Does para film have a shelf life because I masked a canopy with the film that I have had for almost 20 years and after painting the canopy and then working on the rest of the model which took several months it was time it remove the mask. So what I thought was going to be a simple process turned out to be a lesson in patience and how do I fix that now! When I started pulling the mask off I found that it was as hard as an eggshell and the only way to remove it was by scraping it off with a Popsicle stick which scuffed up my nice clear canopy also the edges were a mess, so after several hrs of buffing and polishing I got it to look ok.
So is this the way para film should react or did I (a) leave it on to long? (b) should have bought a new roll? (c) use a different method?
by the way I used para film on a canopy years age that was not attached to the fuselage where I painted it and Immediately removed the film while the paint was still fresh with no issues.
Personally I think parafilm has a shelf life shorter than the trip home from the hobby shop. I have never been able to make it work very well, even within days of buying it
Well, I have some that’s probably 10-12 years old, maybe older, and it still works for me. I used some earlier this year to protect a canopy from clear flat. It still seemed viable. I have a lot left from the original roll as I’ve never used it much. Your mileage may vary…[:)]
In it’s un-applied state (on the roll) it seems to last for years. I always keep mine in a zip-lock platic bag. and that may help.
On the model, It’s definitely prone to drying out after a while. I did a Viggen some years back, where the crazy-quilt camouflage (and day-to-day life) resulted in parts of the parafilm masking being left on for a month or two. By the time I tried to remove it, parts had become dried out and crusty, and very difficult to remove. I eventually tried warming it up with a blow-dryer, which seemed to help soften it, so I was able to gently scrape the bits away in more-or-less one piece, and with (thankfully!) minimal paint damage.
Since then, I try to leave it on for as short a time as possible, but I’ve done a week or so with no problems.
I just used a 20year old roll to do camo on my Wings alabatros dv no probluems I was told at one time not to store it below 40 deg. or above 90 deg. So thats all I know about it. ACESES5
