Posts Made By: Robert Hertel

Ray,
I am appreciative of Astomart and have had successful dealings in the past with Anacortes, but a recent attempt to correct a problem with an item I purchased added insult to injury. I attempted to secure contact infomation to bring this to your attention, but was told you were out of town for a while. I am posting this here in the hope you check this thread, and I would appreciate it if you would contact me off list to resolve this matter. My email address is [email protected].
Thanks
Robert Hertel

Glen,
Collodion is a hazardous material and it is at least sometimes shipped as such. You can get it from some pharmacies. For mirrors, you want nonflexible, not flexible collodion.
The biggest hazard next to its extreme flammability is that the gas it gives off is ether. I once cleaned a mirror in our unheated sunporch, thinking it was "well ventillated" enough, and was STUNNED in more ways than one that the gas FLEW upstairs in a second. That said,I did succeeed in the back yard. I poured some on my 10" mirror, rolled and pitched the mirror distributing the liquid, added one layer of thin gauze, added a little more liquid on top, and walked away. 20 minutes later, I came back and the chemical had transformed into a sort of semirigid saran wrap. The gauze helped me peel it back, leaving a pristine surface behind.
Trust me, this is NASTY, DANGEROUS stuff, and I can assure you that the less pristine results you get with conventional methods sometimes are effectively just as good with no difference detectible at the eyepiece.
Bob Hertel