MOONWARD
VACUUM COATINGS
CARING
FOR COATINGS
General Care
Once freshly deposited coatings leave the laboratory, they
immediately become subjected to the attacking elements of the
environment. While overcoatings will help to prolong the
longevity of telescope mirrors, the user can do little to protect
the mirrors from this exposure during use. A reasonable
amount of protection however, can be given to optical surfaces
when not in use. In caring for one's mirror, the user can
take some precautionary measures.
Storing your Telescope
Choose a dry storage location for your telescope. More than
simply protecting a telescope's optics from dust will be required
in expecting a mirror's reflectivity to retain its brilliancy and
durability over time. Surprisingly enough, much of the loss
in reflectivity of telescope mirrors can usually be attributed to
long and/or frequent exposures to moisture and atmospheric
contaminates, which can often be present around a stored
telescope.
Cleaning your Mirror
Due to the limited space permitted in this brochure, we encourage the user to further investigate the delicate techniques used in cleaning telescope mirrors. Cleaning should not become a regular ritual. Cleaning should only commence if dirt is noticeably reducing the image contrast of images observed. Too frequent cleaning will do more harm than good to a mirror's longevity. If cleaning is absolutely necessary, below is a recommended method for cleaning a mirror.
1) Gently rinse mirror on edge with cold tap water.
2) Create a small bath of de-ionized water and a few drops of mild liquid dish detergent.
3) Completely immerse the mirror in the solution concave side up and allow it to sit for a short while so that surface dirt can be dislodged. The bath solution may be swirled about while keeping the mirror submerged.
4) If dirt particulants persistently adhere to the mirror, a wad of sterile absorbent cotton pads saturated with the soap solution can be very gently passed with NO PRESSURE in straight lines over the submerged mirror surface. Repeat a second time with fresh cotton if necessary.
5) Flush the mirror free of all traces of detergent using cold tap water followed by a rinsing of de-ionized water.
6)
Allow mirror to dry standing on edge.
Contact Information;
MOONWARD VACUUM COATINGS
P.O. Box 850
Copper Cliff, Ontario,
Canada P0M 1N0
Telephone
Inquires:
Alan Ward or Grant Fleury
(705) 690- 3435
copyright 1999
Moonward Vacuum Coatings
revised: Sep 15, 2003
