Well folks,

I dunno what it is with Armorama campaigns, but I always seem to get stuck at the last minute with canopy problems ! This is the second time this is happening to me after the BoB Campaign, where my entire canopy went for a toss. History seems to be repeating itself, this time with my SHAR.

Had masked off the canopy superbly with Scotch tape(or so I thought on Saturday). I went at the kit with a spray can of grey primer paint, and what do I find(horror of horrors)?

The paint literally lifted a small bump of tape, crawled under it, and left a small (3 mm dia) spot of paint on my beautiful back canopy part. The front part was lucky and got away. Small flecks of paint also crawled into the interior of the canopy somehow, and made a dotted landscape out of a perfect glass.

So I took sandpaper to the canopy(#800 and #1000) as recommended by ARC, but ended up with a foggy canopy. This was then dipped in Future, and left to dry for about 8 hours. The canopy has cleared somewhat, but I can't help thinking about fate, and how history repeats itself !

Anybody has good suggestions on how to recover a good canopy from incients like these?

Cheers,
BP.

BP, next time (hope there is no next time!) try a wooden tooth pick to scrape or rub off the paint spots. It works good and wont scratch or mar the clear plastic.

HTH,
Garry

I've heard
thankfully never needed
that really fine Brasso rubbing compound, followed by Future can retore the shine.

You might try rubbing it with Brasso but I hope you can get a second opinion before proceeding

Hi BP

Wow!...you do seem fated to canopy problems in campaigns!

A while back, I wrote a thread on Micromesh Polishing Cloths . Although the pics show the results on paintwork, they are equally good on canopies.

Getting back to masking, I normally mask the inside of the canopy as well - just in case...

Hope this helps

Rowan

Couldn't agree more ! Funnily enuf, I had made a Mig-21 canopy just a month back for a personal project, and it went thru as if on skis -- a perfectly masked and painted canopy. And now this... Aaaaaarrrrghhhh!!!



Believe it or not, this was my first canopy on which I forgot to do so, with disastrous results ! I've always masked the insides of all my canopies so far. Looks like Murphy's laws are getting back to me with a vengeance...

Anyway, the canopy seems to have improved somewhat, thanks to its bath in Future. Will put on some Brasso, and some more Future tonite and hope it does some more wonders. Otherwise, there's always the Neomega resin set canopy available, although it looks like crap!

Cheers,
BP

STOP, Don't use Brasso it makes the clear parts brittle? or it did when I tried this "jem" some years ago. Future would likely protect the part, but also probably stop the Brasso from being able to shine the part. I think the wooden toothpick, followed by Micro Mesh would be the ideal way to go. As you have already applied Future then Micro Mesh may still work (you will be sanding off the Future first) followed by a re-aplication of Future.
Mal

If I get a bit of overspray I sharped a toothpick and scrape the excess away. Very basic and simple.

As Mal says dont use Brasso - the liquid causes the plastic to embrittle or craze. If you allow some Brasso to dry the jewellers rouge that is left is safe but it is better to use a plastic polish.

Regards Dave

Yeah
Dont!

I just said I heard of it,
I never did it.
Youre in to deep to muck it up more.

I'm glad someone who really knew something spoke up
I'd heard of this and thankfully never needed it.
I pray you havent yet

I never thought to do the interior of the canopy, though

Thanks for that post !

Hi Mal and rest of the gang,

Believe it or not... But I applied a very minute amount of Brasso over the Futured canopy.. and it worked wonders!!! I can't believe my luck , but I've wound up with a canopy that looks far better than the original one in terms of shine!!(At least as of yesterday evening )

I guess the trick is to sand the canopy with 1500 or greater grade sandpaper, give it a couple of baths of Future, and THEN apply the Brasso in very minute amounts. I did this, and it seems to have done the trick .... Or is it that luck has smiled on me at this moment?

Anyway, I'm thankful for all the suggestions that poured in. And am delighted at the extension for this campaign. Will give me that addnl time reqd for making stuff like intake covers, RBF tags, and a good A/C carrier base .

Cheers,
BP.

Three Cheers

:-) Phew, glad to hear it BP, when I used brasso on a canopy many years ago, slight pressure on it caused it to craze? Avoided thet stuff like the plague ever since. Looks like you might have dicovered another use for Klear :-)
Mal

Hi bytepilot
I had a similar problem myself sometime back. Some sprayed paint got inside my canopy. I have to agree with both garrybeebe and merlin for a toothpick removed the inner splatter without any scratches. And now I mask both the outside and inside of my canopy's before painting!
Everybody has those days.

So go ahead and update your Feature Article, Mal ! Somebody might find that useful...

Cheers,
BP.

Believe it or not, I have used WD-40 to remove paint from a conopy. A little on a Q-tip and rub on spot. Then off to sink to wash off. I've luck with this. Hope this helps. Jarhead