About halfway through my Kona trip a couple of weeks ago, I noticed my Ikelite Dome Ports were getting pretty worked. I dive the D70 rig. I don't get it. 
I keep the cover on until I get under water and then pocket the cover. I cover it up on the ascent. I'm pretty much a nut about it. So I couldn't figure it out.
Then I noticed (on about dive 15 of the week) - when I'm clipping off the rig (when there's nothing to shoot, on a long swim, etc.) it would sometimes swing around and the domes would rub against the very tough webbing (I dive a BP) of my shoulder strap, waist band and was probably hitting the buckle.
Bottom line - I was trashing my domes. You could actually see the scratches in the pictures (especially on the 10.5 where I'm focusing on the dome its self.) :icon10: So I get home and hit wet pixel - I'm thinking there must be a fix for it. I find this thread. Genius.
I go to the recommended site, and I pick up this kit. It arrived yesterday. Last night I dive into the 12-24 Dome (I use this one less than my 10.5 dome) and I figger if I kill the thing, its a cheap replacement (like $150-something to replace it.)
The kit is a 10 level polishing kit. 9 fabric sand papers (1500 - 12000 grit) and a finishing polish. Then an anti-static cream thingy.
I didn't think the scratches were severe enough to go to Home Depot and pick up some 300 or 400 wet paper - so I started with the enclosed 1500. After the first couple of fabrics, I basically had a diffuser. But I could see the kit working - taking off just enough of the material to get to the deep scratches. By the time I got to the 6th level, it started to come together and I could actually see through the thing again. When I reached the 12000 grit, it was looking not just better, but almost NEW again. I'm serious - a 30 to 35 minute investment and my dome was fixed.
A little water with dish-soap in a spray bottle, a little sanding, a little buffing and they're all better. This is so liberating. I mean, now that I found the cause of the problem, and have now secured a way to repair the domes, its a complete relief.
I can't recommend this kit enough for Ikelite-type domes. The flat port was a little more challenging, as I can't get off the port with each successive pass - so I just used the finishing polish. Made a huge improvement, but its not in NEW condition like the domes.
I'm pretty fired up. Now that these things look great again, I can eBay these two domes and step up to Ike's new 8" mega dome.
Micro-Mesh rocks.
---
Ken
I keep the cover on until I get under water and then pocket the cover. I cover it up on the ascent. I'm pretty much a nut about it. So I couldn't figure it out.Then I noticed (on about dive 15 of the week) - when I'm clipping off the rig (when there's nothing to shoot, on a long swim, etc.) it would sometimes swing around and the domes would rub against the very tough webbing (I dive a BP) of my shoulder strap, waist band and was probably hitting the buckle.
Bottom line - I was trashing my domes. You could actually see the scratches in the pictures (especially on the 10.5 where I'm focusing on the dome its self.) :icon10: So I get home and hit wet pixel - I'm thinking there must be a fix for it. I find this thread. Genius.
I go to the recommended site, and I pick up this kit. It arrived yesterday. Last night I dive into the 12-24 Dome (I use this one less than my 10.5 dome) and I figger if I kill the thing, its a cheap replacement (like $150-something to replace it.)
The kit is a 10 level polishing kit. 9 fabric sand papers (1500 - 12000 grit) and a finishing polish. Then an anti-static cream thingy.
I didn't think the scratches were severe enough to go to Home Depot and pick up some 300 or 400 wet paper - so I started with the enclosed 1500. After the first couple of fabrics, I basically had a diffuser. But I could see the kit working - taking off just enough of the material to get to the deep scratches. By the time I got to the 6th level, it started to come together and I could actually see through the thing again. When I reached the 12000 grit, it was looking not just better, but almost NEW again. I'm serious - a 30 to 35 minute investment and my dome was fixed.
A little water with dish-soap in a spray bottle, a little sanding, a little buffing and they're all better. This is so liberating. I mean, now that I found the cause of the problem, and have now secured a way to repair the domes, its a complete relief.
I can't recommend this kit enough for Ikelite-type domes. The flat port was a little more challenging, as I can't get off the port with each successive pass - so I just used the finishing polish. Made a huge improvement, but its not in NEW condition like the domes.
I'm pretty fired up. Now that these things look great again, I can eBay these two domes and step up to Ike's new 8" mega dome.
Micro-Mesh rocks.
---
Ken
