shaneaust
06-12-2006, 09:45 AM
I just wanted to comment on an article Mike (IceMan) posted awhile back in the "Projects & Articles" section regarding instructions on cleaning mirrors of your telescope.
I've only had mine since April, but did notice a buildup of dust and crud on both mirrors and, using the article, set to cleaning them both yesterday.
The difference in quality was quite noticeable! It's not something that anyone should do on a regular basis, but if your scope mirrors look as though they need cleaning, I'd urge you to read this article. (Luckily for me, too, the telescope that Mike used as an example in the article is a Bintel BT252, which is what I also have).
The only things I can add to IceMan's article is that:
1. I always use a pair of white cotton gloves when handling the mirrors, in order to ensure that my fingerprints don't become a permament feature of either mirror - been there, done that, in the past!
2. I'd advise going easy on the actual wiping of the mirror with a cotton ball - try just immersing it in the water, then rinsing it as per the article, first, without wiping the mirror face. Wiping can leave streaks if you're not super-careful and after using this method on my primary mirror, I simply soaked and rinsed my secondary and that worked just fine.
Cheers.:)
I've only had mine since April, but did notice a buildup of dust and crud on both mirrors and, using the article, set to cleaning them both yesterday.
The difference in quality was quite noticeable! It's not something that anyone should do on a regular basis, but if your scope mirrors look as though they need cleaning, I'd urge you to read this article. (Luckily for me, too, the telescope that Mike used as an example in the article is a Bintel BT252, which is what I also have).
The only things I can add to IceMan's article is that:
1. I always use a pair of white cotton gloves when handling the mirrors, in order to ensure that my fingerprints don't become a permament feature of either mirror - been there, done that, in the past!
2. I'd advise going easy on the actual wiping of the mirror with a cotton ball - try just immersing it in the water, then rinsing it as per the article, first, without wiping the mirror face. Wiping can leave streaks if you're not super-careful and after using this method on my primary mirror, I simply soaked and rinsed my secondary and that worked just fine.
Cheers.:)