I’m not sure if there ever was a thread for this before but I cant seem to find it.
How do you deal with clear plastic, eg canopies, that were uhm, stained. I accidentally applied a solvent to a canopy and now its so messed up. It looks like it was smoked. Help please… [:(]
And also, how do you deal with thick canopies? How do you sand them down to the desired thickness (or in this case, thin-ness)? And what’s the best way to cut 'em up?
You can clean the solvent mess up by sanding with finer and finer grits and then polishing with plastic polish. Finish up by dipping in Future and it’ll be better than it was out of the box. A dip in Future also helps a great deal with thick canopies, they’ll look a great deal thinner after they’ve been dipped.
I haven’t ever tried to sand one thinner, I’d be awfully careful if you try it. Clear plastic is brittle, and I have cracked one or two. I’ve cut canopies before using several light passes with a #11 until I got through. Once again, be very careful, and good luck.
The best way to get a thin and brand new canopy would be to vac form a new one right over the old one. It isn’t very hard to build a vac form machine, in fact there was an article in FSM a year or two ago about that very subject. It’ll take some research, but at least you would have a tool to use on other projects beside this one…
FSM has come out with articles dealing with canopy or clear part restoration, repair and polishing over the years, so you may want to look for those articles for more details. But just like madda said, you can smooth out the fogs and minor scratches with fine-grit sandpaper (at least 1000-grit), succesively using finer grits until the blemish disappears. I use Tamiya finishing papers for this purpose. To avoid cracking the canopy, specially thin ones, you should rest the piece you’re working on on some moldable support like modeling clay or, better yet, Silly Putty (leaves no oily residue). When the part’s spiffy smooth, wash it in lukewarm water and dishwashing detergent to get rid of the dust residue. You can then apply a polishing compound or wax and buff, just make sure it’s kind to plastics. Once you’re satisfied with the clarity, you can dip it in Future to add more sheen to it and protect it from future possible messes [:D].
If it’s a thick canopy I normally replace it with an aftermarket piece since more so than not the thick one looks like crap, and I don’t think it’s worth the effort thinning it. Or you can make your own like benzdoc said. But in cases where either it’s a rare piece and no replacement is available, you’re strapped for cash and can’t spend on it, or that you have an awfully lot of time, it may be advisable (I’ve only done it twice – first one was an experiment and for practice). Use 600-grit wet-and-dry paper (wet, of course) to thin the insides of the canopy (don’t forget the Silly Putty). You’ll have to consistently eyeball your work to make sure you don’t oversand and everything’s even. You can use your other good canopies as reference for the thickness according to scale. Now all this sanding will leave fine streak marks on your canopy so eliminate this by using finer grits (800 up.) and then proceed to the steps above to restore the clarity. Hope this helps.
A fellow Filipino and ragnarok player, i see! (i just started about a month ago.) What server do you play on? Anyway, i could’ve sworn there was a cheap way to do vacuforming… something like heating clear plasitc sheet over a flame, and pulling it down over the mold, or something… I’ve been looking for this method myself because i snapped a canopy in half a while back… If i find it, i’ll let you know! [:D]
Try using a “high buff” fingernail file that you can pick up in most cosmetic depts. they’re usally colored white and pink on one side, and gray on the other… while I haven’t had to use this in a canopy yet, I have experiment with clear spurs and if the scratches aren’t to deep, it works like a champ.
Thanks y’all! [:D] Hmm… seems like a really have a lot of work to do… yaiks! [:p]
I’ve already tried sanding canopies before but I always ended up breaking them but if that’s the only way to go, then off to work I go… But Don’s method may give me just the thing I need. Thanks, Don!
Actually, I’ve been using this name way back since '86 as a pen name. I really dont play that game. Tried it a couple of times but it just didnt appeal to me. Anyway, thanks for the help! Dont worry, if I do find something, I’ll update you too! [:)]