So thanks to Covid, I got my 13 year old Bintel 12 inch dobsonian out of the shed the other night after years of neglect
The mirror definitely looked like it needed a good clean, so I followed the instructions given in the manual to clean it.
disassembled and took out the mirror, soaked it in room temperature tap water in a clean sink with a few drops of dishwashing liquid for 2 hours, then lightly brushed across the surface with a new cotton bud each stroke and then rinsed it off with demineralised water. managed to clean it somewhat (got all the insect poop marks off), however, it certainly still doesn't look too great...
https://imgur.com/a/VDc0vnL
Have I just been too gentle with the cleaning? Or should I try a different method? Or could it be that the mirror surface has just oxidised and any cleaning attempts won't be successful?
Any advice would be super appreciated!
Thanks!
Zander