Well, I did it. I cleaned the corrector plate on my 11-inch SCT, and it is beautiful. Thanks for giving the push I needed to take it apart. One thing mine had that yours did not, were little spacers or shims between the edges of the plate and the well it set in, below the mounting ring. There were four of them each 90 degrees apart. They were like folded paper. I had to mark them as well to know where to place them when returning my corrector plate after cleaning. Thanks again!

That was nerve-wracking 😬, but WOW! 🤩 what a difference. 🧼🔭

From experience - clean ethanol at 90+% combined with a microfibre lens cloth works well - its possible to literally wash the lens with a squeeze bottle, and allow it drain and dry at air temperatures. Isopropyl alcohol is a good alternative, but where ethanol is available, it is much recommended.

@bigPoe

8 ай бұрын

does the high concentration ethanol not damage the coatings?

@martinlagrange8821

8 ай бұрын

@@bigPoe Hi there - in 99% of cases this is highly unlikely. The coatings are bonded to the glass surfaces at a very fine and deep level. Its important to put no pressure on them while cleaning, however. The best clean - amazingly - is the 'wet finger' technique, where with very clean hands, and both fingers and lens completely saturated with alcohol - the very fine ridges of the fingertips are then able to gently remove any dirt on the surface. It consumes a lot of isocol, but this (from decades of experience) does deliver a better-than-factory clean.

@bigPoe

8 ай бұрын

@@martinlagrange8821 Thanks for the response! I've always been weary of what I put on my corrector plate, let alone the actual mirror. Good to know!

@sambothebold

8 ай бұрын

I read that if using isopropyl that it should be a 40/60 mix isopropyl/water

@martinlagrange8821

8 ай бұрын

@@sambothebold That works well, but takes a good deal longer to dry. My own preference is either 99% pure ethanol, or a clear ethanol/methanol mix.

Well you are giving me the courage I needed.. I'm on it!

Just watched your video. I have the nextstar 8se that desperately needs a clean to the glass and main mirror after my attempt to clean them, (it`s now worse than when i started). Now i know what to do after your video and the many more tips in your comments. Thanks to you and all the people that commented. Hope for my telescope now. Will come back after successfully cleaning, Hopefully.

@MrWilsonsChannel

4 ай бұрын

Great to hear! Definitely follow up and let me know how it worked out. Good luck! 👍

Good job, thanks for the video.

Great video and very informative for a newbie like myself. I just bought an Evolution Edge HD 8” with the Starsense and in unboxing it today and checking everything out I noticed the primary mirror has a black speck on it. I moved the SCT from side to side but it is not moving. I contacted Celestron but so far no answer back. If I had to I could remove that front ring and mirror and hopefully blow the spec off. Shouldn’t have to do that on a new $2600 telescope. Anyway thanks for the video as it did help me understand how it all works.

Excellent video….. I will try this on my Meade 8”.

I agree with you and get you. Same thing happened to me on my Mak. These cotton balls are very messy and any expensive liquid solutions i.e. 100 dollar worth lense cleaning solutions on main mirror gave me blueish purple weird things. I had to use thse glass cleaning wipes too. YT is full of cotton balls. Celestrons own telescope cleaning kit has wipes and no cotton balls.

Oh I need to do this. I live in NM so I have a lot of fine dirt. I am also terrified to do it. You make it look easy!

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

It was super easy. Just be gentle and don't skip the step of marking the corrector plate with tape before you remove it so you can put it back in the exact same position.

I just bought a used sct which was a bit grunky inside so this is going to be really useful, thanks for making the video. New sub!

@MrWilsonsChannel

5 ай бұрын

Fantastic! Thank you for the support and congrats on the new scope 🙂

Terrifying only because there are so many different coatings and Meade/Celestron documented virtually nothing for owners. My Meade's corrector plate has a purple violet appearance due to the coating. Thank you for risking your rig for "science".

Great stuff. Sounds like you watched my video on cleaning a SCT. Great tip on using those "wet wipes" for eyeglasses. It so happens that I'm busy renovating a 16-inch Meade that became surplus at a professional observatory where this trick wil be useful. I'm busy making a video on this, so keep an eye out for it. I only got the OTA, so I'm actually busy mounting it like a dobsonian. Clear skies! Willie

@MrWilsonsChannel

9 ай бұрын

I'll check it out! Thanks 😊

Thanks for showing us this, My EdgeHD 11" is in need of cleaning. I read someplace that mixing 99% alcohol in with the water also works. Will have to find the read again before I attempt it.

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

How do you like your edge? My C8 does a great job with a reducer. But without it the edges get quite distorted. Shure would be nice to get HD all the way to the edge of the field of view. Hence the name I suppose 😉

@TheMje1963

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrWilsonsChannel I've had it for about a year now and love it for the 2800mm fl, I have the .7x reducer but haven't use it yet. If you get a chance to switch to and Edge HD or even play with one, I think you'll fall in love with it. I also swapped out the stock focus knob to a feather touch 10-1 microtouch.

Ok let's give it a try!😬

@MrWilsonsChannel

28 күн бұрын

You got this 👍

Thank you for this video.. I will try this and let you know how it goes🙂👌

The flashlight test you performed at the beginning will make even a new scope look dirty. Celestron warn about this in their documentation. Your scope isn’t ‘old’… I use a 1975 C5 and a 1988 C8 Classic :-)

There are many great options out there other then cotton balls. Micro fibre cloths are everywhere.

So, everything you did is absolutely correct, however, after you use the distilled water for rinse and get most all the water spots off, the very last step, and trust me I have fought this same battle and this is the trick, you need to do one of those things like you did as a kid where you put your mouth close to the corrector and make the "haaaaaaaaaaa" sound to fog it up, just like you did as a kid on a window or piece of glass. Now take your microfiber cloth before the fog disappears and wipe it off, you might need to lightly even buff it with it and you will be amazed at the results. There will be no longer any strange streaks or spots.

Bardzo dziękuję za tą instrukcję. Lepszej nie znalazłem na YT. Pozdrawia Patryk z Polski. Dzięki

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 ай бұрын

Thank you for your kind words and support! Clear skies 😊

I'd put down a clean white cotton towel in case the corrector plate slipped.

@MrWilsonsChannel

26 күн бұрын

Good idea

Nice guide. One trick if you want to reduce dust in the room, put cold destined water in sprayer bottle and set fo finest mist then spray closest to the sealing and leave to settle for 5 min before work.

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I'll have to try this. Thanks for the tip 👍

@glennsmooth

Жыл бұрын

Good idea! Maybe humidifier/atomizer would work

A bit of a trick/tip , use a clean straw to blow moist warm breath onto the optical surface . No spit LOL ! This will highlight any residual film or spotting . You are very brave to tackle the main mirror and for removing the Corrector Plate . Please show us how your collimating went . /SRK

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

I like that trick! I'll have to try it out. I was able to get the columation spot on using this video from Dylan O'Donnell: kzread.info/dash/bejne/p35l15WeeKW_hrw.html

Great video, now do this in a kitchen with young children and dogs running around! Hahaha! That's my world. I'll try this in the garage with the door motor unhinged so one opens the door and blows garage dust everywhere. 😂

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I hear you man! I did mine after my daughter went to bed... But I still don't have any dogs to contend with 🐕 Good luck!

A bit late to the party, but the way to clean telescope optics that works for me is to use household glass cleaner (usually advertised as streak free) and distilled water (both in separate spray bottles) I use a bulb blower to blow off any excess dust, then spray a small amount of glass cleaner onto a cotton ball or lens cloth (just damp/wet not dripping) and dab the optics as per your video. I then spray a cotton ball/soft tissue with distilled water. As per your video, I then VERY GENTLY wipe the optics ONCE and discard the cotton ball/cloth and exchange for a fresh one and repeat the this process as needed. I usually find that I have to use the glass cleaner once and the distilled water/cotton ball/pads twice. Then allow everything to dry and inspect the optics. Any small smudges can be removed by HUFFING (not blowing) on the optics and giving them a GENTLE polish with the cotton ball/cloth. I find that the whole process is best carried out on a warm sunny day. This gives everything a chance to evaporate and gives the light needed to inspect the optics. There will always be some residual dust and small particles on the optics. These have no effect whatsoever on the overall performance of the scope (people are often surprised at just how dirty professional telescope optics get before they get cleaned) BTW, did you clean the secondary mirror as well?

@MrWilsonsChannel

8 ай бұрын

Great tips. I must have been using cheap cotton balls with mine because they left a lot of cotton funk I had to clean up afterward. I found better wipes then the costco ones I used in this video from a company named zeiss. They got the job done fast and cleared the streaks others left behind. My secondary was actually spotless, surprisingly, so I left it alone.

Great video!! I'll have to tackle some off gassing film inside my corrector plate. Does the box of Wipe n'clean say what the main cleaning products are?

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

It does not. However, based off of the smell I'm going to say it contains some amount of isopropyl alcohol

Thank you right back!

Nice. Just subscribed.

@MrWilsonsChannel

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for the support ☺️

Thanks for this. I share y😂our fears! Now I’m ready -finally- to take this on.

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 ай бұрын

It's scary for sure. But not too bad once you actually get in there. And it looks so much better now ☺️

Kimwipes are generally better than cotton for optical surfaces.

The very best two cleaners, after which you do not need to rinse or do any further huffing or wiping, are either acetone or lacquer thinner. Use them with a clean strip of bedsheet, the kind that come in bags that painters use. Keep and use both chemicals, either one, well away from the optical tube and any plastics, and painted surfaces. Prepare a clean surface where spills won't cause degradation or spoiling of surfaces.

@MrWilsonsChannel

4 ай бұрын

That's interesting... Are those chemicals safe for the coatings on the optics? 🤔

When I bought my C9.25 over a decade ago, it already badly needed a cleaning. It even had cobwebs in it. Fast forward to today, and it has sat outdoors in my observatory since, and I can no longer put it off.

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

If yours is that dirty, just be extra careful with the initial part where you're lightly swabbing. You don't want to drag that grime with force and scratch your coatings. Good luck!

@Jazzinthecountry

Жыл бұрын

@MrWilsonsChannel Thanks, I'll need it. Subscribed. I reckon I will need to address the secondary mirror in the corrector plate while I'm at it.

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the subscription! If it's as bad as you say it is, then you're probably right that the secondary mirror is likely also going to need a little TLC. Mine looked pretty good so I didn't bother cleaning it. But it should work the same way as the primary, I would assume?

I Have A 6se,This Is The 1st,Step By Step,By A Total Beginner(At Disassembly)Of Cleaning And Putting It Back Together,Collimate,..Damn You Brave😂😂This Is Why I Pay Astronomy Club Dues,lol..Ill Pay Someone To Do That,lol..Great Video..Imma Take. A Look Thru Your Videos When Im Done Here❤️🙏🏻🔭✨🌏 I Use The Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes,Works Great On The Outside

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I recently discovered the Zeiss cleaning wipes myself and totally agree, they are way better than the Costco wipes or any of the other brands I've tried. Glad you liked the video. Tell your friends 😉

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I recently discovered the Zeiss cleaning wipes myself and totally agree, they are way better than the Costco wipes or any of the other brands I've tried. Glad you liked the video. Tell your friends 😉

I cleaned my own c8 with dishwasher liquid and now looks much better the optics, i used toiled paper. 😁

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Did you wash it in the dishwasher, or just use the dishwasher detergent and wash it by hand?

@JHONMARIOMORENO

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrWilsonsChannel i did it with my hands and using toilet paper, i know that sounds a little crazy but if you are careful there will no be any issue.

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

I think that's the key: just being careful. The soap for a dishwasher is pretty coarse so it can blast off food in the machine. I think regular dish soap would be a safer choice. But as long as you're careful, you could probably get away with almost anything. TP is probably a really good choice since it's made to dissolve when wet. That probably makes it even softer when you're working with it. Great ideas! Thanks for sharing 🙂

I will clean up my Meade 16" SCT soon. ;-) I hope I will not mess up....

вы молодец!смотрю вас из Казахстана!у меня такой же телескоп..привет

@MrWilsonsChannel

4 ай бұрын

Kazakhstan! Wow. It's so cool to see something I made have such reach. It's a great telescope, isn't it? I love mine.

I'd like a follow up on the effectiveness of your cleaning job = were you happy with the results ? See any damage ?

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

No damage. It came out great and it's still nice and clean. Definitely recommend. I did find a cleaning wipe I like better than the costco ones. Lookup zeiss pre moistened cleaning wipe on Amazon.

I use a camera lens cleaning kit on my 6 SE SCT, Radian 61 Telescope and my Nikon Lens. The brush and blower removes the dust that can get everywhere. While the lens cleaning fluid is fast drying, non Streaking or Residue. I have also used the glasses wipes too, when I was out of the lens cleaning fluid.

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea. I've cleaned the outside of the corrector plate a few times using something similar, but this was the first time i actually took the whole thing apart... It was filthy and super scary. I put it off so long because i was afraid i might break it 😳

Did you ever think about using one of those handheld steam cleaners? Nothing other than water and air would need to touch the optical surfaces.

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I didn't think of that. But I might be a little concerned that the heat from the steam might damage the coatings on the optics. I'm not sure what they're rated for. I suppose it would also depend on the specific steamer you were using

Hi from Germany! I‘m also new to the game with an old C8.

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

It's such a great scope. I've seen some from the 70's that still produce an image just as clear as mine

@chrisweidenbach5213

Жыл бұрын

@@MrWilsonsChannel received mine today and cam from a Nexstar 6SE. This one was awesome with its weight and portability factor. CS

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

You're going to love it! Have fun 😊

@chrisweidenbach5213

Жыл бұрын

@@MrWilsonsChannel thank you. 😊 Stay safe. Subscribed

my C11 is a few years older than yours but there appears to be a gasket strip keeping the corrector plate off the metal which is keeping me from pulling it off. It seems to me either: the gasket has degraded and the resultant "goo" is keeping the glass adhered via vacuum or this is an adhesive gasket any thoughts?

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

Mine had little pieces of what looked like cork equidistantly spaced around the corrector plate. They were about 3/4 of a centimeter each. They had some adhesive on them and it took a little bit of force to pop the plate off. I'd recommend putting a towel or something soft down just in case it catches you by surprise when it comes free and you drop the plate. You can see the moment mine broke free in the video and it surprised me. I didn't notice the adhesive things until it popped off. Its not a vacuum for sure as the tube isn't air tight. But I wouldn't rule out extra goopy glue that has degraded over time.

@tubedude54

Жыл бұрын

Did you get it apart? I have a C11 also and read that they have a gasket between the corrector and the metal tube which becomes stuck to the glass and tube. Just take a Q-tip and apply alcohol to the edge of the plate and let the alcohol run in and soak the gasket. Then after 5-10 minutes give it a tug holding the secondary holder (you did take the secondary out?) and it should pop loose. There are scribed letters also on the corrector plate opposite a screw... this is how you align it when you put it back so make note of it (It looked like there was a black marker dot on the bottom edge of his plate when it came out). My plate had no shims like another person said his 8" had so I made some paper shims and put equal pieces in 90° apart to center the plate when I reassembled it. It really not hard once you get it out. C upgraded when they made the Edge scopes and from what I hear they now have centering screws to center the plate around the edge of the tube.

@TSAlpha2933

20 күн бұрын

I did finally get it off, and cleaned. it just needed a bit of extra care and convincing. 😅 ​@@tubedude54

I got a filter stuck in the wrong side of this lens and I can’t twist it off. It seems as though it is stripped. Do you have any recommendations?

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Sometimes I'll get filters stuck on my equipment. It's caused because I screw the filter on at the start of the night when my equipment is fresh out of the bag and warm. As the night progresses things cool off and contract as they get cold. The filter ring contracts a little more than the thing that it's attached to which equates to it having a super grip on its mate. The solution has been to cool off my parts in advance. Since yours is already stuck, you can try some temperature fluctuations to see if that will help loosen them. The goal would be to get them to the same temperature they were when you twisted them together. Try warming them up in the sunlight for a bit, twisting periodically to see if you can get them loose. If you think you have the opposite problem, that is to say you attached the parts while they were cool and now they're warm and can't be separated, try putting them in the refrigerator for a little while to cool them back off. If temperature isn't helping, try using a strap wrench. It's a tool usually used to help loosen a stuck oil filter on your car. It consists of a rubber strap you can wrap around the part. It gives you a good grip and lots of leverage. If the parts are indeed stripped, you might be able to rotate them but they won't actually separate. In that case you might have to cut them off. I had that happen to a filter on my DSLR one time. The trick is to cut away the metal frame of the filter while trying not to damage the filter glass itself. You can always get a new filter frame for the glass for pretty cheap and reseat it again. Good luck! Let me know how it goes

A hilarious video! Thanks. Now I can lightheartedly take my 11-inch SCT apart and clean it after 8 years! More will be revealed!

Heh, what about the center forward secondary mirror?

@MrWilsonsChannel

3 ай бұрын

All of the optics can be cleaned the same way. In the video I show you the Costco wipes. Those work okay. However I have since discovered similar wipes from a company called Zeiss. They are superior to the Costco ones and can be ordered on Amazon.

You don’t use tape on the corrector plate. You remove the ring and mark the extreme edge of the corrector and tube with a small indelible marker. The ring covers these once reassembled. Also the Zeiss lens wipes are far better quality

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

Thats a good tip. Saves you some trouble next time if you forget to put the tape down first. I haven't tried the Zeiss wipes... I'll have to give them a shot next time. Thanks for the tip 👍😁

I have a 20 year old telescope that I long lost the lens and eye piece cap for.

@MrWilsonsChannel

10 ай бұрын

The main object lense, or the eyepiece? If it's just the eyepiece that's missing then you can just buy another one

Unfortunately, where I live, it no longer matters whether my C14's corrector plate is clean or dirty. Climate change has caused almost constant autumn/ winter/ spring cloud cover. Over the years I've changed from LRGB imaging to OSC to try to save on exposure time, but there's been just three clear moonless nights in Jan through March. I guess the trend denyers will say it's a statistical variation :)

@MrWilsonsChannel

Жыл бұрын

I get it, and I feel your pain. I'm in southern California where it generally doesn't rain... Like ever. But this winter has been the wettest I've ever seen. The last time i saw clear skies was about a week before Christmas, almost 4 months ago. Really abnormal for us. And before that I watched in horror as the milky way slowly slipped away into ever progressing light pollution. I want to experiment with wide angle landscape astrophotography, but I'd need to drive hours into the desert somewhere to be able to see the good stuff. So sad.

@gumby2241

5 ай бұрын

Lol! First time I've heard cloud cover being caused by climate change. Just a thought, did you know that the sea level has risen by over 400 ft since the last glacial maximum some 20,000 years ago?

How can I remove scratches on eyepiece lens

@MrWilsonsChannel

2 жыл бұрын

That's a tough one. The only way I know of that you could remove a scratch from optical glass is to regrind the glass. It's obviously not something most people can do outside of a lab. Additionally, most of the glass in the optical train of the telescope will be coated with special coatings which would be removed by such grinding. The best course of action is prevention. That's why I stress being so careful not to scratch the coatings in this video. I've heard of some liquid coatings you can put on scratched CDs back in the day that were supposed to fill in the scratches and harden. But I don't think those would be appropriate for optical glass like that in your eye piece.

@Astronurd

2 жыл бұрын

Buy a new one

I dread the little spiders that land on my SCT in the morning. little buggers will ruin your life.

@MrWilsonsChannel

18 күн бұрын

I know what you mean. It's like "can't you find a home literally anywhere else?!" 🙄

My corrector plate glass is broke how could i obtain an replacement

@MrWilsonsChannel

10 ай бұрын

Oh man, that's rough. Maybe try contacting the manufacturer of the scope? I have had good luck ordering replacement parts for assorted Celestron equipment, but nothing as integral as a corrector plate? I know the corrector plate needs to be reinstalled in the exact orientation that it was removed in. That seems to indicate it might require some specialized tools or skills to get everything to line up properly. Maybe you can even send it into the manufacturer to have the part replaced and adjusted?

@bulletproofpinata2328

10 ай бұрын

@@MrWilsonsChannel thanks so much i did figure that out and i actually could see the moon pretty well considering the major cracks in the plate so im okay for now i just dont now where to get better barlow lenses to see more farther objects

@JoshBreakdowns

9 ай бұрын

​@@bulletproofpinata2328as far as I know plates are married to the mirror; they are not possible to replace without sending the scope back to the manufacturer and having a new plate married to it. It will likely be cheaper to buy a new telescope.

@markscion

9 ай бұрын

I was told by a Celestron disributor that the Mirror and Plate are paired, so you'd need to order a new mirror and plate - and anyway Celestron will not sell them. They will only sell the entire OTA. Given that most of the cost is in mounts, tripods, wedges, accessories, maybe a new OTA is the right way to go ... or just keep on as you are.

@bulletproofpinata2328

9 ай бұрын

@@markscion i have reached out to celestron and they have sent me to where their "repair" email and they said for my cracked corrector plate they will need it sent in and replaced to get the plate paired 100% cause the mirror is imperfect and the plate corrects the imperfection and the repair and labor is about $280 guesstimate and about $50 guesstimated shipping fee for the 6se i have thanks for the help!!

No Clean lens/mirror Soapy water 1 drop soap per quart water Wet cotton balls With only the weight of a wet cotton ball Roll the wet cotton ball from center to outer edge of lens/mirror Toss that dirty cotton ball. Repeat till all circumference of lens/mirror is rolled wiped Next Drip wash any soap water solution of cleaned lens/mirror with distilled water (no contact of cleaned lens/mirror) Let lens/mirror distilled water evaporate. You can wick up distilled water droplets with a torn piece of TP or torn paper towel but no wiping off of any distilled water Last If any spots that look soiled on cleaned lens/mirror re wash or use EverClear 180 proof or 90% IPA with TP to slightly spot clean a single spot. Any more than a small spot Re Clean lens/mirror. FIN

@dallas69

16 күн бұрын

Ok your lazy and do not want to roll the mirror fwd and remove the mirror assembly out the back of the OTA. Make a thin tube of plastic with those thin cheep knife cutting sheets. Use water proof tape or duct tape. Tip the OTA 45 deg down _+ 10 degrees and clean the mirror as above. Yes Its a pain and slower but that is what you get for being lazy and not pulling the mirror assembly out the back of the OTA.

Do not do it like this, search the net and get educated before clean your mirror