Tinting Canopies

[Larry Fernandez]

Have any of you tinted canopies?
Tell us what tint to use and process that works for you.

Larry,Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Larry Fernandez]

Ah yes, first one a total disaster, I forgot to read the instructions.. HINT.  Do NOT cut the canopy from the plastic, if you do,  and you place it in the hot dye, it will roll up into a tube, a useless tube. Trust me I did it. Use RIT dye, just hot enough to be able to stick your hand it with out going OH, Sh**&^. I believe RIT says to boil the water, fine, but don't stick the canopy in it. Let it cool a tad.  Place the canopy in the dye and check it for tint quality about every five minutes. Be aware, it will be slightly lighter after it drains and cools. Have a second canopy in standby. Some things just never come out right the first time.   

Crap! I already cut the canopy.
Is it the same Rit dye that is used for fabrics?

[Mike Griffin]

Larry, this may not pertain but I have sprayed the inside of the canopy with candy apple blue paint and it comes out nice.  I know that is not dying it but it does look good.
Mike

[Gerald Arana]

Have any of you tinted canopies?
Tell us what tint to use and process that works for you.

Larry,Buttafucco Stunt Team

Larry, I've had the same experience as Ty had. My advice (for what you paid for it) is to get a new uncut canopy or two and have at it.

Jerry

[Larry Fernandez]

Thanks for the advice guys!
I do happen to have some candy blue on hand. I'm guessing it might be a good idea to add a bit of clear and thin the hell out of it. Hey, the worst I can do is screw it up.
If this doesn't work for me, its off to J&M Hobbies in the morning.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Dave Hull]

What is your canopy made out of? It matters.

Here is a previous thread with more info:

     https://stunthanger.com/smf/building-techniques/home-brew-canopy-for-profile/

In the case of the polyethylene material, the nearly boiling water I used didn't change the shape at all. It was already "shrunk" shaping it over the mold.

Dave

[Dan McEntee]

   There is tinting paint at the hobby shop for r/c car windows also. As Mike says, you just paint it on the inside. Gluing into the fuselage in the normal manor should not be an issue. I have done it like Ty mentions, only without the theatrics!!! Try a few small soda bottles for practice. I find that the water just has to be warm, about as hot as you can stand it for a bath or shower, and repeated dippings until you get what you want.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Dave Hull]

Dan,
Again, it depends on the canopy material. If you don't know what you have, you don't know what it's going to take.

The stuff that they used to be made out of was acetate(?), and that dyed super easy. It also would distort if you laid too heavy of a coat of dope on it. Or crumple up over time. My understanding is that certain kit manufacturers changed to a different plastic, and it does not dye the same. So what used to work may now be ineffective.

If you scroll to the bottom of the thread I attached, it goes thru the whole song and dance about dying PET material, and I can tell you from testing it myself, that "just warm" will be a waste of your time using one of the RIT dyes. I did not test their other product, which I listed, and it might be better---but who has tested it to see?

Dave

[Larry Fernandez]

What is your canopy made out of? It matters.

Here is a previous thread with more info:

     https://stunthanger.com/smf/building-techniques/home-brew-canopy-for-profile/

In the case of the polyethylene material, the nearly boiling water I used didn't change the shape at all. It was already "shrunk" shaping it over the mold.

Dave

It is a Sig canopy which I have been led to believe to be butyrate (?)

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Jim Hoffman]

I've had success simply spraying a thin coat of dope on the inside of Sig canopies

[Dave Hull]

Maybe Mikey could confirm what material SIG is using, or if your kit is older, what was used then. They still show clear plastic for canopies on page 85, but they don't say what the material actual is.  (I don't think it shows at all on the web selections, you have to download their catalog.)

If butyrate, it should dye easily.  At least all the ones I tried back in the day did. Check the color early and often so it doesn't get too dark. You should test on a scrap corner if you can. And the earlier comment about too much heat would also seem relevant.

Dave

[Larry Fernandez]

On three occasions I have painted the inside of the canopy, BUT he did ask about tinting.

Yes I did ask about tinting, but I am always open to suggestions.
Larry Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Dave Hull]

Update--The SIG catalog says that their finished canopies are butyrate. So your info seems good, Larry.  (page 62)

Those should be easy to dye.

Dave

[Larry Fernandez]

Update--The SIG catalog says that their finished canopies are butyrate. So your info seems good, Larry.  (page 62)

Those should be easy to dye.

Dave

THANKS DAVE!!!!
I really appreciate you looking into this for me.
And thank you all for your input.
I love this forum!

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team

[Will Davis]

I have tinted all of my canopies over the years , I use only sig canopies, I have used DuPont Lucite Acrylic Lacquer , sig Dope and Brodak dope , all paint was thinned with proper matching brand of thinner .

Simple process, after the model is in final paint , after clear, I wet sand the canopy area and seams so there is little to no division line from canopy to body

I then tape up body to leave only canopy exposed

I mix up clear dope with a few drops of black to add the tint to the clear

Spray on thin coats until desired tint is applied, more drops of black , darker , more coats darker, keep coats  thin  and even , drying between coats but do not dry spray or you will have adhesion issues, too heavy and you will have canopy distortion issues
,
Untape  body, wet sand seam and repeat process , let dry a couple days while blocking out clear on rest of model .

Sometimes I will have tint applied uneven on top and sides to give a little demension to the canopy , 

Retake body and put on final wet  even cost of finish on canopy

polish  canopy finish same as the rest of model



Picture of Skydancer taken last year  at Brodak's , model built in 1992 , still flying  in N-30.

[peabody]

Ted Fancher did a great piece a couple decades ago about using Rit dye to tint canopies.
He's old, but sometimes those old time memories are the best.
I can testify that a microwave oven should NOT be used!

[bill bischoff]

Disregard the picture. The rounded front Sig canopies have a CS0** part number, where ** is the length in inches, eg. CS007, CS012. The flat windshield WWII canopies have a WC0** part number.

[Steve Helmick]

Pretty certain that a previous thread ID'd the SIG canopies as being PET plastic, whatever that means. The best bet seems to be to use the spray can clear window spray for R/C cars on the inside of the canopy. Smoke "glass" is cool...and realistic.  Steve

[FLOYD CARTER]

I have had good results using RIT dye (normally for shirts, and underwear).  But I didn't like hot water on the formed canopy, so I used the dye at room temp. (whatever that is).  It takes much longer, but so what? 

[Dave Hull]

Mikey said in his post that he was using "PPG" plastic when he was molding canopies. I don't know what PPG is, but if it is a version of PP (polypropylene) then it is likely going to be hard to dye it. I do not know this personally, because I have not tried it. I have used many soda bottle canopies, which are made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and have previously reported my personal experience. You can dye it, but only by using heat. Waiting a day or so with the bath at room temperature will do nothing. Even with near boiling heat, it does not pick up much tint. I don't like a lot of tint. Real planes don't either, for good reason--how do you land in the dark?  ("I wear my sunglasses at night....")

If SIG has changed materials for their catalog parts, it would be nice to update the description, so we can be sure what we are using. Of the half dozen NIP SIG canopies I have on hand, none of the labels give the material.

Divot McSlow

PS--To reiterate a point made in the prior thread, using RIT DyeMore is likely to be more successful than the older RIT dyes. It is made for dying polyester materials. (ie. plastics)  While the older stuff works good on cotton shirts (and underwear?) my tests said it didn't do much to PET plastic. And it had to be near boiling just to get that result. I would like to hear a report from someone that has dyed PET and SIG canopies using DyeMore.

[Warren Wagner]

To all,

There is really quite a science to dyeing canopies, and I have found out that details
are everything, and I have to keep notes to reduce future frustration.

This sample in the pic below, was done some time ago, and my notes for the job are
up home in our summer home, so I can only give you generalizations.  The canopy is
from a "Kairos" kit, produced by Tom Dixon, and just by its appearance, I would guess
that it's a SIG product, used on their "Chipmunk" stunter.  I have no idea what the
material would be.

But here is my best advice....use a thermometer and monitor the temperature of the
dye bath during the dyeing process.   Obviously, you must approach the proper
temperature from below the optimum temperature, and you must be patient and
check your progress frequently.   Keep some notes so that when you are done, you will
have a record of the proper temperature, and the time, which will be less on your next
job.

What you want, of course, is a warm enough temperature to facilitate doing the job in
a reasonable time, but without turning your canopy into a 'conversation piece'.

My results trying the various products for car paints, did not give me the "tinting"
effect that I wanted, but ended up with some other novel effects.

Have fun.

Cheers.

Warren Wagner

[Will Davis]

That Sky Dancer is inspiring. Does Sig still sell the canopy that's on your model? The only canopies I see on the site have flat fronts not the tear drop shape.


Thanks,
Motorman

Motorman,

I do not know if sig still sells the canopy I use , I bought several in the early 90's and still have some left . I never liked the flat front ones for my models .

Thank you for kind words on the Skydancer , it has served me well, the finish is holding up well , it has spent most of it's  a shipping box that I built to transport to VSC in 1993 and 1994, so hangar rash has beek kept to a minimum

. I look forward to competing with it next year in Classic at the Nats

[RandySmith]

Have any of you tinted canopies?
Tell us what tint to use and process that works for you.

Larry,Buttafucco Stunt Team

Larry  Unless   they have changed, and I do not think they have, the  material is PETG  ie..Polyethylene Terephthlate Glycol-Modified Sheets, This material is  hard to dye, I have used it for over 30 years now, I dye mine  NOT cut, and use very hot, but NOT boiling water, It takes  about an HOUR  to dye this using  Liquid, NOT powder  RIT  Dye, and if  not  dark enough, just reheat  and  re dye,  YOU will  not  know  what it looks like untill you  wash it off with water.   It is  nice strong material, molds well , and  I believe  ALL the SIG canopies  are  made of this

Randy

Hint  save  your  dye  in an  empty and  washed  milk jug

[builditright]

Here's my two cents on tinting canopies that actually works (for me)

http://www.builtrightflyright.com/pdf/HelpDocs/TintingCanopies.pdf

[Larry Fernandez]

Here's my two cents on tinting canopies that actually works (for me)

http://www.builtrightflyright.com/pdf/HelpDocs/TintingCanopies.pdf

Good stuff Walter!
Thanks for taking the time to post this. I picked up the dye last night so I'm going to tint a bunch of canopies this evening.
Again, thanks a bunch!

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team