Kowa TSN 823 advice please (1 Viewer)

Hello, I would appreciate any advice please. I recently bid for a Kowa TSN 823 scope with Kowa cover and Cullman tripod on eBay. The description stated the rubber coating was sticky. I paid £430 for the three items. On receiving the scope I found the 'rubber' was not rubber at all but a failed paint system. Most of the paint wiped off with a careful application of turps. Kowa want £400 to refurbish the scope which is nonsense. The lens looks good with no marking and it has a 20-60 zoom eyepiece. I would appreciate your views on whether I have reasonable value or if I have been turned over. Also is there any harm in not having the paint covering? The case itself seems stable enough. Thanks in anticipation.

Hi there...If the scope is fine otherwise ,the price you paid is not bad...it depends of course and what tripod you got..(carbon?..head model..etc)..the cover is a nice item,but would not pay (personally)more than 20 pounds for one ,second hand..the tripod,used ,would add 50 to 100 to the value..depending again in what model and specifications..so 300 is the price for the scope and eyepiece....that makes 200 to 250 for the scope body..again,if is only the paint problem,it is a very reasonable price..the scope is a good performer for that money..actually i think the cover had something to do with the paint deterioration..many scopes of that series that lived inside SOC got "cooked" ,for what i heared,although most of these scopes get more or less sticky sooner or later...mine is sticky in areas,but i keep working at it with a clear acrylic varnish i use for my artwork..it works well in sealing the stickiness !..If you already removed the damaged coating forget about the issue,place the cover on again,and enjoy the scope...

Hi,

first of all, welcome to BF. I think you got it for a good price - the 823 should be sharp up to 60x. The paint is just cosmetics - since you removed the sticky parts, just put it in the cover and use it. Some threads below user yves0071 shows how to redo the paintjob on an 823 body...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=334746

Joachim

I wouldn't worry about the sticky paintwork. Put in in the case and forget about it. The optics in these scopes are great and not far behind the 883 in my opinion. I really like the 30x fixed Kowa eyepieces on these too if you can get one.

Mayoayo, jring, Grando. Thank you for your replies. Whilst to scope was mis-represented as having a rubber cover I am now happy, after your inputs, that I have a good quality instrument at a not unreasonable price. You know the feeling when you find a five pound note, happiness for a day. Loose a five pound note, misery for a week. The tripod is a Culmann video 3300 with quick release. They seem to be about £70-£80 second hand so I am content. Thanks again.

Crashandlearn said:

Mayoayo, jring, Grando. Thank you for your replies. Whilst to scope was mis-represented as having a rubber cover I am now happy, after your inputs, that I have a good quality instrument at a not unreasonable price. You know the feeling when you find a five pound note, happiness for a day. Loose a five pound note, misery for a week. The tripod is a Culmann video 3300 with quick release. They seem to be about £70-£80 second hand so I am content. Thanks again.

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I have just found this paint problem on my TSN-823


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