Painting an 8" OTA

[prova]

just wondering how many people have done this and what is involved in painting my OTA and finderscope from blue to white?

pic of the actual scope attached

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Hi Prova - great little scope and great camera! (D40)

I, too, hate "Skywatcher Blue". It's horrible.

I painted mine with "Antique White" PlastiKote. Looks great.

Just some advice - you need to let it sit in the sun for a week to cure before you mount it back up again, otherwise the felt liner inside the two rings sticks to the surface.

[astronut (John)]

Hi Prova,
If your D.I.Y.S skills are lacking
You can have your scope powder coated (in the colour and finish of your choice) at a very resonable price.
Just look in your local yellow pages.
You'll have to pull everything off your scope youself.
I've seen the results on many scopes, they look better than brand new!!
I had the end rings on my 12"LB P/C black with great success.

[prova]

looks great Chris, think we have the same taste (and gear)

John - yes, my skills are somewhat lacking, but I do know a few people in the motor industry that should be able to help me out.

any tips before I totally strip my OTA?

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Nah - just pull it apart. The external mirror cell casing comes off with 6 screws around the periphery near the base - just be careful handling it and make sure you cover it up with something that won't scratch the mirror. Leave the mirror and it's cell in one piece inside the outer casing - there's no need to disassemble it any further.

The secondary/spider comes off in a complete unit too - just undo the 4 thumbscrews and pull the unit out.

When you have it painted just put it back together in the same way and collimate. You'll need to re-centre the secondary again, but the collimation procedure will ensure this.

[prova]

cheers, will post the results when done!

[South Poll]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Hi Prova - great little scope and great camera! (D40)

I, too, hate "Skywatcher Blue". It's horrible.

I painted mine with "Antique White" PlastiKote. Looks great.

Just some advice - you need to let it sit in the sun for a week to cure before you mount it back up again, otherwise the felt liner inside the two rings sticks to the surface.

Call me lazy, but I HATE hanging around waiting for paint to dry and harden! Refurbishing my trusty Meade DS-10 Newt, and went down to the local signwriter for some adhesive vinyl they use to laser cut lettering from. $10 for a white piece 1300mm square. Took all of about 5 mins to apply to the tube (a fraction of the time it took to clean and prep it!) and "presto!", NEW TUBE.

Pics show before and after. Refurb' still only about 70% done.

Clear skies !

[acropolite (Phil)]

just wondering how many people have done this and what is involved in painting my OTA and finderscope from blue to white?

Personally I wouldn't bother, they're all the same colour in the dark...

[South Poll]

Originally Posted by acropolite

Personally I wouldn't bother, they're all the same colour in the dark...

Man! you must have some dark skies!!!

Everyone knows there's a little light even in the darkest location (unless you're observing in your celler). Having the gear white is very helpful I have found, particularly after tripping over black equipment previously. Besides.....I like the look and think it looks very professional and clinical in white - and I have to look at it in the daylight a lot more than in the dark

[Stevo69]

South Poll, excellent result. It looks clean, fresh and professional, and a bit like a 'traditional' scope. Nice finish. I would agree, if you are not confident with spraying (can or spray gun), don't bother experimenting on your scope..

But prova, if you have mates in the spray industry, they will may be experts at it.

But I will also say that a beautifully presented scope is can be a work of ark, something to be take a bit of pride in.