Mirror Re-coating

callaghans1 (Laurie) · #1 14-06-2012, 04:25 PM

My 16" newtonian mirror and secondary need re-coating. I live in North-eastern Victoria - any suggestions?

alocky (Andrew lockwood) · #2 15-06-2012, 10:43 AM

There's an ex-CSIRO guy near Sydney who advertises in Sky and Telescope ( every second issue) called C Qin optical - extremely high quality work, he's done a couple of mirrors and anti-reflection coatings for me at least, and I believe has many other satisfied customers. I'll chase up his contact details when I get home.
Cheers
Andrew.

Satchmo · #3 15-06-2012, 01:12 PM

Hi Andrew

The ex-Csiro guy is Wayne Sainty at Saintech 02 6554 9825 located in Taree. Issac at CQin doesn't have access to a coating plant now and occasionally ships mirrors to China and then flies over to coat them ( as far as I understand him ) . I am using Saintech now but there are holdups as he sorts out his equipment for aluminium as well as Silver which is his preferred coating. He has done some good coatings for me- currently sorting out a power supply issue.

alocky (Andrew lockwood) · #4 15-06-2012, 04:08 PM

Thanks for the clarification Mark, and apologies for the erroneous information. If you're using him then that's sufficient endorsement in itself.
Cheers,
Andrew.

Matthew Lovell · #5 19-09-2012, 04:47 PM

Hi all and Satchmo,

I tried contacting Wayne Sainty on the stated number and it was the wrong number. Tried it twice. Got a gentlemen who didn't know what I was on about. Is this number correct or a typo?

Matthew Lovell

MrB (Simon) · #6 19-09-2012, 04:59 PM

Google wins.
http://www.saintech.com/

gb_astro · #7 19-09-2012, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Lovell

Hi all and Satchmo,

I tried contacting Wayne Sainty on the stated number and it was the wrong number. Tried it twice. Got a gentlemen who didn't know what I was on about. Is this number correct or a typo?

Matthew Lovell

Mathhew, try 02 6554 9875

gb.

mbaddah (Mo) · #8 19-09-2012, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo

Hi Andrew

The ex-Csiro guy is Wayne Sainty at Saintech 02 6554 9825 located in Taree. Issac at CQin doesn't have access to a coating plant now and occasionally ships mirrors to China and then flies over to coat them ( as far as I understand him ) . I am using Saintech now but there are holdups as he sorts out his equipment for aluminium as well as Silver which is his preferred coating. He has done some good coatings for me- currently sorting out a power supply issue.

Hi Mark,

After my experience using Silver coatings with Wayne I would highly advise against it. It was tempting at the time to go for the 99% reflectivity, but after it failed on me on the second outing I had (coating literally came off in pieces) I would stick with Aluminium. I would hate to hear of others having the same experience I had then forking out for the expensive repair.

Just my 2c.

Satchmo · #9 20-09-2012, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Hi Mark,

After my experience using Silver coatings with Wayne I would highly advise against it. It was tempting at the time to go for the 99% reflectivity, but after it failed on me on the second outing I had (coating literally came off in pieces) I would stick with Aluminium. I would hate to hear of others having the same experience I had then forking out for the expensive repair.

Just my 2c.

All those problens are now sorted out and silver mirrors are passing the tape `adhesion' test with flying colours. The enhanced silver coating is very simple - silver then a layer of Quartz ( very hard ) then a single layer of another material deposited by Ion deposition. You unfortunately got the first coating that had apparently not been tape tested ( which would have shown there was a fault . and the fault in the process has since been corrected.

I now have 2 12" mirrors in service with both plain Quartz and enhanced silver and i will be seeing how they compare in terms of longevity. Just passing on what I know about all this. it was great of Peter of SDM to send your faulty mirror immediately to another coater to get you up and running again and as far as I know you didn't personally suffer other than having your scope out of action for a while.

bojan · #10 20-09-2012, 05:59 PM

So, what would be the ~price for 10" mirror, previously coated by Coulter Optical (company doesn't exist any more), Al + SiO ?

Satchmo · #11 20-09-2012, 06:14 PM

Have attched PDF of price schedule.

MrB (Simon) · #12 20-09-2012, 07:43 PM

Cheers Mark

I wonder how much extra to get the secondary re-coated at the same time as the primary?

The silver option is looking good for a newt astrograph:
Aluminium 91%^2 = ~83% system reflectivity
Enhanced 95%^2 = ~90%
Silver+prot 98%^2 = ~96%

ausastronomer (John Bambury) · #13 20-09-2012, 10:03 PM

Hi Mark,

I seriously hope Wayne has sorted the issues out, and can offer a top grade coating service at "reasonable" prices.

Whilst there might be a multiude of options for mirror coating services in the USA, there is an absolute dearth of them in Australia, After Chi Quin changed direction there were essentially no coating services available in Australia, outside Wayne, that had an enviable reputation, or were reasonably priced. Unfortunately with shipping costs to and from the USA as high as they are, shipping smaller (< 15" mirrors) to the USA isn't really a cost effective option for mine.

Cheers,
John B

mbaddah (Mo) · #14 20-09-2012, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo

All those problens are now sorted out and silver mirrors are passing the tape `adhesion' test with flying colours. The enhanced silver coating is very simple - silver then a layer of Quartz ( very hard ) then a single layer of another material deposited by Ion deposition. You unfortunately got the first coating that had apparently not been tape tested ( which would have shown there was a fault . and the fault in the process has since been corrected.

I'm glad to hear the issue has been sorted out Mark.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo

I now have 2 12" mirrors in service with both plain Quartz and enhanced silver and i will be seeing how they compare in terms of longevity. Just passing on what I know about all this. it was great of Peter of SDM to send your faulty mirror immediately to another coater to get you up and running again and as far as I know you didn't personally suffer other than having your scope out of action for a while.

I've sent you a pm regarding this.

Satchmo · #15 21-09-2012, 08:41 AM

Apologies to Mo for my not having the full facts but it is a lesson on both sides to check full facts and latest situation before making statements on IIS and some threads then become unnecessary.

erick (Eric) · #16 06-10-2012, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo

Have attched PDF of price schedule.

Very reasonable and affordable prices.

Me2 (Mark) · #17 07-07-2013, 01:47 PM

Hi,

This is my first post, my name is Mark and I live in Bellingen NSW. I am in the process of having my 12.5" Parks mirror recoated so thought this thread, although old, may still be relevant.

The mirror was last recoated some ten years ago but started corroding quite rapidly so I assume it didn't have a protective overcoat. I have recently got the astronomy bug again so I'm overhauling my self designed/built truss tube dob and will finish the 12' dome on my house.

For recoating I have been in contact with Matthew Lovell at Telescopes and Astronomy and since reading this thread have talked to Wayne Sainty. Wayne is just down the road (well, 3 hours drive) so will probably get my mirror coated by him.

My question is whether to go with the Aluminium + Quartz R>91% or the Aluminium Enhanced R>95% coatings.

As I live in a particularly damp environment I'm leaning towards the quartz as it may last longer, and I suspect the extra reflectivity may not be all that noticeable anyway. Looking at this article reinforces my thoughts: http://www.oldham-optical.co.uk/Coatings.htm

Any opinions?

Cheers,
Mark

PS For those interested Wayne charges $375 for quartz and $410 for enhanced so price isn't a factor. He no longer offers Silver explaining that it tends to only be reliable on newly made mirrors. Matthew Lovell at Telescopes and Astronomy charges $440 for 95% Reflectivity including Overcoat which I presume must be enhanced aluminium. Coating removal is $15. He would also test my mirror for $35 with a printout showing the result using software.

Me2 (Mark) · #18 07-07-2013, 02:16 PM

Wayne Sainty's latest prices:

Saintech Price Schedule Revised June 2013.pdf

See previous post.

gb_astro · #19 08-07-2013, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Me2

Hi,

This is my first post, my name is Mark and I live in Bellingen NSW. I am in the process of having my 12.5" Parks mirror recoated so thought this thread, although old, may still be relevant.

The mirror was last recoated some ten years ago but started corroding quite rapidly so I assume it didn't have a protective overcoat. I have recently got the astronomy bug again so I'm overhauling my self designed/built truss tube dob and will finish the 12' dome on my house.

For recoating I have been in contact with Matthew Lovell at Telescopes and Astronomy and since reading this thread have talked to Wayne Sainty. Wayne is just down the road (well, 3 hours drive) so will probably get my mirror coated by him.

My question is whether to go with the Aluminium + Quartz R>91% or the Aluminium Enhanced R>95% coatings.

As I live in a particularly damp environment I'm leaning towards the quartz as it may last longer, and I suspect the extra reflectivity may not be all that noticeable anyway. Looking at this article reinforces my thoughts: http://www.oldham-optical.co.uk/Coatings.htm

Any opinions?

Cheers,
Mark

HI Mark.

I think you will find that both his standard and enhanced overcoats use Silicon Dioxide, which is Silica rather than Quartz.
(Edit: My mistake here, the coating is quartz not silica.)

(Edit: Removed misinformation.)

I had my mirror done by him about 8 months ago and so far so good.

gb.

Julian · #20 08-07-2013, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo

All those problens are now sorted out and silver mirrors are passing the tape `adhesion' test with flying colours. The enhanced silver coating is very simple - silver then a layer of Quartz ( very hard ) then a single layer of another material deposited by Ion deposition. You unfortunately got the first coating that had apparently not been tape tested ( which would have shown there was a fault . and the fault in the process has since been corrected.

I now have 2 12" mirrors in service with both plain Quartz and enhanced silver and i will be seeing how they compare in terms of longevity. Just passing on what I know about all this. it was great of Peter of SDM to send your faulty mirror immediately to another coater to get you up and running again and as far as I know you didn't personally suffer other than having your scope out of action for a while.

it would be interesting to see how long these new? coatings last, I have a 5 year old galaxy mirror, where they doing those mirrors with the quartz overcoat then? if someone can tell me thanks