Hi all, happy Sunday. What’s the consensus with your aircraft canopies/windows? Out of the box, in good condition, no obvious scratches, do you use the Tamiya compound anyway? I guess what I want to know is, is there a visible difference in the untouched plastic versus the one that was compounded?
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This is the polishing compounds you’re talking about? If it’s unmarked and the clarity is consistent throughout the part, I wouldn’t recommend applying anything. A more experienced modeller might suggest applying the finishing compound anyway, just in case there’s a mark or fingerprint you’ve missed that you’re going to see later in a very-hard-to-reach place like the inside of a sealed cockpit
I used this stuff in conjunction with traditional sanding to correct a shameful rookie error of applying clear coat over clear acrylic which promptly fogged up the cockpit glass. Worse still, I followed up with bad advice to use acetone to remove the clear coat which it sortof did, but went on to burned the underlying plastic. The restoration was not perfect, but passable given the level of trauma inflicted and limited range of abrasives on hand that could work the small areas. I will say, that coarse compound has an impressive bite to it!
You may have come across it already, but I referred to this video in my labours of how it’s used…
I like to dip the canopy in future floor wax
Why? I read all over this site and the internet quite frankly about the use of it. Last I checked on line it was very expensive and came in a bottle that would last me three life times. I don’t want to use the stuff. Just want to know from people who use the Tamiya compound regarding my original question in post #1, thank you.
thought it was a general clear parts question. Moving on.
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Since you’re here though, what advantage/disadvantage does the future floor wax application give your clear parts? It may be that you’re achieving the outcome OP is after, and I’m genuinely curious having seen your RAN Sea Fury…
It fills any micro scratches and makes the canopy crystal clear.
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Ah okay, so you’re achieving clarity through filling rather than abrasives/polishing much like the effect of when you wet frosted glass…
Exactly. We call it “floor wax” but really it’s a basic acrylic glossy clear coat. It makes clear plastic clear-er by doing the opposite of polishing.
It can also protect the plastic from some fogging/crazing from CA and solvent glues, but personally, I still don’t take the risk.
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I don’t want to derail this thread @pr154 brought up a good example of a problem. I have used Easy-Off oven cleaner for years to strip all kinds of finishes from models. I have never had an issue with it damaging styrene, even on clear parts.
It’s removed Tamiya, Gunze, Model Master, Humbrol,decades old Testors, dullcoat and glosscoat. The clear parts show no adverse affect due to the cleaner. No sanding or polishing needed.
Not sure why my thread was hi-jacked right off the bat. I had intended to ask a simple question, and did, (which if you read my post), of the experienced and knowledgeable on this here forum. For some reason my post became the starting point for oven and floor cleaners.
Despite that fact, getting back to the question at hand, does anybody have any experience with the comparison of clear plastics out of the box versus using Tamiya compound and if there is any difference in the outcome? Thank you, Ted.
Sorry Ted,
I really didn’t mean to derail, just help with an issue that was noted within your thread, so I’ll now try to help with your original question.
Every manufacturer, even every kit for each, has different quality clear pieces in their kits. Thickness, brittleness, imperfections, clarity all vary kit to kit. Depending on subject, scale, and size of the actual part this can be either acceptable or something worth fixing (if possible). It also depends on the modellers expectations with regard to finish.
Think of it in terms of paint on a car…
A brand new car with a factory paint job looks pretty smooth, but if you look close enough in the right conditions you’ll see imperfections, inclusions, waves etc. This however is good enough for most people.
A show quality car will look good from a distance as well, but closer inspection will reveal a much smoother finish, not inclusions or paint waves. The effort required to hit this level is just not deemed as required by most people.
A car with a $500 paint job can also look good at a distance, but when you get closer there can be plenty of issues like orange peel, dullness, etc. Normally unacceptable in most people’s view.
Also remember that glass on real vehicles, planes etc are only factory fresh until they are taken outside once.
Now let’s transfer this thought to your canopy…
You didn’t mention scale, so I have no idea how much cockpit is visible behind the glass. If it’s 1/144, there probably isn’t much point to having a completely polished, crystal canopy. But at 1/24, there is more of an argument for it.
In the end, you need to take into account the quality of the piece you are starting with and what it could finally look like (you can’t polish a turd into a diamond). You also have to have a realistic expectation of the end results using your skills and the starting piece you have, along with how much effort you want to expend. There are pieces that can be improved, some that can’t, and some that don’t need it.
It’s your model (cliche, I know), it has to be your decision based on what you see when you hold that canopy in your hand. Is it worth it or is it acceptable as is, will the work produce results you will notice?
One suggestion here mentioned floor polish, which may improve the look with very little effort. They offered that as an option, I’m sure no offence meant.
Hope this helps a bit with your question. Feel free to clarify or even include additional info or pictures if you have a specific canopy issue in mind. I’m sure we can help you tackle what you are dealing with.
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Thank you VERY much. I know many were offering what they thought was a solution to a problem but I had no problem at the time, I still don’t. I was asking for the modelers experiences that they may have come across and whether or not it’s worth it for me to travel down that same road. Specifically with the canopy. Thank you very much. Your post was more than detailed and offered me numerous view points.
THANK YOU all to who responded.
Now on to what I specifically have. 1/48 Tamiya F-15C wind screen and canopy. Two pieces, will be modeled in the closed position. The canopy looks, well, like plastic! I was thinking, and this is where my original question came in, will the Tamiya Fine then Finish compound give this more of a glass look? And also should I compound the inside? Using the compound doesn’t seem to be much work at all so I’m not worried about the effort it takes. Last thing, I painted the frame work of both pieces, how do you think the compound will affect them, if at all.
Again, thank you very much. I’m here on this site about a month and I really do like it!
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Hey mate, based on my experience with the compound, it is an abrasive so if rubbed on your paint with any sustained vigour then it will be rubbing the paint off, noting it also went through a lacquer clear coat. The struts of my TIE cockpit were painted prior to using the compound to clean up the aforementioned oopsie, but I probably had to work my problem a lot more vigorously than what you might with your fairly pristine cockpit glass.
That said, I started with the coarse compound but I’ve noticed that the automotive enthusiasts tend to just use the fine and finish on their body work after glossy clear coat is applied.
So apologies, my experience with the product is more remedial in nature than preparatory but having seen what it’s capable of under aggressive conditions I would suggest that if you’ve already painted, then avoid working with the compound products in this instance.
I suspect the others go for the floor polish since it’s a “filler” polish rather than an abrasive polish, and will protect the part in the course of applying and removing masks rather than be reliant on all mask product releasing from original clear plastic
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Thank you for your response and experience!
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Happy to help, and your response helps as well. For what you are thinking of doing, coarse compound is not needed. It’s mainly for removing fine scratches and such. The fine compound might even be overkill as it sounds like you just want to polish to improve the finish. Fine will also most likely remove some paint. The Tamiya finish compound is more of a polish, way less bite - not sure about paint removal, but it’s likely.
I use a product I’ve had for years, not sure if it’s still around - I believe it was from the same line as micro set, but it was a polish. Similar results as the Tamiya finish compound, it did remove paint. The other product I use is a model car wax (probably the same as regular car wax just 10x the price 
). It gave a good shiny finish, resisted fingerprints and did not remove paint.
You can polish both inside and out, may or may not help in your situation. Most important to remember to properly support the canopy while doing the polishing. It’s surprisingly easy to put undue pressure while polishing and cause a crack in the canopy. Once that happens, it doesn’t really matter how clear it is, the crack shows up.
Let us know what you decide and how it works out. Looking forward to see The Eagle when done.
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Hey thanks a lot my man! Great info. It’s going to be a while before I post any final pics. I finished decals and now I’m moving on to the gloss over coat. Afterwards I will try my hand at weathering, YIKES! I’m using all Tamiya products including their acrylic paint, so I hope I won’t run into any issues with their panel line wash. Want to accent some recessed lines of course and perhaps use it as a pin wash. But, that all will be for another thread if I can’t find help from past ones. THANKS AGAIN friend!