Hey all, me again.
I have been trying to dip my canopy for my kayaba ramjet and the humbrol clear doesn't seem to stay on the canopy. Instead it seems to mostly coming off and leaving bare areas. The canopy is clean. Any ideas ?

James,
When I feel the need to dip a canopy, 1st I polish it with a 12,000 Micro Mesh pad. Then I polish it with Meguire"s Scratch 2.0 scratch remover/polish. I fill a small plastic cup with enough Pledge/Future to cover the canopy and dip it in. Remove and drain till it stops dripping, then place on a paper towel and cover. You might need to do a 2nd application in some cases.

I've never tried any model clear glosses, but this is one application that Pledge is excellent for.

Joel

Hi Joel, I am finding it very difficult to find ant sanding gear localy that finer than 2000, and I don't usually deal with online shopping. I have been away overnight so I will be interested to see the results when I get back home, humbrol clear states that you can use it for canopy dipping it just seemed to have a little issue with gripping. I'll have to start using my contacta clear again. Not had a frosting incident for a while.

Try an auto parts store. They'll often have paint finishing kits with sandpapers going into extremely fine grades.

As Jess said, try some local auto parts stores. That's where I get all my Meguiar's polishes and compounds. All of these extra fine grits in emery cloth is for polishing out auto painted surfaces.
Joel

If they don't have the individual sheets try getting one of those kits that's made for revitalizing headlight covers. All they are is a set of finer and finer sanding cloths and polish to make the clear plastic clear again. Headlight... canopy... no difference.

Why do you feel you need to clear coat it? Back in the day when canopies were as thick as the bottom of a Coke bottle dipping in Future had some magical effect of making them look thinner. Advances in molding tech has them very thin now. So they do need that bit of magic like they used to.

I have gotten away from dipping my canopies, unless it's needed due to a repair of some sort. A real canopy does not have the sparkling clear look of a Sapphire crystal on an Omega watch. I think they look more natural uncoated.