How to maintain mirror and eye piece lense and care for a Newtonian Reflector?

Question

Just brought a skywatcher p13065 reflector. I was wondering how can one clean the eye piece lenses and the mirror after constant use.

Any particular cleaning solutions. How does one disasseble the mirror for cleaning and does disassembly of the mirror cause collomation errors or any other optical issues at reassembly.

Thanks

Answer 1

Do not touch the mirror at all; it should remain clean enough for years and years. There can be quite a bit of visible dust and dirt on it without harming its performance, but you can easily scratch it while cleaning which will harm its performance. And yes, if you remove the mirror and put it back again you will need to collimate again, although it isn't so hard to do.

As for the eyepieces, I use distilled water and Q-tips to clean them. I also use toothpicks to get the edges, but be careful since modern eyepieces can have optical coatings on them that are easily damaged.

Answer 2

campbelp2002 is absolutely right! You'll almost certainly have to recollimate your 'scope from time to time though, even if you don't take it apart. It's easy to do.