Canopies ?

[Geoff_B]

Hi

With clear Injection moulded canopies what is the trick to sanding them down to reshape them, then making them clear again, as i would like to redo some of the framing for the Supermarine 553 i have just done. The 583 could also do with a tidy up to get the correct style of framing ?

Cheers

Thor    

[joesus]

One problem, of course, is that it takes very little re work to go right thru the plastic. Make a casting of the part and modify that. I use plaster for the pattern. A few coats of really cheap automotive  primer will seal the finish and can be polished to the gloss needed for clear parts. Use that as the mold to suck your own brand new transparency. The only problem with this technique is that you (or, rather, I) might lost the part in all the excitement. I've got a 2 year old Maintrack SR-177 whose canopy has been  missing, presumed lost for all that time, with its canopy hidden forlonely behind tissue.

[nev]

Well, if you didn't already know, Klear does wonders for canopies.  When I've had a big ugly seam on canopies (eg hasegawa Eagles) I cut it off with a sharp blade then paint with Klear and Voila!

[Geoff_B]

Cheers Nev

Thats what i was looking for, i knew there was a trick to injection moulded ones.

As to making more own i'll have to give that a try Joe. You could do with doing a revised SR177 Canopy as the original had too much framing for my liking and would sure have been changed on the production aircraft.

Cheers

GeoffB B)  

[Aircav]

The old way use to be just keep using finer grades of wet & dry then polish with toothpaste

[Joe C-P]

The old way use to be just keep using finer grades of wet & dry then polish with toothpaste

Then finish with an overall coat of Kleer (in the UK) or Future (in the US). I don't know what those products are called in Canuckia or Oz, but they're high-gloss non-yellowing acrylic floor finishes, and they fill the tiny leftover scratches beautifully, and prevent the clear plastic from fogging if you use CA-type glue to fasten it. (I use white glue, but am looking for watch-crystal cement.) You can airbrush it, paint it on, or even dip the canopy in the bottle, though make certain you drain all the excess liquid before it sets.

JoeP

[Ollie]

In Canuckia it's called Future.