Rookie mistake

[Sharknose]

Anyone who has more than 15 posts on here, stop reading, this is for amateurs only. 😀

 

Having read on here about the wonders of Klear (or equivalent etc) I got some. On seeing recommendations about how good it is in removing scuffs and scratches from canopies, I dipped a canopy. Then some time later I've come to paint, got a minor spot on the main canopy, forgot I'd put klear on. Put some thinner on a q-tip. Disaster. Smudged up the canopy. Tried other things to sort. Unrecoverable. Canopy  now destroyed. Model done for. 

 

😪😪😪

 

Lesson learnt. Sigh.

[Shin]

Providing you have any interest in trying to salvage this, is the canopy attached to the plane?

 

If not (or if you can easily remove the canopy), you can dip the whole thing in iso alcohol or thinner to get all the paint/klear off, let dry, then redip in klear and start again.

 

If so, you can try to carefully use brushes/qtips with iso alcohol/thinner to get the klear off, then polish with Novus or Tamiya compounds. You'd have to be real careful not stripping paint off the plane body though. Though if you are airbrushing you can probably blend anything you accidently take off.

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Shin

[Sharknose]

Hi Shin. It wasn't attached. I did try to clean it up, but, and this is another bad one, after Tamiya thinners failed I tried some cellulose thinners, although that started to dissolve the Klear, it also destroyed the  canopy. In the bin.

 

One sad and sorry Sharknose. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Sharknose
Spelling

[bmwh548]

You can't use cellulose to clean up plastics. I normally use IPA or something that we have and is called "tech alcohol" around here (designed for mostly washing up). People also claim that ammonia based washing solutions are good at cleaning Klear, haven't used any so can't comment. 

 

Try emailing the kit manufacturer, some will agree to send you a replacement.

[Sharknose]

I might give that a try. 

Just one of those things,  I wont touch the canopy at all until last going forward. 

To be honest,  this is my first aim it shed aircraft so I'm learning tonnes about the build process when using an ab.

[lasermonkey]

For future reference, if you Klear-dip a canopy again and get a smudge on it, you can use household ammonia to strip it off.  It won't damage the plastic. Alternatively, you may well find that another coat sorts it out, as Klear seems to partially dissolve the coat underneath and then recombine as it dries.

 

I often use isopropyl alcohol to clean models, but that's only for unpainted ones. It'll likely eat into Klear too. Never use cellulose thinners or even white sprit on clear parts. I tried white spirit on a canopy once and while it didn't melt the canopy, it did end up causing cracks to appear after several days, just long enough to think you've got away with it!p

Cheers,

Mark.