at the Good Guys. Car paint would also be good if it is a small can. I would prefer not to buy a whole can for a whole car... LOL
Anyway, I did go to Bunnings Warehouse and also to an art supplies shop today, but they didn't have anything that would perfectly match the colour....
Last edited by OzStarGazer; 20-11-2014 at 01:55 PM.
Reason: Wrong emoticon - the last one was not supposed to smile
Don't worry to much about it , its an instrument that looks to be , being used and loved .
, that sux big time .
Strangely, I don't care how battle scared my reflectors get.
