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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Paul Taylor on May 13, 2010, 09:04:15 PM
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Can I use Z-poxy with micro balloons to glue on a canopy?
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You can...
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There's something called canopy glue, RC Folks use it. I've got some. Cleans up better and easier. Takes a long time to set up so the canopy can be placed accurately. Won't scar the plastic as much as sloppy smeared epoxy. IMHO.
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I just put one on with striping tape. It seems to be pretty secure and was suggested by someone on here or Stuka. Sorry I can't remember who.
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There's something called canopy glue, RC Folks use it. I've got some. Cleans up better and easier. Takes a long time to set up so the canopy can be placed accurately. Won't scar the plastic as much as sloppy smeared epoxy. IMHO.
You can glue a canopy down to film covering, and if you need to work on it you can gently peel it right back off again. I don't know how it would do over a painted surface -- it would probably depend on the paint. I'd give dope a good long time (a week, if I were smart) to cure before I stuck a canopy on with the stuff.
It's water based, I drill a small hole in a corner of the canopy for air circulation, which seems to help the drying process. In the bottle it's white goo, but it dries perfectly clear.
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I use silkspan to hold canopies on. Narrow strips doped on cover the gap between the canopy and fuselage. Tape the canopy and after doing the area where there is no tape then remove the tape and finsh the other spaces. Use a second layer so the canopy will not move when you dope over the final job. I paint the strip ( brown area ) on the inside of the canopy so the silkspan does not show inside.
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Then, there's always RC-56.
It is still around, perhaps under a different label. Water clean-up before it has completely set. Never loses rubbery flexibility. Good fuel-proof bonding.
A good base for most any finish over it. (E.g., an epoxy fillet to the paint edge...)
DURABLE!
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Then, there's always RC-56.
That's one of the brands of the canopy glue we were talking about.
Good stuff.
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I've had canopies fracture at the point where it contacts the fuselage. You get that little crack at the back or front from vibration over time. so I started cutting a little notch for the canopy to fit in. I glue it down into the notch with either epoxy or canopy glue. Once dry, I tape off and put a fillet all the way around with SuperFil or sometime micro-balloons and epoxy (depends on the application) then sand the fillet down flush with the fuselage and canopy. When you tape off and paint, the joint disappears entirely.
In a situation where the fuse is already finished (like yours), you need a near perfect fit of the canopy and canopy glue will probably be OK, but will be susceptible to fractures at the front and the back from vibration.
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I like to use small screw to hold canopies on when possible.
Chipmunk is good candidate for this way.
Makes cleaning the dust out easy.
Also use epoxy applied with a tooth pick and then covered with pinstripe tape or covering.
Have used pin stripe tape only several times with good results and only rarely blow off.
David
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RC-56 has been ordered from Tower with a few more odds and ends to make it worth the shipping. <=