Cry for help - scope cleaning

I hope someone can give me some advise here.....

Anyway, today I went to clean my very grimy LX200 corrector plate and
after an initial wash with isopropyl alcohol & distilled water, I
painted it with collodion to get the remaining bits off.....

Now, I've succesfully used collodion on several occasions with smaller
optics, but this time it didn't come off cleanly (maybe 2-3% has stayed
behind and now doesn't want to come off), and where it has come off,
the surface is pretty mucky and smeary.

Any ideas what to do next? Should I paint another thicker coat over it
and try again, or can i dissolve it off with more alcohol and go about
it that way.

I think I will take the corrector plate off tomorrow to make life
easier, but wuld appreciate any tips on how to clean ff the remaining
collodion.

Thanks!

adm wrote:
I hope someone can give me some advise here.....

Anyway, today I went to clean my very grimy LX200 corrector plate and
after an initial wash with isopropyl alcohol & distilled water, I
painted it with collodion to get the remaining bits off.....

Now, I've succesfully used collodion on several occasions with smaller
optics, but this time it didn't come off cleanly (maybe 2-3% has stayed
behind and now doesn't want to come off), and where it has come off, the
surface is pretty mucky and smeary.

Any ideas what to do next? Should I paint another thicker coat over it
and try again, or can i dissolve it off with more alcohol and go about
it that way.



From Wiki, yeah I know...

Collodion is used in the cleaning of optics such as telescope mirrors.
The collodion is applied to the surface of the optic, usually in two or
more layers. Sometimes a piece of thin cloth is applied between the
layers, to hold the collodion together for easy removal.

On Sep 26, 5:26*am, Iapetus wrote:
adm wrote:
I hope someone can give me some advise here.....

Anyway, today I went to clean my very grimy LX200 corrector plate and
after an initial wash with isopropyl alcohol & distilled water, I
painted it with collodion to get the remaining bits off.....

Now, I've succesfully used collodion on several occasions with smaller
optics, but this time it didn't come off cleanly (maybe 2-3% has stayed
behind and now doesn't want to come off), and where it has come off, the
surface is pretty mucky and smeary.

Any ideas what to do next? Should I paint another thicker coat over it
and try again, or can i dissolve it off with more alcohol and go about
it that way.

*From Wiki, yeah I know...

Collodion is used in the cleaning of optics such as telescope mirrors.
The collodion is applied to the surface of the optic, usually in two or
more layers. Sometimes a piece of thin cloth is applied between the
layers, to hold the collodion together for easy removal.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You could use a solar filter to cover the corrector plate when not
using the telescope. This will make the cleaning only necesary over
long periods. And plus you get to look at the sun with the lx200.

Mitch Raemsch

"adm" wrote in message
news:2008092422244016807-adm1@fastmailfm...
I hope someone can give me some advise here.....

Anyway, today I went to clean my very grimy LX200 corrector plate and
after an initial wash with isopropyl alcohol & distilled water, I painted
it with collodion to get the remaining bits off.....

Now, I've succesfully used collodion on several occasions with smaller
optics, but this time it didn't come off cleanly (maybe 2-3% has stayed
behind and now doesn't want to come off), and where it has come off, the
surface is pretty mucky and smeary.

Any ideas what to do next? Should I paint another thicker coat over it and
try again, or can i dissolve it off with more alcohol and go about it that
way.

I think I will take the corrector plate off tomorrow to make life easier,
but wuld appreciate any tips on how to clean ff the remaining collodion.

Thanks!

There is a spray used to clean mirrors, and other optics too, I believe.
Reference has been made to it here. It's reputed to be an excellent and safe
cleaner, but I don't know if it takes colloidon off. I can't remember the
name.
Can anyone else?