Superglue Removal From Canopy

[David Cooke 1]

Canopy fitting is one of my least favour tasks. Current job is only a small model and Canopy Formula glue just slid around too much so resorted to superglue. I always seem to get more of it somewhere else than where I want it. When it dried, horrible white marks appeared inside the canopy and a small fingerprint appeared (grrrr). I tried a cotton bud with acetone nail polish remover and at first it looked like it was working, but after 10 mins it all dried out and the marks are still there. Any suggestions please? Material behind the canopy is Solarfilm Solite. Thanks

Edited By David Cooke 1 on 24/12/2017 20:45:51

Edited By David Cooke 1 on 24/12/2017 20:46:57

[Martin McIntosh]

If you wish to use c.a. then you need the foamie friendly stuff (odourless) which does not cause a white bloom which you can never remove. I have tried everything including so called canopy glue which turned out to be useless. I now use Deluxe Materials R/C modellers glue which sets clear and sticks to most things. It does not, however, set really hard but it does the job.

[Tony Bennett]

try an eraser on the glue, it works some times.

Tony B

[simon barr]

I tend to use double sided stick tape to fit canopies now, haven't lost one yet.

[Peter Miller]

I use Zap Formula 560 canopy glue. works well. But I also use very small screws to hold the canopy down.

Edited By Peter Miller on 26/12/2017 08:37:40

[ken anderson.]

hello david,too late for you now-bit next time around have a go with clear silicone for fixing your canopy...fix it apply some tape to keep it in place overnight...jobs a goodin.... get a small tube from a tropical fish supplier

ken Anderson...ne...1.... silicone dept.

[Bert]

You could paint it black, or silver?

Bert

[Allan Bennett]

If the canopy material is thick enough, superglue fingerprints can be removed using abrasives. I start by carefully scraping with a good hobby knife blade, and then finish using finer grades of emery paper and some micro-sanders -- can't find a link for them, but they're foamy sticks with surfaces of various coarseness, used to polish out blemishes in sprayed paint surfaces.

[Simon P]

Totally agree with Allan. It's the route I would use and have used before. I recommend the Flex-I-File Flex pad intro set consisting of 5 different flex pads. They last forever and will polish your canopy back to like new condition quickly if you use them in order of coarsest to finest grit.

[gangster]

Not sure it will help in this case. Many years ago I repaired a pair of spectacles with superglue. The repair was sound but I got it on the lenses. Knowing you could buy a solvent I rang the Loctite help line The advisor told me not to risk it on the glasses as he was concerned for the plastic frames He advised me that water was a solvent for cyano but it would be a slow process involving one or more 24 hr soaks with a few soakings over night and scraping with the fingernail I eventually cleaned the lenses

[Ron Gray]

@David, sorry to ask the obvious but have you tried CA remover, not nail polish remover? The reason I ask this is because I have used it to successfully remove CA ‘bloom’ from film covering so my guess is that it would also work on the canopy.

[Low pass Pete]

I had some undercarriage legs that needed some wood to make then look nicer. Tried all sorts of glues but finally used some Bathroom silicone sealer. Stuck fantastically and a bonus is that there is a bit of give as well. So think that this would also be a good use for canopies as well. However to date I have used Canopy glue that dries clear to good effect. It can tend to run a bit but that can be cleared by a damp cloth.

Cheers

Peter

[Luke Lane]

Hi David,

Like myself, you've learned the hard way. Never use superglue for canopies. Once you've trimmed and happy with the fit of the canopy, mark around it with a pen. Mask up to the line. With a brush, apply a thin layer, 6 -10 mm wide of canopy glue (I use Deluxe Materials) to both surfaces and allow to dry until clear. Cut some short lengths of masking tape & tack them to the edge of a bench or shelf, ready for the next part. Apply a slightly thicker, even layer to just the fuselage and position the canopy. All being well, you should have hardly any excess glue to wipe away. Now secure in place with the short lengths masking tape until dry. As Peter Miller suggested, it may be necessary to use very small screws (Model Fixings) to hold it in place whilst gluing. On my Seagull RV8, it took me about 4 hours to fix the canopy.

[David Cooke 1]

Thanks everyone for the replies - some good info! I have a silver cutout to mask over if I decide to go that way. Yes, I tried acetone (daughter's nail polish remover) but no joy. Kicking myself as I have some double sided tape and that stuff sticks like sxxx to a blanket (as my father used to say).

Edited By David Cooke 1 on 27/12/2017 11:21:27

[Lima Hotel Foxtrot]

Posted by David Cooke 1 on 24/12/2017 20:44:55:

Canopy Formula glue just slid around too much so resorted to superglue.

Eh? It didn't stick the canopy down? It took too long to dry?

[Martin McIntosh]

Tried some so called canopy glue once, don`t remember the make, but when dry I went over the excess with a very slightly damp cloth. The thing just fell off.

I find that the big problem with many is that there is very little of a flat mating surface, the rest being point contact only. Sounds like a recipe for a mag. teach in to me by someone who has really mastered it. What do the F4C guys do?

[ken anderson.]

Posted by ken anderson. on 26/12/2017 10:23:11:

hello david,too late for you now-but next time around have a go with clear silicone for fixing your canopy...fix it apply some tape to keep it in place overnight...jobs a goodin.... get a small tube from a tropical fish supplier

ken Anderson...ne...1.... silicone dept.

forget the rest---use the best

[David Cooke 1]

Here is a photo of the completed model. Its a 24" Super Sixty. Its a play thing compared to the usual things. Something I read that makes a good bonding surface is (ironically) super glue. I rub a little onto balsa and it provides a good bonding surface, vecro adheres really well. I've used Canopy glue on larger models with no problems, but struggled on this little model.

[Mark Stevens 1]

I know the Airfix guys have long used the old Johnsons Klear - now called Future Klear to remove any fogging from clear canopies. It also works well for us RC guys.

If you can't find any, a thin coat of clear varnish on the affected side should sort it out nicely.

Mark