Refurbishing an objective lens

[Swagman105 (Geoff)]

I have just bought quite cheaply a second hand Vixen 80D 720F refractor which had obviously been languishing in a garage for many years. I have cleaned it up quite a bit but there are some marks on the objective which I cannot remove. The telescope seems to work quite well as it is but the marks annoy me aesthetically and I don't want to risk causing any damage to the lens by trying to clean with too much force.
I am worried that the marks are actually damage to the coating caused by insect excretions (flies, spiders etc ) that may have etched the surface coatings.
I have been told that the telescope although old (90's vintage) is almost identical to the modern vixen and is a fine instrument so I wouldn't mind spending a bit of money to professionally clean or even if necessary re coat the lens.
I would be open to suggestions on this.

[DavidU (Dave)]

Hi Geoff, I find this page by Roland Christen from Astro Physics very good.
http://www.astro-physics.com/product...structions.pdf

[dannat (Daniel)]

i would leave it & enjoy it -the problem often happens with binos -as long as the instrument puts up a good image just use it
you might try caerium oxide to polish out the coating problem

[Swagman105 (Geoff)]

Thanks guys for your quick response. Very new here to Ice and good to see how easy it is to talk to other like mindeds.
DavidU that was a good link but unfortunately Astro Physics are not able to ship their Cleaning kit internationally because of the alcoholic content of the Baader optical wonder solution. Air freight rules apparently.
The Purasol company in the US have no restrictions on having a 4 Oz bottle of its molecular cleaner shipped here for $28 US.
I wasn't able to find any of our local suppliers advertising either solution.
I suppose it is fairly natural to want everything not only to perform well but to look perfect as well.
Dannat's maybe I will take your advice for now and enjoy the performance. Cerium Oxide does sound a little extreme though.
I will see how things go and, as my ultimate aim is a bit of astrophotography (have ordered a ZEQ25), that would be the ultimate test of whether there are any problems arising from the marks.

[DavidU (Dave)]

There is a local cleaner similar to the AP one
http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx
I have used this and it is excellent.

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

If you're looking for a professional clean I can recommend Roger Davis at Roger's Optics and Restoration.

[5ash (Philip)]

Originally Posted by DavidU

There is a local cleaner similar to the AP one
http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories...oductview.aspx
I have used this and it is excellent.

I use this for my SCT corrector plate , recently a spider lowered itself into the dew shield of my SW 120ED whilst I was imaging and got locked in for a few days .when I discovered it , web had been spun between the objective surface and inside of the dew cap. After carefully removing the spider and web , blowing the surfaces and gentle brushing . I finally carefully cleaned the surface of the objective using said bintel solution and 3 ply Kleenex facial tissues ( pure kind , no alovera etc).as long as you apply no pressure just drag the tissues , same for drying. You should have no problems.
Philip