Give Your Scope a Facelift: Paint Job on the 80ED

Or
(Some people are never satisfied)

As long as you're at Home Depot (or your favorite store) buying paint, you may as well purchase masking tape, masking paper and a good supply of wet/dry fine-grit sandpaper. A face mask might be a good thing to have to insure that you're breathing as little of the paint mist as possible. I also wore eye protection.

Warning: Attempt this modification at your own risk. Performing this modification may invalidate your warranty. Andy accepts no responsibility for any damage you may incur during this procedure.

Step 1. Remove the lens cell from tube.

You need no tools. Just have someone hold the tube while you unscrew it. The lens cell will come off nicely. If it seems tough to do, just turn harder. Believe me, it will unscrew.

Step 2: Remove the focuser.

There are three small phillips-head screws that attach the focuser to the tube. Simply un-screw them and the focuser will come right off.

Step 3: Kiss your Orion logo decal and the other stickers on your OTA goodbye. They will soon be gone forever.

I'm not sure there's any way to save them. I pealed and scraped to get them off. There is no way on earth to save the "Orion" logo. No problem though. When people see the new white telescope, they'll immediately ask: "Who made that?". And of course you'll love seeing the look on their face when you reply "It's the Orion 80ED!".

Step 4: Remove baffles and black mounting block from bottom of tube.

To make things easier, reach inside and pull out the baffles that are inside the tube. They are not welded or glued, so they should come right out. Make a note of which baffle goes where. One will have a larger opening than the other. Remember that the threaded end of the tube is the front of the scope, so the baffle with the larger hole will be the one closest to the front.

Remove the black block held onto the bottom of the tube by two screws. You'll have to reach inside the tube to hold the nut on the inside while you turn the screws with a Phillips Screwdriver. Now, take a piece of masking tape and cover up the two holes (seen in photo to left) from the inside of the tube.

Take hold of your sandpaper, and using light, long strokes, begin the process of sanding down the entire outside of the tube.

I wrapped masking tape around the threads to protect them from the sandpaper as well as from paint. Sand until the Orion logo is gone and your tube feels smooth.

Step 5: Mask off the tubes. (remember) you have to paint the lens shade also.

Pay no attention to the fact that the tubes in the photo on the right are already white. I forgot to get a photo of tube when it was masked, but not painted.

The threaded side is easiest to mask off. Just tape your masking paper right to the threads, being careful not to tape over any part you want painted. On the opposite end, tape your paper to the inside of the tube, leaving about three or four inches of paper sticking out from the end of the tube. Then tape a separate sheet of masking paper to the entire inside of the tube. You don't want white paint mist getting on your dull black paint which is necessary for good contrast. After that I wadded up newspaper and stuff the tube just to help hold the masking paper to the inner sides of the tube and to block mist. I reinforced the paper hanging outside the tube with tape so that I could put a bungie-cord hook through it. I hung it from the garage door opener brackets.

Step 6: Spray-paint the tubes.

Be sure to read the instructions on the side of the can. Make note of the drying times and the time that you must allow between coats. You will be spraying several coats.

Tips:

1. Always shake the can for a couple of minutes before spraying. Shake often during the spraying process.

2. Keep your nozzle moving. Do not let it pause even for a second or the paint will accumulate and run. Remember, it is better to underspray your first two coats than overspray them. After you're done with your first coat it may not look like it's entirely covered, but that's ok! Remember, it's just the first coat.

3. Allow a few minutes between coats. The second coat should be as light as the first one.

4. The last coat is the most important. Keep the nozzle moving and be sure to spray evenly. Once you're happy with the results, allow the tube to dry for one week. The closer you are to room temperature the better the drying process will be. If it's cold in your garage, allow it to dry in there for a day or two, then bring it finish drying.

Step 7: Reassemble OTA.

Pull off the masking paper. Peal off the masking tape. Don't forget the piece of masking tape on the inside that covers the two mounting block holes.

Remember: Large-holed baffle goes near the front, smaller-holed baffle goes near the rear. Be sure to put the back baffle in far enough to clear the focuser when you put it back on.

You're done.

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Addendum: In case something goes wrong.

Ever heard of Murphy's law? Well Murphy came into my garage and stomped the Betelgeuse out of me. Remember me telling you that you should use a fresh can of paint to do the final coat? Well, I didn't know that trick at the time and my final coat looked like chunky peanutbutter. I wasn't sure what to do. I let it dry for 24 hours, then sanded it down until the chunks were gone. This is where the wet/dry sandpaper comes in VERY handy. I thought I would give the old can one more try. Again, chucky peanut-butter. I threw that can away and bought two more.

After so many coats, I was worried it would just have too much paint on it. So I started over with a radical bent to kick Murphy's butt.

Call me a madman, but I decided to strip the paint completely off of the tube and start over. FIRST, I tried chemical strippers. This was a horrible mess. It was toxic. It was way too much trouble. My advice to you is to NOT try chemical paint-removers.

I used this handy dandy paint stripper I found at Home Depot for about $14. I took the paint down to the metal tube, inside and out, in less than ten minutes. Done wih that, I sanded the tube smooth again using a combination of sandpaper and steel wool. Be very careful not to use that stripper on the tube threads. It WILL mess them up.

I spray-painted the inside and outside of the tube with dull black primer first. (Be sure to mask off the threads on the front end of the tube before you do this.)

After it has had plenty of time to dry, then follow Step 5 again, but be sure to use the two-can method.

Good luck.

Addendum: It's been a couple of years now since I painted the 80ED. I don't regret painting it, but I have developed paint cracks where my guidescope ring adjustment plastic tips hold the OTA in place. Should I have chosen a different paint? I'll leave that you paintologist. If you know why my paint cracked and have suggestions, please write me.

--Andy