C8 Corrector Plate Cleaning

Started by mte1955, 10/16/2009 12:20PM
Posted 10/16/2009 12:20PM Opening Post
I just received a used C8 that looks fine except for a fair amount of dust on the corrector. I am used to cleaning and maintaining my eyepieces. Do you clean these the same way (I use kleenex and Zeiss lens cleaner) or are there some tricks to it? Any hints are appreciated.
Posted 10/16/2009 02:23PM #1
Mike,

Dr. Clay Sherrod of Arkansas Sky Observatories has a kit and a very good set of instructions or cleaning the corrector plate. Included in the instructions is a recipe for making your own cleaning solution. The instructions are very specific and will result in a spot and streak-free corrrector plate.

Gary Caldwell
[email protected]
Posted 10/16/2009 04:18PM | Edited 10/16/2009 04:20PM #2
Michael Tencza said:

I just received a used C8 that looks fine except for a fair amount of dust on the corrector. I am used to cleaning and maintaining my eyepieces. Do you clean these the same way (I use kleenex and Zeiss lens cleaner) or are there some tricks to it? Any hints are appreciated.

Here is what Uncle Rod has to say...

"The best thing? DON'T. Not unless it needs it. Really needs it...as in more than a few fugitive dust specks.

That said, cleaning an SCT corrector is not dangerous. It's more like a camera lens than a first surface mirror.

What have I been doing successfully for the last 30+ years? What have I been usin'?

Windex
Kleenex

By "Windex," I mean the ol' fashioned blue stuff, not some perfumed stuff designed to make the latrine smell like posies.

"Kleenex" means original white WITHOUT LOTION (triple check that...the other day I thought that was what I had grabbed, and shortly had a mess of a corrector).

Spray Windex on tissue, not on corrector. Clean radially from the secondary, rotating the tissue and using new tissues frequently.

When done, swab with dry tissues until the corrector is dry and squeaky clean.

If some lint is left behind, disperse that with canned air (held upright and about 18-inches from the surface) or a camel's hair brush.

I have used Windex on StarBright, UHTC, and XLT correctors with excellent results.

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