I did a bad bad thing. I decided to try to remove paint from the canopy using paint thinner and needless (or maybe not so needless) to say the clear styrene fogged up. Is there any way to salvage it or should I send it on its final journey, down the toilet? Thanks for any help.
Oops! You might be able to get away with polishing it out. Start with 600 grit sanding sheets and progressively work up to 2000 grit. After that you can get the shine back with toothpaste, Brasso/Silvo or a wax like The Treatment. For fine sandpapers, I’ve been using Tamiya but you can also get them from an autobody or auto parts supply. Hope this works for you.
maybe one or two coats of Future wil make the canopy clear again.
After you’ve polished it, give it a dip in Future. Should be good as new.
Regards, Rick
Thanks guys, I’ll give the suggested a go and let you know how it turns out!
There are also liquid plastic polishes-like “The Finishing Touch” and don’t forget toothpaste for the intial polishing.
PS-and don’t forget aftermarket canopies.
Dan
The remedies suggested above should work fine. I recently dropped styrene glue on a U-2 canopy. I tried to wipe it off, but the damage was already done. After it was dry, I got the sandpaper out , then the polishing paste (Tamiya in my case), and after a good wash and dry, dipped it in Future: almost as good as new. I guess my point is: don’t give up, there’s hope yet [:)]
Another source of fine sandpaper is to use nail file polishing sticks. The one I got had three different surfaces on it. I recently built a 1/72 Spitfire and posed it with the canopy open, so I had to sand out the inside of the canopy to get it to a reasonable scale thickness. The lower frames on the windscreen were wrong, so I ground them off as well. After sanding, polishing, a final polish with tootpaste, and a dip in Future, it was better than new. Wit a bit a bit of diligence, your canoy will be fine.
Andy