was doing a bit on a 1:72 P-47 when disaster struck..i somehow managed and i dont know how to get a big dirty gluey fingerprint on the canopy,
any thing i can do to save it..im raging

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Barry Evans

thanks pat might have to give it a go..i have the tamiya paper here in p1200,p1500 and p2000
would nailpolish remover work?

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Barry Evans

23 01 2012
To echo what others have suggested, stay away from the nail polish remover.
But...as for the sanding, I would start with 400 grit, then 600 grit, then 800, then 1200 and then 1500 and end with 2000.

The heavier grades will 'fog' the windscreen initially but as you work your way to the finer grades, the 'glass' will become clear.

Wet-sand and use a circular movement (avoids you accidently putting a flat spot on the canopy).
Buy a tube of Peek from your hardware store and give the polished canopy a little rub with it. If you wish, mask off the parts of the canopy that do not need rubbed.

Place said canopy into a small container that has future in it, put a lid on it and leave it for 24 hrs. Make sure the entire canopy is fully covered by the Future.

Take it out, place canopy on a piece of folded kitchen paper, put something like a spray-can lid over it , or whatever else might be appropiate, ( to protect from dust) and leave for a mimimum of 24 hrs ( I know modellers who would leave it for 48hrs) to cure.

No more finger-print and a crystal clear canopy.

This works as well for seams down the middle of the canopy. Also, maybe you could look into getting a set of those micro-mesh polishing sets as sold by little-cars.com

I have a set of these and they start at 1500 and go up to 12000. The pads themselves go for £10.00 and you get nine ( colour-coded ) in a set. Well worth it and the results are amazing.

Liam

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Mesa called Jar-Jar Binks. Mesa your humble servant.
I don't know. Mesa day startin pretty okee-day with a brisky morning munchy, then BOOM! Mesa gettin' very very scared!


I am the Rules Police. It's better than being the Thought Police.

...or get a vacform replacement

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Filip

Barry,

I agree with the lads for Micromesh but it can be a pricey little set and if you want a cheap, quick, tried and tested method then go for the nail polishing stick with buffer and then dip into Klear. Unless you want to put the build aside and order Micromesh which every modelling tool box should have anyway. I have the Micromesh set but rarely use it on canopies mainly on paint jobs. I use the nail file method but I do have a load of different files in my collection some specially made for the job.

I would be wary of starting at 400 grit and working up. The heavier you start with, the deeper the scratches on the surface that you'll have to remove and the greater chance of taking too much plastic off the canopy. With a finger print it should be on the surface only... use heavier grit if you want to remove deep scratches. If you started at around 1000 and worked up it would be a lot better. It'll obviously take you longer to remove the finger print as you're taking off less plastic but as I said less chance of flat spots etc. The nail file is good for this method as they have a spongy centre that will conform to the curve of the canopy.

I suggest watching this video on Youtube. It's about removing canopy seam lines but the same applies to glue finger prints. He uses the nail buffers and Tamiya compound as I mentioned in my previous post and that's the method I follow these days. I did the demo at the last Cork meeting so the chaps could see the results without using Klear.

Also, like never ever feeding a Mogwai after midnight... never ever use the normal styrene glue on canopies. Use PVA/Wood/White glue or G-S Hypo glue.

Cheers

Vinny

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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
-Albert Einstein