Any ideas on how to fix this, or am I screwed? While I was spraying my flat finish, somehow a small section of the mask peeled up on the inside of the canopy. The result is I have a flat haze covering about half of one of the window panes. It’s not much, but it’s way to noticable to ignore.
The plane is Tamiya’s 1/48 F4F-4 Wildcat. To add insult to injury, I seem to have lost the clear piece for the light on the right wing’s leading edge. Grrrr…
Other than those two problems, I’m extremely pleased with the job I’ve done on this one. It just irritates me that I can’t seem to finish one without a major screw up or two.
If you used an acrylic clear flat like Polly-scale, a cotton swab with a little rubbing alcohol should clean up the area.
If you used an enamel like Dullcote - the same cotton swab with a touch of white toothpaste will clean the area up. No gels - the old white, gritty type is what you need.
It acts like polishing compound to remove the haze. Of course, if you happen to have Novus plastic polish laying around, that would work too.
The key is patience. Don’t try to remove everything in 10 seconds.
Thanks for the tip, Jeff. I used Krylon Matte Finish, lol. It actually produces a pretty good flat finish. I’m not exactly sure if it’s enamel or acrylic, though. I’m guessing enamel. I dipped the canopy in future before masking an painting the canopy.
White toothpaste has been around for years in the hobby arena, primarily as a gentle polishing compound. Back in the old days, it was a little more abrasive than it is today, but you can still find some of the old brands - Crest, Colgate, Arm & Hammer, that use the original formulas.
The key is finding pastes that contain mica - it’s a mild abrasive. That’s actually what polishes the surface.
Tom’s of Maine toothpaste has an added benefit—the metal tubes it comes in make excellent heavy foil modeling material. Already primed and ready to paint.
