SCT flocking material? Where to buy

[Poita]

I had my Meade 10" flocked years ago, and it made a noticeable difference for AP (couldn't say for visual), and want to do my current SCT, though more for insulation that light blocking.

Does anyone know where I can get adhesive backed felt or similar, I remember Paul H used a sticky-backed felt, but am having trouble finding any.

[mikerr]

Peter, there is a product here that might be useful...

http://www.protostar.biz/tubeliner.htm

This article may be of interest....

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/5072547/page/3/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1



Michael.

[Allan_L]

I believe some people get it from Spotlight.
I think they sell it in A4 sheets.
OK for dew shields, but maybe another source may be appropriate for bigger jobs?

Al

[wayne anderson]

Hi Peter,

I was thinking of flocking my LX200 a while back and found the Spotlight store at
Kawana sunshine coast QLD sells self adhesive black felt by the metre on a roll
one metre wide, other stores may also have it, I can’t remember the price.

This thread may also help:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=61794

Also I found this any many other interesting articles about SCT flocking in the
MAPUG-Astronomy Topical Archive. If you don’t have it already you can
download it from

http://www.wideman.org/MAPUG/MAPUG_Topical_Archive_11-27-2006.pdf

Subject: Flocking & Black Painting -- Best and Easiest Methods to
Increase Contrast? --part 2
From: Roger Thompson <rthompsn nb.sympatico.ca>

I flocked my OTA a few months back, and I had the same concerns, here is what I
did. I went out to Staples (a local stationary/ office supply outlet) and purchased a
laminated calander, the one I got was about 24" x 36" and was only about $9.00.
The lamenated sheet was cut to fit against the inside wall of the OTA, when I did a
test fit, it actually snapped solidly into place, I then removed the lamenated sheet
and flocked the sheet! I then put the flocked sheet back into the OTA, and it
snapped in perfectly. The seam is invisable, I highly recommend this method since
you do not get any of the sticky flocking paper anywhere near any optics.
The baffle can be removed and flocked also. It really is not that difficult to do if care
is taken. I had a large bench set-up with nothing nearby to trip over or hit.
The primary mirror does not have to be removed. (your choice, depending on how
much you want to flock. As the for the corrector, just be sure to have a mark on the
corrector edge to align the corrector before you remove it so you can align it when
you replace it. Note: See how to remove a stuck corrector here in the Archives.
I used any extra flocking material to flock diagonals, and eyepieces.

I hope this may help you.

Wayne.

[Poita]

The laminated calendar idea is pure genius.

[Poita]

My thoughts on flocking are two-fold.
1)The darker, less reflective interior can't hurt
2) I am going to add active cooling to the scope, and figured the flocking will provide a level of tube insulation that may be beneficial.

[Mik Skywatcher]

Flocking mine today aswell, Spotlight sell 1mx1m felt adhesive for $19, might be easier than sticking individual A4 sheets? I'm just leaving the backing on and cutting out small holes for the screws in the OTA then join with sticky tape on the backing and insert.

[Ausrock]

I made a prototype dew shield a while back and purchased packs of A4 adhesive backed felt. It was rubbish, the felt itself had very little "body", it continually stretched out of shape as the paper backing was removed making it virtually impossible to get a neat finish. Maybe the larger sheets from Spotlight are of a better quality..........must check it out.

[jenchris]

Dropped my OTA of the mount the other day- nearly flocked it for free!

Happy birthday me

[Paul Haese]

Yes I used Spotlight gear. Still stuck on after 4.5 years and nothing coming adrift. Pretty happy with that. :)

[asimov]

And I also assume, no shedding from this particular material Paul? That's my only concern & the reason I haven't done it yet. The material unsticking itself is of less a concern to me. Easy enough to pop that corrector out & fix it, but I won't be popping the corrector out to clean optics in an SCT that have foreign particles on them from 'shedding'..

[Paul Haese]

Nothing at all. I was pretty thorough on the install with removing any lint, to this date though I have seen nothing on the mirror.

[Poita]

Paul, am I right in thinking that the flocking providing a level of thermal insulation is not harmful?
I thought it would be beneficial to have the tube insulated, but I'm not sure.

[asimov]

Cool. That's what I wanted to hear.

[Paul Haese]

I don't think it provides any real insulative aspect. Mybe just a tad more than normal but not enough of any real significance. I was just trying to increase the contrast. However it may well keep the cooled air within a certain temperature gradient. I have not looked into this but you never know.

[clive milne]

I think you'll find that just by virtue of providing an air gap you will gain an insulation value of at least R0.2, pretty much irrespective of the materials you use.

fwiw) R0.2 is by definition 5 watts of thermal conductance per square meter per degree C temp differential.... so it approximately halves the thermal conductance of a standard steel tube.

The key here is to prevent the flocking material from making physical contact with the tube assembly, thereby avoiding direct conductance.

(think double glazing)

~c