BUYER/NEW USER TIPS Last updated: 16 February 2003

Cleaning the Optical Tube Assembly

Sent:	Friday, February 14, 2003 9:51:38
From:	edworaczyk@systelusa.com (erick)
I have one of the original 1996 model ETX 90RA's. I've got probably one
of the first produced. I remember lead time was about 6 months...
Anyway, the tube, which is a purple anodize I guess, has got some kind
of "film" all over it. Nothing seems to get the tube clean. When it's
wet, It looks brand new, but after drying, it looks horrible. If you
shine a flashlight onto the purple surface of the tube, you can Really
see the film coating. BAD! Have you heard of this before?? What will
clean it? Can it be cleaned? Is the aluminum tube(anodizing) oxidizing
or what? I've taken extremely good care of this little guy, but it looks
like it has been living in the back yard all this time. Can I expect it
to get even worse over time? This is not good. I wish Meade would have
powder coated these guys blue like the bigger SCT's. Any suggestions? If
not, you might want to research this one for awhile before answering...
By the way, I live in East Texas... Mighty Humid down here... Could that
be part of the problem?

Thanks for you time and your website!!
Sincerely,
Erick Dworaczyk

IT WORKS!!!!  LIGHTER FLUID!!!

And believe me, nothing else does, because I've tried every cleaner I
could get my hands on! I even thought that I may have damaged the
anodized finish on the tube from constantly trying to clean with various
chemicals. But now, after the lighter fluid treatment, the OTA finish
looks exactly like it did in 1996 when I first got it.

Amazing!

You need to add this bit of info to the Telescope Tech Tips under
"Miscellaneous"  You could call it...

"How to clean the ETX anodized OTA finish- Like New"

Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Erick Dworaczyk

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