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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 9, 2014 14:49:02 GMT
To make it technically advantageous, if it is a steel tube, black is better as it will make it cool quicker (at night).
If it is aluminium, polish it. Bare aluminium doesn't collect dew!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 10:25:39 GMT
Well just removing all last bits of paint remains from tube, mirror cell, and front end cover at eyepiece end. It is a steel tube with minimal rust surprisingly so will be painting it black and hopefully get a glossy finish... Should I brush, spray with spray gun or out of a spray can. Bunnings seem to have a lot of one step rust treatment and top finish paints but the last time I used a spray gun was 30 years ago. The Wagner and another $39.95 gun is available but has anybody used one or should I stick with can or brush... Was thinking of lacquer or brasso polish finish for added protection as I have some in my garage. Any ideas from what I said above ? Thanks Scott
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Post by davy on Feb 10, 2014 10:33:39 GMT
Try a car body shop..spray n bake a telescope shouldn't be that expensive
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2014 11:27:54 GMT
I hung my C6-R on the washing line and sprayed it white with car body spray cans. The tubes are not that different. I sprayed it with grey primer, and then the white topcoat. It was easy and looks fab. Took a couple of hours.
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 10, 2014 15:13:47 GMT
Yeah, what Allan said I use spray cans to spray almost everything because they have hundreds of colours, and easy to use. Undercoat 2 coats, top coat two coats. Clear coat over that with two coats of clear if you want to make it super glossy. Buying a Wagner spray gun isn't worth it. They don't spray fine enough. I have an Earlex Spray outfit from U.K. which is slightly better than the Wagners, and even it won't give a nice fine mist for good paint jobs. They are designed to paint houses, fences, tricycles, swingsets etc. $20 should cover you for a can of undercoat and a can of Black Gloss. Get it from a car paint shop, not Bunnings.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2014 9:30:20 GMT
Well just an update on my project I weighed up the pros and cons about ways to paint the telescope tube, and then I followed Ken's idea to go to my local smash repairer to get some spray cans of primer and top gloss. When I got there Bruce the manager said after examining the tube and hearing about its 41 year history, that although there wasn't loads of rust on the steel, the rust that was there would cause too many lumps on the tube's finish and it would take me ages to get it smooth enough to allow the best possible paint finish. He stated that sandblasting would be too severe on it and he suggested to look into bead blasting which is apparently far less traumatic on the metal... He gave me the business card of a bloke in the Newcastle area that just works on cars duco and interiors. I bit the bullet and took it to him and he assured me that his process would work well to smooth the tube and agreed to do it for $20. I pick it up tomorrow... The smash repairer stated he could paint it for $120 with 4 coats including a primer rust inhibitor undercoat with top coats in a black gloss if I didn't want to do it myself... Cost for realuminizing the primary mirror is $99 with the secondary flat $55 from Astro Optical... They both definitely need it after all these years... I was lucky enough to pick up a suitable new clock drive for just over $30 with delivery on an ebay special. I grabbed a 1.25kg round rubberized weight plate from the tip believe it or not, for use as a counterweight to offset the Telrad and new finderscope which weigh 920 grams. I know some may say I am wasting good money on a scope system past its time, but I see it as reviving a scope with a sturdy useable equatorial mount with mainly my input and a small amount of cash. making it better than its ever been, also that I can give my 2 year old grandson (as he gets older) a real look at the world of astronomy with the same scope I used when I started my journey. Hope I didn't bore you all with my ramblings but this has turned out to be a real quest and labour of love.... Thanks Scott Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2014 10:03:28 GMT
I know some may say I am wasting good money on a scope system past its time, but I see it as reviving a scope with a sturdy useable equatorial mount with mainly my input and a small amount of cash. making it better than its ever been, also that I can give my 2 year old grandson (as he gets older) a real look at the world of astronomy with the same scope I used when I started my journey. Interesting project Scott. I would not worry about what people think as the fact is your enjoying what you're doing and the satisfaction when it's all done will be worth every penny and some! I plan to build a nice big Obsession style Dob one day when time and money permit and I know I could probably buy one ready made cheaper but where is the fun in that
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 12, 2014 10:09:19 GMT
Well done Scott. Renovating is half the fun.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2014 14:01:28 GMT
Not boring at all Scott, another good thing is you will know the scope and mount inside out. A lot of people fear the touching reflectors and collimation.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2014 15:16:59 GMT
Sounds like it going great Scott! What you are doing is great and its not about the money its costing to fix it up (very little by the sound of it)... its one of they 'priceless' things
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2014 7:58:46 GMT
Well my project moved one more step forward today when I went and picked up my bead blasted telescope tube.... To say I was happy with the result would be an understatement... Compare to earlier photos and its amazing for just 20 bucks Off to the body shop tomorrow to arrange paint job... See ya Scott
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2014 12:21:24 GMT
Coming along nicely Scott. Just think, if you are going to a body shop, you can choose any colour your heart desires and they can match it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2014 23:47:06 GMT
Well I am waiting patiently (well not really, I can't wait) for the telescope tube to come back from the body shop. I went yesterday to check on where it was at and I was told that it will be painted today and maybe ready tomorrow. Hopefully today I will get time to drop the primary and secondary mirrors in for realuminizing. Apparently only when they have enough mirrors do they run a batch of aluminizing so I am unsure when they will be ready. Anyway, things are not idle in the pursuit of the rebirth of this old telescope, so my excitement is building in the foreseeable completion of this project. Thanks for your interest which keeps me on track.... Scott
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 11:01:47 GMT
Great stuff Scott hope you get it back soon. What colour did you pick for it?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2014 12:29:03 GMT
Concerning the colour, 2 primer coats then 3 coats of a Black gloss... Should be dressed to kill... My wife dropped the primary and flat mirror in today... They will do a batch of mirrors next week... When you look at the primary from a photo from a week or so ago its a wonder I could see anything from it. It must have been a figment of my imagination seeing the crab nebula a couple of weeks ago.... Its getting there. Scott Attachments:
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Post by Dragon Man on Feb 20, 2014 8:09:44 GMT
Scott, looking at your mirrors I see about 60% of good mirror on both mirrors, so you would still get about a 60% good view. The damaged parts don't reflect so they don't do anything. They don't show up in the eyepiece as damaged parts, they don't show up as anything. I have a very old home made telescope in my shed that a friend gave to my 2 sons, that is deteriorating even more with age as it sits in there. It has no mirror surfaces left at all, has years of nicotine stains on the both mirror surfaces from being left uncovered in his smokers house, and dust all over. Yet we got it out about 2 years ago and it showed beautiful views of Saturn and Jupiter As you can imagine, we were amazed!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 10:54:25 GMT
Another update on the project I finally got the telescope tube, front and back tube caps and mirror holder back after being painted and I am happy to say the least. As you can see the glossy finish looks great, but I made sure that the inner part of the tube was not touched apart from the old paint being removed by the the bead blast. The mount looks shabby compared to the tube but I will probably apply a black touch up black paint to chipped areas of the mount. I was intending to use a cloth or thick rag of some sort to drag through the tube to apply a black flat finish to add a rust preventive layer on the inner surface but would like to ask the members out there what procedure would you use to flock the inner tube to prevent reflections inside the tube
I get the mirrors back next week and the clock drive whenever it gets here... Thanks Scott
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Post by davy on Feb 21, 2014 13:14:17 GMT
First light optics ( uk) does a flocking material on there website
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 16:34:15 GMT
Thanks Shirva I will look into First Light Optics flocking... The old 41 year old scope is now dressed to kill !!! Certainly does look smart now in its new clothes.... But now it needs a to be pointed in the right direction TELRADWhat a pity I cant see anything until the mirrors are back next week. See ya Scott
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2014 16:50:05 GMT
Looking great Scott! Money well spent
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