Hard to say from your description if there's any damage, but hopefully you
didn't "rub" the corrector plate.
I very rarely clean mine, and just use compressed at an oblique angle to
gently blow off dust particles.
A slightly dirty lens is better than a scratched one, any day.

If I do have to clean it, I'll use a soln similar to what you described and
a very soft LINT FREE cloth and just drap it over the lens and very gently
pull it off from center to edge. ONLY do this after blowing off (with dry
compressed air) any contaminants.
NEVER use an air compressor for the cleaning, this air is VERY dirty with
oil and other nasties that would be very bad for the lens.
Just use canned air, and be careful at that.


Good luck.

Steve



"JD" wrote in message
...
While out viewing Mars last week, my Meade ETX-125 corrector plate got a
pretty good dose of dew over the course of the evening. I let the scope
thoroughly dry and upon inspection the next day, the corrector plate had
a somewhat mottled appearance. Nothing serious, but enough to make me
want to get it back to the pristine condition it was in when it was new.

Anyway, per Meade's instructions, I mixed a solution of distilled water
and isopropyl alcohol to make a cleaning solution. Then using a small
amount of solution and a microfiber towel, I proceeded to 'clean' the
corrector plate. It appeared that the solution was removing more than
the accumulated dust and dew spots- almost like it was removing the
coating on the plate. At this point I was committed to the task so I
proceeded to finish cleaning the entire outside surface of the corrector
plate.

Now, when it is completely dry and 'clean' (?, no more mottled
appearance anyway) the corrector plate simply looks 'dull' for lack of a
better word. This is inside under artificial light. Outside in indirect
sunlight, it looks pretty good. As I have a few more hours to wait until
it's dark here, I won't be able to check it out on Mars but frankly I'm
pretty apprehensive that I have damaged the corrector plate.

One, your thoughts would be appreciated. And two, if I have to send the
scope back to Meade to have them make it all shiny and beautiful again,
any idea what they might charge? Hopefully nothing as I followed their
'recipe' for the cleaning solution!