how can I get paint off of clear canopy parts safely?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

How can I get paint off safely?
Thanks.

2

What kind of paint?

Acrylic is pretty easy sometimes. Windex, Simple Green, Formula 409, or alcohol should do it.

Enamel or laquer is a different story, and I don’t have a good answer. If you use any sort of strong thinner it will fog the plastic. Been there, done that, still got the canopy.

One alternative is to get some clear Thermaform plastic. It will allow you to use the old canopy as a mold and form a new one with the Thermaform. I haven’t tried it (yet) but I keep meaning to.

3

currently with this problem. another possibility is to buy vacuform canopies through your hobbyshop or online. thought i had everything covered but my mask bled through and around. i used enamels. ouch[banghead][banghead]

joe

4

Nail polish remover (Cutex) works great. It will remove acrylic and enamel paint very quickly and will not damage the clear parts. Put some on a cotton swab and rub away. Wipe with a soft cloth and you are done.

5

here is a non-solvent methoid

take the sprue of THAT kit, not another. cut off a piece about 2 inches long, sharpen it on 1end so it looks like a chisel. scrape it off. it will not scratch

6

I’ve used a wooden toothpick and rubbed the paint off of canopies with good results. The wood is soft enough to not damage the plastic.

7

thanks everyone, i’m going to try tonight. I waited 'till two days before BuffCon 21… oops.

8

Castrol Super Clean. $5.98 per gallon at Wally-World. Amazing stuff![^]

9

But have you tested it on clear parts?

Mike

10

According to bonediggers.com test it does. (I’m not sure how to post links yet) You’re right though, sorry everyone! I should have stated that I hadn’t tried it on clear parts personally, but I’ve read that it’s okay. For what it’s worth, I did use it with a clear toothbrush and it didn’t do any harm to that. Will post link as soon as I find the thread w/instructions.

11

my methouid is foolproof. if you cant do it then… yuour fool jk

12

I thought I posted this yesterday but I must have screwed up somehow http://www.bonediggers.com/1-3/strip/strip.html[xx(]

13

Hey everyone, I used the toothpick and WOW!!! I’ll NEVER mask a canopy again. Here’s how it worked (I won !st place at BuffCon yesterday thanks to this.

  1. As always “Future” floor polish is so great that they should consider it steroids for plastic models. Dunk your canopy before painting and let it dry.

2.Scrape it off from the areas where you want to glue. You can even scrape dried glue and glue fog off of canopy glass with a toothpick if you Future first.

  1. Paint the canopy freehand, do the best you can.

  2. After the paint dries (I LOOOOVE enamel paint, so I know it works on enamel, I’m sure acrylic would work too.) scrape the outlines of the canopy frame with a nice sharp toothpick, keep it sharp with an Exacto blade. Don’t worry about the scratched appearance of the canopy.

  3. Apply a fresh layer of “Future” with a Q-Tip, the scratched appearance will instantly disappear and whoosh, you’ve got a perfect piece. I was so impressed that I even futured my eyeglasses and the rest of the plane. It gave my P-61 a perfect semi-gloss appearance that even hid my overspray problems and leveld out the silvering of my decals that had me so worried before.

  4. All hail the model makers Patron Saint, St. Future!

Thanks for your ideas everyone. I didn’t have the guts to try nail polish remover. Acetone scares me and the “conditioning” kind that my wife has leaves a residue of some kind of gelatinous substance.

14

Some hobby stores+motorcycle shops sell a clear plastic polish that removes paint and even makes vaccum formed canopies look almost like glass.

15

future is not a product, or a tool. its a god.

16

Why do other sites say acetone will eat up the plastic?