I sanded down a seam running down my canopy with 400 grit (I know its too rough but I cant find any finer sandpaper) and I gave the canopy 2 coats of Future. There is still a haz where some scratches are left.
Is the canopy done? or do I still have a chance of hiding the scratches?
If it is done, where can I get extra canopies for the F-16C?
thanks a bunch [:D]
Man, jin. You gotta try to find some higher grit. Are there any auto supply stores nearby? they sometimes have fine sandpaper. Or ever try some toothpaste and rub it in real good.
This what i used on my tamiya F-15E canopy squadron tri grit sanding stick and i finished it up with a peace of 6000 grip real extra fine sandpaper once that is done dip in future and let dry.
Tanks guys.
the squdron stick looks a lot similar to this from flex-i-file
Maybe have a look at Micro Mesh sheets? I got a kit with a selction of their sheets of varying grades off of ebay last year to restore a Space Shuttle kit windscreen that I had managed to cover with liquid cement.
I don’t have it to hand, so can’t tell you the grade of the finest sheet, but it is pretty much smooth to the touch. Polished up the windscreen a treat.
I have the canopy soaking in future right now to get it off. After that, I will turn to the aid of my friend to bail me out…
Here’s a trick I learned from Tamiya’s modeling magazine when Tamiya first released their 1/32 scale F-16. I read “how to build” part throughly cause I was planning on building the big model soon. In it, they revealed a trick on dealing with that annoying and tricky mold line that run down the canopy’s center. No, it doesn’t involve any 1000 or 1200 grit sandpapers. The trick is so farking eays as to borderline unbelivable and to add it all up, it’s cheap too!
Your first step is get some 600 grit sandpaper, 800 grit if you can but 600 will work. You can find these in your local hardware store. Now goto any car shop or Wall-MArt and ask for some car polish. You know, like turtle wax or some other similar stuff. You don’t even need the best of best. Just generic ones will do. I bought a rather large bottle (preferbly in soft solid form, not liquid form) for something like 4 bucks on sale!
Take all of these home.
Take your canopy or other clear parts that needs cleaning. First, use a hobby knife and scrape off the damaged or needed to clean up area. Be ULTRA careful with this part! If you accidently remove a chunk, then it’s all over!!! Then take your 600 or 800 grit paper and start sanding until the canopy area is smooth and and a cloudy opaue form. Now it’s time for magic! Break out the car wax! Dapple a bit on a soft clean slightly wet cloth and start rubbing the cloudy area of the canopy gently with a back and forth motion for about five minutes, afterward rinse with warm water. If you are not satisfied with the result, redo the process until you are stasfied and viola!!! Take a look at the canopy or any other clear part, good as new! After I tried on my F-16’s canopy, the mold line is gone! The canopy look like if it just came of the real F-16 manufacture! Clear as day! From that day forward, I alway keep a bottle of this stuff handy! It’s not only good for removing canopy mold lines, but any dumb mistakes I end up doing! Cement smear? No problem! Remove, sand, clear! Good as new! Scratches? No problem, sand clear viola! And also, if you are not satisfied with the transparency of your canopy or clear parts, dabble a little of this magic stuff, and then look at the result! This stuff works great and I’m never bothering with 1000 or 1200 grit sandpaper again!