Is there a faster way to smooth and polish a canopy?

MillenniumFalsehood · Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:38 am

I've been working on an A-wing canopy for three days now, and the thing's still not quite smooth'n'shiny. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, so here's my procedure:

Sand down the imperfections with 150-grit sandpaper.

Smooth that out with 400-grit wet'n'dry.

Polish with toothpaste (the white stuff, not the gel-type).

Repeat.

I am going to use Future to get it to a smooth gloss, but for now I am still finding relatively deep scratches (<1mm deep).

What the heck am I doing wrong here? Should I not be using the heavy-grit sandpaper?

DaveVan · Post by **DaveVan** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:53 am

At one time there was a clear and paint polish kit aimed at the model car market. The kit had 10 sheets of high grade 'sanding' films, a polish compound and soft cloth. The kits roughest grit was 800 and went to 15000. So I would pass on the 150 and 400....but if you have made deep scratches with the 150 it ma take LOTS of work. The kit is no longer available but you should be able to find the sanding medium.

PS...the future will help a lot. Try it and if you still have scratches you can always wash it off and go again.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:13 am

The problem is too large of a jump between papers. The 400 can't neccessarily get into the deep gouges that 150 can make. Better to go 280 on up in as small of a grit step as you can, preferably up to about 3000 (10K if you can find it). Plan on wet sanding @ the higher grits. I'd also suggest MirrorGlaze or Novus plastic polishes.

kenlilly106 · Post by **kenlilly106** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:29 am

Sand wet at a 90 deg. angle to the preceeding grit, that way the deep gouges will be removed.

If you have your sandpaper in a container of water, always change the water and rinse out the container before going to the next higher grit, you don't want a piece of 200 grit stuck to your 1000 grit paper.

You've got your work cut out for you, the coarsest I'll sand a clear part with is 400 grit wet, it's going to take a lot of sanding to get the 180 grit scratches out.

Ken

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:35 am

Yes, what kenlilly106 said. I hate having a nice finish screwed up by a random piece of coarse grit.

MillenniumFalsehood · Wed Oct 07, 2009 12:21 pm

Huh, I never thought about changing the water to prevent larger grit from contaminating a smaller grit sandpaper.

Thanks, guys! I knew there was a reason I come here.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:20 pm

Mirror Glaze & Novus are both used to polish the full size canopies. Tamiya also makes a polish that works damned nice (and is a touch finer than Novus' fine polish).

Rogviler · Post by **Rogviler** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 2:29 pm

Also, if you can find it, a set of fingernail polishing pads works really well for canopies.

-Rog

irishtrek · Post by **irishtrek** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:23 pm

A few years ago I lived down the road from an Ace hardware store and what did I find? 1500 grit sandpaper!! So in other words check out your local hardware store.

Post by **TER-OR** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:34 am

There are little sanding/buffing pads available too. I really like those for this kind of thing.

And change water frequently.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:11 pm

Rogviler wrote:Also, if you can find it, a set of fingernail polishing pads works really well for canopies.

-Rog

YESSS! These are all I use after the sanding is done. Change water between grades - use them wet - and use them in the order specified on the package. Get them at Wal-Mart pharmacy for less than $2.50.

Kenny

rocketrider · Post by **rocketrider** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:32 am

One of the FSM mags had an article on polishing a canopy for a P-51D Mustang. (I think it was March of 95). Did all the sanding steps, but instead of spraying the future, they dipped it in, and then touched the canopy edge to a paper towel to draw the exess off.

And I sand under the faucet in the kitchen sink with the water running low.

Glen

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:35 am

rocketrider wrote:One of the FSM mags had an article on polishing a canopy for a P-51D Mustang. (I think it was March of 95). Did all the sanding steps, but instead of spraying the future, they dipped it in, and then touched the canopy edge to a paper towel to draw the exess off.

Glen

I never spray my canopies with Future unless I am tinting them. As for the paper towels, touch the Future to a torn edge of the paper towel, not the "unspoiled edge. The wicking is mulitplied by a factor of eleventy gajillion when the torn edge of the paper towel is used.

Kenny

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:31 pm

Lt. Z0mBe wrote: . . .by a factor of eleventy gajillion . . .

So is that before or after the conversion to metric?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:31 pm

Depends on whether the paper towel is Canadian or not.

DeltaVee · Post by **DeltaVee** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:57 pm

What they said - using more grits, washing frequently, dip in Future - but also, try 400 first and work toward the coarser grits if that doesn't work. Lots of scratches can be removed with the finer grits. You can buy kits or even try out the harware stores for 1000/1200/1400/1600, etc. grits. I think the car guys work their way to 6000 grit.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:32 pm

I've got some 10,000 grit paper and have seen 12,000. Both of which are smoother than a standard sheet of paper.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 6:50 pm

Kylwell wrote:Depends on whether the paper towel is Canadian or not.

They're in the package with the oak leaf.

:ducks:

Kenny

ahongi · Post by **ahongi** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:24 pm

Hi,
I think what you are looking for is explained at the following link:
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index ... opic=11106
The mastercasters sanders
(http://www.mastercasters.co.uk)
are absolutely amazing. No floor needed just use the sanders with
increasing grid numbers. Period. Those sanding sponges are much
finer than the grid number suggests.
I even got acrylic glas plates I wanted to use for a model stand but
which were very crudely cut at the sides absolutely shiny.
-Andre

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:34 pm

These?

ahongi · Post by **ahongi** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:13 am

Yes, absolutely. These are so much different from the usual
sanding paper. Highly recommended.

dizzyfugu · Post by **dizzyfugu** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:00 am

I had good success on clear parts with 1.000 grit snad paper plus lots of water, then an interim finish with a 4.000 grit Abralon pad (also lots of water), and finally a polish with a simply polishing paste from the DIY store (contains some fine abrasives, plus wax to shine the surface up) or, alternatively, 3M's Finesse-It Trizact rubbing compound (no wax, leaves a clean surface if you want to apply paint).

Hardluck · Post by **Hardluck** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:20 pm

I just bought an A wing kit (original Golden Opportunity one!) and the canopy seems smoked...is that normal or did id happen with age?

I want it clear.

DeltaVee · Post by **DeltaVee** » Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:47 pm

It came that way.

Lord Darth Beavis · Post by **Lord Darth Beavis** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:58 am

Tyler,

Get thee to a beauty supply house (Sally's is a good place to go), and pick up a set of nail polishing boards. I got a spiffy one that goes all the way up to (I think) about 4000 grit. Does nice work on canopies, when they're a mess.

Oh, and like Robb said, Novus plastic polish is your friend. It'll even take scratches out of your phone screen and iPod, I'm told...

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:54 am

I bought some flex pad sanders from Micromark, and they're great for removing small scratches and polishing plastic.

The 150, 280 and 320 grit remove material quickly and the 600 and the 2400/4000/12000 grit pads are fantastic at fine scratch removal and polishing. You can quickly bring clear plastic to almost completely scratch free and transparent conditions without having to use plastic polishing compound. You may not even need polishing compounds.