clear window material?

homeboy · Post by **homeboy** » Sun Dec 07, 2014 4:12 pm

Working on my first fully lit starship. Revell Monogram Voyager. I'm curious as to what people have used to successfully fill the opened windows with clear material?

jonfak · Post by **jonfak** » Sun Dec 07, 2014 6:59 pm

I have used Micro Kristal Klear for windows. Dries clear, and transparent.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 4:46 am

And I'll second that on the Micro Krystal Klear. Great stuff, looks like Elmers white glue, but dries much clearer.

Paulbo · Post by **Paulbo** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 2:43 pm

Ditto Micro Kristal Klear. (Testors Clear Parts Adhesive and Window maker if your LHS can get the Microscale material.)

Tchail · Post by **Tchail** » Mon Dec 08, 2014 3:30 pm

Elmers makes clear glue.

I bought it, but haven't yet tried it for windows. It does dry clear, though.

In my experience, Micro Criystal Clear always dries with a blue color. But maybe I'm not applying it thin enough.

Clear resin, like the type used to varnish tabletops, is an option, but it's by far the hardest to work with.

Nakira2ca · Post by **Nakira2ca** » Mon May 04, 2015 8:20 pm

I know nothing about 'Micro Krystal Klear'. I hear it can make small windows and even used for gluing clear parts.

- Since this is not a 2 part resin, how firm does it get?
- does it shrink or yellow over time?
- can it be sanded (lets say I want my Enterprise exterior windows flush with the hull)
- Can it be built up in layers?

Thanks!

Bellerophon · Post by **Bellerophon** » Tue May 05, 2015 10:42 am

Acrylic resin is supposed to work great. It's a combination of acrylic polymer powder and acrylic monomer liquid. The mixture cures to form solid acrylic, the stuff plexiglas is made of. Turns out it's used in nail salons. I bought some in a beauty supply shop for about $10 for both the liquid and powder, and I'll tell what happens when I try it out.

TREKKRIFFIC · Post by **TREKKRIFFIC** » Tue May 05, 2015 11:38 am

Bellerophon wrote:Acrylic resin is supposed to work great. It's a combination of acrylic polymer powder and acrylic monomer liquid. The mixture cures to form solid acrylic, the stuff plexiglas is made of. Turns out it's used in nail salons. I bought some in a beauty supply shop for about $10 for both the liquid and powder, and I'll tell what happens when I try it out.

I got some of this too. It doesn't dry crystal clear, more semi-transparent which is fine for me as I don't need to see inside the model for most of my builds. It's toxic stuff though so beware the fumes of the monomer liquid. It's also acetone based (I think) so it will soften paint. Your best bet is to mask the opening with clear tape from the outside and fill from the backside. Use a syringe to dispense some of the monomer into the opening then drop your powder into the liquid. It sets up fast. Then remove the tape. Any bubbles can be filled with more of the same or you can fill with CA. This assumes you have not glued the model together or painted it yet of course.

I practiced on some scrap styrene before attempting to use it on a model.

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Tue May 05, 2015 12:54 pm

Nakira2ca wrote:I know nothing about 'Micro Krystal Klear'. I hear it can make small windows and even used for gluing clear parts.

- Since this is not a 2 part resin, how firm does it get?
- does it shrink or yellow over time?
- can it be sanded (lets say I want my Enterprise exterior windows flush with the hull)
- Can it be built up in layers?

Thanks!

It gets about as hard as white glue does; i.e, always a bit soft. And susceptible to water, too; if, ten years from now, you wash your model to get the dust off it, the windows will go away.

It doesn't shrink.

It can't be sanded.

You can build it up in layers.

Really, think of PVA glue; that's really what it is.

Nakira2ca · Post by **Nakira2ca** » Tue May 05, 2015 3:57 pm

Rocketeer wrote:
Nakira2ca wrote:I know nothing about 'Micro Krystal Klear'. I hear it can make small windows and even used for gluing clear parts.

- Since this is not a 2 part resin, how firm does it get?
- does it shrink or yellow over time?
- can it be sanded (lets say I want my Enterprise exterior windows flush with the hull)
- Can it be built up in layers?

Thanks!
It gets about as hard as white glue does; i.e, always a bit soft. And susceptible to water, too; if, ten years from now, you wash your model to get the dust off it, the windows will go away.

It doesn't shrink.

It can't be sanded.

You can build it up in layers.

Really, think of PVA glue; that's really what it is.

Thanks!

Paulbo · Post by **Paulbo** » Thu May 07, 2015 2:32 pm

To the susceptible to water damage notation, you could say the same for decals ... and you solve the "problem" the same way:

Coat your model with a clear sealant when you're done. You're going to do it anyway, so there's really no problem.

weareborg · Post by **weareborg** » Wed May 13, 2015 2:02 pm

When I watched Steve Neil do his Voyager build he used Acrylic resin for his windows. Came out a treat. He did warn of the smell though.

Andy

Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

clear window material?

clear window material?

'Micro Krystal Klear'

Re: 'Micro Krystal Klear'

Re: 'Micro Krystal Klear'