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6. Care and Maintenance
If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime.
Store it in a clean, dry, dust free place, safe from rapid
changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the tele-
scope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK.
Small components like eyepieces and other accessories
should be kept in a protective box or storage case. Keep the
caps on the front of the scope and on the focuser when it is not
in use. For maximum protection during storage, we recom-
mend placing the telescope in a case to prevent any dust and
moisture from accumulating on exposed surfaces.
The telescope requires very little mechanical maintenance.
The optical tube is made of steel and has a smooth painted
finish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does appear
on the tube, it will not harm the telescope. If you wish, you may
apply some auto touch-up paint to the scratch. Smudges on
the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household
cleaner such as Windex or Formula 409.
Cleaning Lenses
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens clean-
ing fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be
used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or finder-
scope. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid
designed for eyeglasses
Before cleaning with fluid and tissue, blow any loose particles
off the lens with a blower bulb or compressed air. Then apply
some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never directly on the optics.
Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any
excess fluid with a fresh lens tissue. Oily fingerprints and
smudges may be removed using this method. Use caution;
rubbing too hard may scratch the lens. On larger lenses, clean
only a small area at a time, using a fresh lens tissue on each
area. Never reuse tissues.
Cleaning Mirrors
You should not have to clean the telescope’s mirrors very
often; normally once every year or so. Covering the telescope
with the dust cover when it is not in use will help prevent dust
from accumulating on the mirrors. Improper cleaning can
scratch mirror coatings, so the fewer times you have to clean
the mirrors, the better. Small specks of dust or flecks of paint
have virtually no effect on the visual performance of the tele-
scope.
The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of
your telescope are front-surface aluminized and overcoated
with hard silicon dioxide, which prevents the aluminum from
oxidizing. These coatings normally last through many years of
use before requiring re-coating, which is easily done.
To clean the secondary mirror, it must be removed from the
telescope. Do this by holding the secondary mirror holder sta-
tionary with your fingers (don’t touch the mirror itself) while
unthreading the Phillips head screw in the center hub of the 4-
vaned spider. Completely unthread the screw from the holder,
and the holder will come loose in your fingers. Be careful not
to lose the spring on the Phillips head screw.
Handle the mirror and its holder carefully. You do not need to
remove the secondary mirror from its holder for cleaning. To
clean the secondary mirror, follow the procedure described
below for cleaning the primary mirror.
To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell
from the telescope. To do this, you must remove the screws
that connect the entire mirror cell to the steel tube. These
screws are located on the outer edge of the mirror cell.
Now, remove the mirror from the mirror cell by removing the
three mirror clips that secure the mirror in its cell. Use a
Phillips head screwdriver to unthread the mirror clip anchor
screws. Next, hold the mirror by its edge, and remove it from
the mirror cell. Be careful not to touch the aluminized surface
of the mirror with your fingers. Set the mirror on a clean, soft
towel. Fill a clean sink, free of abrasive cleanser, with room-
temperature water, a few drops of liquid dishwashing
detergent, and if possible, a capful of rubbing alcohol.
Submerge the mirror (aluminized face up) in the water and let
it soak for several minutes (or hours if it is a very dirty mirror).
Wipe the mirror underwater with clean cotton balls, using
extremely light pressure and stroking in straight lines across
the surface. Use one ball for each wipe across the mirror. Then
rinse the mirror under a stream of lukewarm water. Any parti-
cles on the surface can be swabbed gently with a series of
clean cotton balls, each used just one time. Dry the mirror in a
stream of air (a “blower bulb” works great), or remove any stray
drops of water with the corner of a paper towel. Water will run
off a clean surface. Dry the bottom and the edges with a towel
(not the mirror surface!). Cover the mirror surface with
Kleenex, and leave the entire assembly in a warm area until it
is completely dry before reassembling the telescope.
