:(

[OzStarGazer]

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?
:( :sad:

[acropolite]

Talk to Lewis, he loves retouching...

[trent_julie]

Sounds like you need to buy a new scope.

[OzStarGazer]

Thanks. Hopefully he sees this thread and has some tips...

[brian nordstrom]

;) 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 ..:eyepop: , that sux big time .

Brian.

[HCR32]

I wouldn't touch it. White is one of the hardest colours to match and I've never seen good home done touch up. (Professionals not included)

[cometcatcher]

I dropped a spanner on my refractor the other day and knocked a small chip off. :sadeyes: Strangely, I don't care how battle scared my reflectors get.

[ZeroID]

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.

[OzStarGazer]

Thanks everyone. :)
Yesterday evening I tried one of these pens http://www.faber-castell.com.au/55759/Products/Art-Graphic/Pitt-Artist-Pens/fcv2_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%.

[speach]

Harden up fellow

[jenchris]

Make a bigger scratch on the other side.
You will no longer notice the little one.

[rustigsmed]

can you rotate it out of view?

[OzStarGazer]

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...

[rustigsmed]

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!

[FlashDrive]

:eyepop: 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.....:thumbsup:

That's 3 I know of now .... me, you and Lewis. ;)

Col.....:D

[Renato1]

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

[OzStarGazer]

@ FlashDrive... Ironically I was born in March.... :) But I still drive people crazy with my perfectionism. :eyepop::D
@ 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.... :(

[jenchris]

Virgo......
pita......
Your touch up makes it look worse imho.
I'll give you five quid for it so you can put it to a new one

[jenchris]

:lol:

[OzStarGazer]

Which colour do you think matches my scope the best?

Colour of my scope:
http://lahore.bolee.com/resources/items/img/2013/01/21/6267209241387724618.jpg
(Or you can also look at the photo with the scratch...)

Available pen colours to fix it:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Vic-Hot-Touch-up-Auto-Scratch-Repair-Pen-Fix-Pro-mending-/281263550018?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Access ories&hash=item417c9d2e42

(You have to scroll down and click on the chart with the colours.)

PS: I cannot find it on the GG website. I tried both "SmartPen" and "scratch repair" but it doesn't come up with what I want.

Edit: I decided to give a general one (the "Fix It Pro") a go and if it doesn't work I will think about the colour.


:help:

[GraemeT]

Your instruction manual for the scope should emphasize that the scope is only for use at night ie. when it is dark. :rolleyes:

[CJ]

Hi Ozstargazer. Which refractor did you go for? I remember reading your thread pondering on what to go for and I'm interested to know what the conclusion was.
Cheers

[OzStarGazer]

Hi Chris, I bought the Celestron Astromaster 90AZ. As soon as I have a better viewing situation I will buy a better scope though. I would like a NexStar 8", but it is too big for the balcony... :(

[CJ]

Thanks OSG. Cost aside, I too rather fancy a large SCT.

[OzStarGazer]

Yeah, they are pretty expensive here, but prices are more reasonable in the US (although there would be no real warranty if you buy from overseas).

I also have the problem (as I mentioned in the "A Great Day for Minorities" thread) that having a garden and being there on my own in the middle of the night might be dangerous... My doc said self-defence courses would not be good for me at the moment because of asthma etc. So I would practically be at the mercy of a criminal. I found out that not only guns, but even pepper sprays are illegal (somebody had mentioned pepper spray in that thread).

There are really beautiful buildings by the harbour here with spacious balconies (on two sides!) + view where I would be safe, but they are soooo expensive. Almost 1 million $. So.... :( Still thinking where I could go to stargaze in peace at night. :( I would really like to have a large SCT one day! It is my biggest dream, and I am not somebody who gives up on dreams so easily... :sadeyes:

PS: By the way, I was once really assaulted on holiday in South America. Partly probably my fault. I went to the most dangerous place against everybody's advice.... And someone grabbed me and wanted my watch. I must have been in a crazy mood that day because not only did I go to a dangerous place, but then also refused to give this person my watch, although it was very cheap... Just a matter of principle... He didn't use any weapons or hit me though. I remember very clearly how he grabbed my arm with one hand and pointed at my watch with the other hand (without saying a word, maybe he thought I didn't understand Spanish, although I did). And I courageously refused to give it to him.... LOL Then somebody came to my rescue and he basically took the watch off my wrist and ran away. I don't think he was a "professional criminal" because he didn't have a weapon or anything. Maybe he was just hungry? I don't know... After this bout of courage I felt scared though, and the arm he had grabbed ached for a few days! We then also went to a police station, but they didn't do much apart from saying that I was "loca" (crazy) to go there... :(

[jenchris]

Pity you can't get someone to let you use the roof of a block.
Above the lights and reasonably stable.

[OzStarGazer]

As a kid I lived in a building with a huge space at the top (almost like a playground). It would have been ideal for stargazing, but I am not there any more. Actually they kicked out everybody when I was still a child to make offices out of all apartments...
It would have been difficult anyway to go up there every night with the scope, and leaving it up there would not have been wise either, as everybody in the building had access to it... :(

[jenchris]

Rent a 10x10 space and build an obsy!

[OzStarGazer]

I assume an electric fence would interfere with GOTO? :( Maybe if the distance is big it wouldn't though, for example if it is a countryside house with a lot of land? :P

[OzStarGazer]

I decided to take the risk when I have the chance to have a house.
I am not going to live like a nun only because I am a girl.
If I am assaulted... at least it will be after I have enjoyed something.

[OzStarGazer]

Well, the "magic pen" doesn't work at all... :( :(
I don't know, maybe it only works on car paint. The scope might have a different type of surface/coating.

I will try to find some paint that matches it, but I am not very happy.