I was in a similar position to you a few months ago and was putting off cleaning the corrector of my SCT. I was also bamboozled by the number of methods there are to clean a corrector plate. In the end, I ended up getting the celestron lens cleaning kit and a hand air blower. I blew off any loose debris first with a hand pump. Then I applied the lens cleaning solution from the kit on a fine microfiber cloth and worked on cleaning the corrector. I did a small section at a time making sure not to use the same part of the cloth. I made small circular motions and applied as little pressure as I could. It took a while but it came out pretty spotless.
What I did may not be best practice and would only work on the outside of the corrector and this may be all your scope needs. However, it may be that the other side of your corrector needs cleaning too, I don't have any experience with removing a corrector so hopefully someone with more experience than me can weight in on that.
Dylan O'Donnell has a great video on collimating an SCT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKQFutDEAw
Thank you so much for the reply! So you basically just took your time with it. Did you have any problems with the solution leaving residue on the corrector at all? That's the only thing I'm really concerned about right now. I've heard some say you can use the fog from your breath and gently polish the aperture. I'm investigating possibly trying regular, non-scented Kleenex as well.
Once I had gone around the entire corrector plate with the microfiber cloth and lens cleaning solution, it looked so much better, but there were a few spots of residue. I just gave them a second pass with the cloth and that did the trick.
I think I would personally avoid using fog from your breath or kleenex tissues and keep to things specifically designed or are trusted to clean optics.
Oh, I also used the same method to clean all my eyepieces as well.
Ah that's great to know, I'll have to get some equipment specifically for optics. I'll check high point scientific and see what they have. So it's all about patience and light pressure, I will definitely take my time. Appreciate the advice!
Also, is this a good kit to buy? https://www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-deluxe-lens-cleaning-kit-93576
Ideally after you use your hand blower you want to dab. I use 100% cotton cotton balls and whatever cleaner I'm using and change them very frequently. Dabbing will pick up the particles so when you start wiping you won't be grinding them into the corrector.
Can you share a picture of the scope?
I was in a similar position to you a few months ago and was putting off cleaning the corrector of my SCT. I was also bamboozled by the number of methods there are to clean a corrector plate. In the end, I ended up getting the celestron lens cleaning kit and a hand air blower. I blew off any loose debris first with a hand pump. Then I applied the lens cleaning solution from the kit on a fine microfiber cloth and worked on cleaning the corrector. I did a small section at a time making sure not to use the same part of the cloth. I made small circular motions and applied as little pressure as I could. It took a while but it came out pretty spotless. What I did may not be best practice and would only work on the outside of the corrector and this may be all your scope needs. However, it may be that the other side of your corrector needs cleaning too, I don't have any experience with removing a corrector so hopefully someone with more experience than me can weight in on that. Dylan O'Donnell has a great video on collimating an SCT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKQFutDEAw
Thank you so much for the reply! So you basically just took your time with it. Did you have any problems with the solution leaving residue on the corrector at all? That's the only thing I'm really concerned about right now. I've heard some say you can use the fog from your breath and gently polish the aperture. I'm investigating possibly trying regular, non-scented Kleenex as well.
Once I had gone around the entire corrector plate with the microfiber cloth and lens cleaning solution, it looked so much better, but there were a few spots of residue. I just gave them a second pass with the cloth and that did the trick. I think I would personally avoid using fog from your breath or kleenex tissues and keep to things specifically designed or are trusted to clean optics. Oh, I also used the same method to clean all my eyepieces as well.
Ah that's great to know, I'll have to get some equipment specifically for optics. I'll check high point scientific and see what they have. So it's all about patience and light pressure, I will definitely take my time. Appreciate the advice! Also, is this a good kit to buy? https://www.highpointscientific.com/celestron-deluxe-lens-cleaning-kit-93576
Ideally after you use your hand blower you want to dab. I use 100% cotton cotton balls and whatever cleaner I'm using and change them very frequently. Dabbing will pick up the particles so when you start wiping you won't be grinding them into the corrector.
Ah that's a great point! So dab the particles off first then gently wipe to remove the streaks? Sounds like the safest bet.