Flocking material to increase contrast, 10" Newt: where to buy and how to install?

[Logieberra]

Hey guys

I would like to flock the internals of my 10" Skywatcher Newt.

I came across this UK article: http://www.orion-xt10.com/flocking-xt10-telescope-tube.html

The images provided by the author show darn good results when it was only 1/2 finished - see attached:

Do we have similar products here in Australia, preferably at BUNNINGS!

And if the local products differ, can you walk me through the installation?

Thx,

Logan.

[Steffen]

I used the same material, ordered here (http://www.fpi-protostar.com/hitack.htm), to flock my 6" Mak. The results are very pleasing. The HiTack stuff isn't exactly cheap, but the strong dollar helps a bit.

Cheers
Steffen.

[stanlite]

i work at a bunnings i will have a look when i next work and get back to you. I know we sell felt ... but where this is also adhesive i don't know ... also seems it needs to be balck felt.

[iceman]

I used adhesive-backed black felt from Lincraft on my old 10" newt.
Worked great!

[Steffen]

I bought some thin-sheet self-adhesive black neoprene from Clark Rubber (http://clarkrubber.com.au/rubber-strips-and-sheeting/standard-rubber.html) not long ago (for making dew heaters). I could imagine this material to be useful for lining OTAs, but it isn't as matte black as the ProtoStar flocking and reflects somewhat more light. It is also quite a bit more expensive, but one would avoid overseas shipping.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Logieberra]

A few options to work with, thanks guys.

- Steffen, yes that stuff looks like the business, but it is pricy... Good idea re Clark Rubber. I might swing by at some stage.

- Grady, will be interested to hear what you can source. There are several Bunnings stores in Canberra... fingers crossed.

- Mike, sounds good. I will call Lincraft and see what they can do.

Cheers.

[JethroB76]

Spotlight sells self adhesive black felt

[tlgerdes]

Pay the money and get the protostar stuff. It is blacker than a moonless night in the outback.

It might seem expensive but when you actually compare it to the adhesive felt, it only came out about 20-25% more expensive when I was looking at my F4 Newt.

[ngcles]

Hi Logan,

If you really want to get fair-dinkum, see if you can find a drapery where they sell German black 100% cotton velvet. Not the crap stuff sold at Spotlight or Lincraft and so-on but German 100% cotton velvet. The black stuff is amazing. Spread it out on the carpet at home and it looks like a hole in the floor. Light just seems to fall into it. It isn't shiny at all -- that's the acrylic stuff that sells for a few dollars a metre and is crap.

German cotton velvet it isn't cheap though -- expect to pay around $70-90-odd for enough to do your tube. The roll is usually 1500mm wide, so you will need a bit less than a metre.

Strip the tube of optics and so-forth. Roll the velvet up on a broom-handle. Use wallpaper glue as adhesive (paint shop) -- it works fine with material on metal. You can use an epoxy glue but you will get stoned on it because you will be working with you head in the tube for about 15-20 mins while you lay it on and smooth-down. Wallpaper adhesive works just as well, you just don't get the high at the end of the job. (Imagine a "stoned" emoticon here.)

Lay the tube down and paint a long strip of adhesive several inches wide from top to bottom inside the tube. Put the broom in, lay it down and roll off a couple of inches and smooth it down like wallpaper with your hand. Paint a few more inches, roll the velvet out and smooth it down by hand. Repeat etc etc till the tube is done. Wait till it is all dry, cut off the loose ends and threads, cut holes for screws, etc where your fittings go.

Vacuum -out the inside of the tube. Re-assemble. You will be amazed how well this works -- much superior to any flocking or felt. German velvet is getting hard to obtain now though!


Best,

Les D

[Logieberra]

Les, some intriguing details there. I see that you're from Sydney, and I head there often. Do know of any stores that carry this magic carpet?

P.S. excellent instructions, cheers.

[Steffen]

Hmm, I'm German and I've never heard of German cotton velvet. They probably call it Russian cotton velvet in Germany… ;)

This reminds me of a Sci-Fi story I read in my youth about a very peculiar mirror. It had 100% reflectivity on one side and 0% on the other. You could feel the cold when you held your hand close to the black side… :)

Cheers
Steffen.

[ngcles]

Hi Logan,



No, it's been about 7 years since I last bought it, but I had it inside my 10" and then the 12". The last time I bought it was to do the inside of the dob, but I only ended up doing the upper cage -- that was 7 years ago now.

I have bought it at Home Yardage -- but they are now out of business. Try to get in contact with a seamstress or similar -- someone who makes formal attire (wedding gowns etc) and they will probably know the fabric and where you can get it. The last time I bought, it was $80/m and I bought it at a specialist drapery somewhere in the city. The dollar back then was about 55c U.S and it's all but parity now, so it sohouldn't have gone up that much if at all -- no guarantees though!:thumbsup:


Best,

Les D

[FlighHigh]

Hi Steffen,

German cotton velvet ist Baumwollsamt ein Baumwollmix-Gewebe das sich
so fein wie Microfaser anfuehlt. Das Zeug wird oft genommen fuer curtains.

Hope it helps.


Cheers
Glen

[Steffen]

Ah thanks, but isn't that a rather shiny material? I suppose it has to be seen in the flesh (or thread as it may be) to be judged for suitability…

Cheers
Steffen.

[mswhin63]

Microfiber is also used commonly on lounge suites, only more recent would it be the same?

[FlighHigh]

Hi Malcolm,

sorry but I don't know :shrug: there are just to many different compositions and every manufacturer has a different name for it.

I reckon cotton velvet is a cotton/modal mix and microfibre is a polyester/ what ever mix.


Cheers
Glen

[Logieberra]

Hey guys

I ended up going with the Prostar jazz. Steffen is right, if there was ever a time to buy stuff from the US - it's now...

Will let you know how it goes, and will take some pics for this thread.

Cheers,

Logie.

[stanlite]

how did it work out

[Logieberra]

It worked out very well Grady.... BUT a word of caution to anyone that buys this stuff:

- it's super sticky, once it touches the tube it leaves one heck of a mess if you try and take sections out...
- don't try and install large sections at once, I used a fence plank to create stips, it was soooo much easier to do it this way!

Will take pics soon. It looks very clean/neat. Glad that I went with the 'good stuff'.

Logie.

[stanlite]

cool i just ordered some a few days ago ... so i have a vested interest in discovering your secrets :P

[Logieberra]

Good move.

Go by Bunnings and grab yourself a smooth & flat piece of off-cut wood, anything from 4-6 inches wide, and at least 1/2 the length of your tube. You'll cut stips with this.

You'll also need a VERY sharp hobby / exacto / stanley knife.

Whatever you do - don't follow the directions of a cloudynights post out there, the dude cut large sections and managed to pull it off. Not recommended... And why would you? The manufacturer recommends that you cut expansion lines in the material when you're done - so you end up with strips anyway :) Makes sense, with temp changes the tube will move, so the material will need expansion / contraction room. The expansion lines / strips will provide this.

Logie.

[astro_nutt]

My eldest daughter brought a black velvet skirt from Savers a few years ago, (worn it only once then into the recycling bag) Thought I'd try using this to flock my 10"dob. I stuck it onto a thin cardboard sleeve first before placing into the tube, then used blu-tac to hold it in place. Works well.
Cheers!

[tlgerdes]

Also installs a lot easier if you have a second pair of hands.

This stuff is definitely worth it. In light polluted inner Sydney, I went from 90 sec to 150 sec subs before the light got the better of my camera just by installing this stuff.

[Logieberra]

And as promised, some of the most boring pics you'll ever see ;) I think it worked out well... not too shabby.

Logie.

[Logieberra]

Anyone wanna buy my remaining Prostar Flocking? I've got a decent amount left over...

Otherwise it's off to the classifieds!

Logie.

[Logieberra]

An update:

- DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STICK MATERIAL ON ITSELF. I left my scope unused for a month of so, and in the one place where I overlapped the material it came off altogether! This stuff is amazingly sticky on metal etc, but not on itself.

- Buy yourself one of those cheap-pet-hair-remover-sticky-roller things. Give the inside a good roll to get rid of residual / loose black fibres from time to time.

- And as a common practice anyways: store you scope mirror side up! I had a nice collection of black fibres on my primary after storing it vertically – mirror side down.

Logie