Am I the only one who always ruins canopies.

[sequoiaranger]

I have found the most success in masking canopies prior to spray-painting by using a combination of tape and liquid mask. I build pretty exclusively in 1/72, so I am dealing with some small lines here.

I often use tape ("drafting tape"--maybe 1/8th--1/4 inch in width, found in good writing supply stores) to form the bottom of my mask, running it all along the perimeter of the canopy just at the top line of the lowest frame of the canopy (closest to the fuselage). I leave quite a bit of "tail" left over to act as a handle to pull up the mask when I'm done painting. Next I slather on liquid mask, usually at least two lumpy coats (let the first one dry thoroughly and don't spare the masking medium--you want a THICK layer) and let the masking liquid liberally slop over onto the drafting tape. The tape and dried masking medium become "married".

When you are done painting, S-L-O-W-L-Y pull up on the drafting tape handle you had made, and the liquid mask usually comes up with it all in one piece.

[When I do my "Grumman Gander" canopy in a week or so, I will post a sequence of relevant pictures here]