Cleaning the primary mirror – Two Ways to Do It

OK, I admit it; the primary mirror in my 10-inch reflector is dirty! I have had my scope six years, and have
never taken the mirror out to clean it. There are many opinions on how to do it. Here is one I found on
the Web, from a guy named Paul Winalski. Does anyone else out there have a favorite mirror cleaning
method?

Paul’s Method:
Mirror cleaning is one of those topics where everyone has their own method that works for them, and
about which one can endlessly argue the details. Here's my advice on how to do it.

Rule #1: Only clean the mirror when you really, really have to.
Rule #2: See Rule #1.
Rule #3: See Rule #1.

Every time you clean your mirror, you risk scratching or otherwise degrading the coating, so cleanings
should be done as infrequently as possible. Two factors to keep in mind:

(a) All primary mirrors look horrible if you just shine a light down on them in the dark, even right after
cleaning.

(b) The wave nature of light means that mirror optics are tolerant of dust and other contamination.

Hence, you can't go by appearances--cleaning is only necessary when there's noticeable optical
degradation. In normal use, the rule of thumb is that a mirror usually will need cleaning only once a year
or so.

Having decided that a cleaning is necessary, here's how to go about it:

(1) Place the mirror in a container large enough to allow you to completely immerse the mirror in water.
Oils and other debris will float to the water's surface, so you should insure that it remains under the
surface during the cleaning process, lest you re-contaminate the mirror.

(2) Cover the mirror in warm tap water that has had a small amount of mild detergent dissolved in it.
Detergent for hand-washing dishes is fine. Try to avoid scented soaps to avoid the essential oils that
provide the scent remaining behind on the mirror.

(3) Allow dust and whatnot to float away from the mirror's surface. Gently shake the mirror from side to
side to encourage this process.

(4) For particles that are stuck to the mirror and won't come free on their own, use 100% cotton to nudge
them off gently. I use Q-tips for this purpose. Make sure that whatever you use is 100% cotton--a lot of
cosmetic "cotton balls" are actually made from nylon or some other synthetic substance that is a lot more
abrasive than cotton. The thing to avoid here is scratching the coating.
(5) Add more warm water to the mirror's container and let the water overflow the container for half a
minute or so. This will carry away any oils that may have risen to the surface.

(6) Repeat (3), (4), (5) if necessary until you've removed all the surface dust and stains from the mirror.

(7) Replace the soapy water in the container with clean water by adding more water until you've got rid of
the soap. At no time should you drain so much water from the container that the mirror is exposed to air
(this insures you won't pick up any surface oils).

(8) After a couple of rinses with clean (non-soapy) tap water, drain away all the tap water, tilt the mirror at
about a 45-degree angle, and do a final rinse with distilled water. Using distilled water insures that there
will be no mineral spots when the mirror dries.

(9) Let any remaining droplets of distilled water left on the mirror's surface dry by themselves. OK, if you
get impatient you can very gently touch the top of the water droplet (without touching the mirror itself) with
a Q-tip or other piece of cotton and use that as a wick to remove the droplet.

Ted Forte’s Method:

This seems like a very  complex procedure for something that’s really quite simple. 

It usually takes me about 15 minutes to wash my 18-inch mirror, including the time taken to deliberate
about doing it.    I keep two spray bottles: one with distilled water, and one with a very diluted soap
mixture; one drop of Joy (really – just a drop) to a gallon of distilled water. 

I usually prop the mirror against a wall and spray it with the distilled water.  (If it’s REALLY dirty, I would
first spray it with a garden hose, then prop it up and spray it with the distilled).  With smaller mirrors I
would run it under a faucet first.

Then I lay it down flat and spray the soap solution all over it, allowing it to pool in the center.  I drop a
piece of sterile cotton into the puddle and use my finger to swirl the cotton around (no pressure).  Then I
poor a bottle of distilled water over it to thoroughly rinse it.

I prop it back up and gently swab/wipe it dry with sterile cotton.  I’ve seen some folks spray the wet mirror
with isopropyl alcohol to dry it.  I've never tried that.

That’s it.  Oh yeah, if there’s tree sap or some other ugly on it, you can use a bit of acetone on a Q-tip to
free it.  I typically wash my mirror about three times a year.  About the only extraordinary precaution I take
is to wear rubber gloves when I reinstall the mirror so as not to take the chance of a finger print.

Chuck Jagow’s Method:

Several (many?) years ago I was referred to Dr. Clay Sherrod's cleaning solution
and methods. I made a batch of his cleaning stuff way back then and still have
a bit left. I have cleaned my mirrors on all my dobs and scopes about once
every eighteen months or so and whenever the damn spiders leave tracks on my
objective lens in Rott'n Paws...

I rinse the dob mirror from the Orion with distilled water in my kitchen sink
and I use LOTS of pure, plain Kleenex and a fine camel hair brush. The 16" I
just take out of the mirror box and set down on the driveway and hose it (VERY
gently) and use the cleaning solution if there is a stubborn bug mark or drool
mark. Then a couple gallons of cheap food lion distilled water for the rinse.
But if you do it outside, you must be mindful of the humidity level, above the
mid 60's and you may get streaking...

The most important part of taking the mirror out of your Orion dob, MARK WHERE
THE BLACK RING SITS IN RELATION TO THE OTA. So it goes back on in the same
place as you take it off. The mirror is a bit heavy.