Well I'm baffled.   I know that in the past if you wanted to tint a canopy you just got some Rit dye and tint them like you dye a T shirt basically.   So I wanted to tint one for a new airplane I'm working on.   I got the dye at Walmart- it is in liquid form these days.   The bottle said the water should be at least 140 degrees for best results.   I warmed the pot on the stove for a bit until it began to steam then in went the Sig canopy I have from old stock. I figured maybe 1/2 hour would do it.   I wanted it pretty dark.   After about 5 HOURS and reheating the water a few times it was about as dark as it was going to get though I really wanted a little more.   So I pulled it out of the pot and rinsed it off in the sink.  ALL of the dye rinsed away-totally- and the canopy was as crystal clear as when I started.   The dye did absolutely nothing!   My guess is the dye is different than in the past or there was something in the technique I did wrong.   So I'm just going to put the canopy on the airplane then mix a little 'dirty' clear dope to spray on with the airbrush.   I'm curious if others have done this recently and knows of some trick I missed?

Dave

Dave  I use rc car candy paint on the inside of the canopy. A light coat is all it takes.   George

Quote from: George Waters on December 01, 2025, 04:08:21 PM
Dave  I use rc car candy paint on the inside of the canopy. A light coat is all it takes.   George

George that would be for an opaque solid color,  right?   I have simply doped over the outside of canopies to do that without issue.   I want to achieve a very dark tint but still see through.   I actually have a couple planes here built by someone else (who can no longer answer my questions-dementia ) where they have a very dark tint that frankly actually looks very cool but make it difficult to see the quality of cockpit detail and workmanship inside which is a plus in my case.  If you can't make the inside look like a museum piece then you better hide it or paint it-it will score against you......

Dave

Dave,
That is a common problem. When I tracked it down a few years back, it turned out to be a different material being used for canopies, not changes to the dyes or process. Of course, there is a lot of "other" information out there and some of it is outdated.

SIG likely was using PETG during recent times and that is essentially un-dye-able as far as I can tell. I managed to get a slight color change. Older canopies were likely an acetate or butyrate formulation, which dyed easily. The biggest challenge was to take it out before it got far too dark. The good news is that the PETG is more rugged and doesn't yellow like the older ones.

Dave H

Well that explains it.   I'll just see how artistic I am with the airbrush on it.   If I fail I'll shoot it black and call it good.   Thanks Dave!


Dave

Dave  If you use the candy type paint you can see through it .  George

Quote from: George Waters on December 02, 2025, 04:08:31 PM
Dave  If you use the candy type paint you can see through it .  George

I didn't think of that.  Yeah it's translucent.    But is there a black?   Could have used blue I guess.   Ultimately that is close to what I will end up with spraying dirty clear on the canopy.   It's already installed on the airplane now so that is what will happen this time.   When I do another with a clear canopy I may try this.   I've just painted opaque color on the last few I've done.   This project is a little unusual and wanted the see through type to achieve the look I'm after.

Dave

Pro-Line makes window tint paint for RC car bodies, either in aerosol, or liquid for air brushing. Might be worth a look.

 Black Rit dye In a pot of  very hot water. Keep dipping it in the water until you get the hue you want

Quote from: Kevin K on December 03, 2025, 11:04:09 PM
Black Rit dye In a pot of  very hot water. Keep dipping it in the water until you get the hue you want

Kevin that is exactly what I did......looked pretty good when I pulled it out.   It all vanished when I rinsed it off.   Had to be in the water over five hours to start to be dark enough but it ended up being just a wash-off coating.  The dye did nothing to the plastic.

Dave

  It could be that some oddball plastic got mixed in with the stock materials when it was formed. Maybe it's Lexan or something else. The R/C cars guys use a special line of paint to paint their car bodies, and there are transparent and "smoke" colors for getting the tinted look on the wind shields and windows of the Lexan bodies. You might look into those. I think even the small bottle platic model paints have these also. Paint the inside of the canopy with these.
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

Quote from: bill bischoff on December 03, 2025, 08:45:10 PM
Pro-Line makes window tint paint for RC car bodies, either in aerosol, or liquid for air brushing. Might be worth a look.

Thanks Bill.   On the list

Dave, did you use very hot water? That's what worked for me.
Kevin.

Dave, The black Rit dye I used left the canopy more of a brown colour. I forgot to mention that.
Kevin.

Dave, I have had success simply air brushing butyrate colored dope on the inside of the clear canopy.  Spray thin coats until you get the tone you desire

Quote from: Jim Hoffman on December 09, 2025, 08:13:55 AM
Dave, I have had success simply air brushing butyrate colored dope on the inside of the clear canopy.  Spray thin coats until you get the tone you desire

Jim thats pretty much what I am going to do.   In this case on the outside since the canopy is already installed.   I know I can spray clear dope over that to protect it.    I doubt I can rub it out......well maybe with enough clear.   I have been thinking I'd need to tint clear rather than opaque color- but if I can get the airbrush set low enough and be careful....Worse comes to worse I'll just paint it but I was hoping not.

Dave

Clear dope with just a touch of color.  Stays transparent no matter how much you put on.

Don

Quote from: Don Jenkins on December 28, 2025, 07:54:09 AM
Clear dope with just a touch of color.  Stays transparent no matter how much you put on.

Don

Thats the plan... as soon as I get back on it.    It's been pretty cold here to open the window and fan to get the fumes out.    We have a few warmish days coming....What to do when you are working on finishing three airplanes at the same time and it's too cold...start a new airplane!   

Dave

add a few drops of the desired color to 2 part clear and go slowly building up the shade
UV resistant and the shine is awesome

Quote from: fred cesquim on January 15, 2026, 03:33:27 AM
add a few drops of the desired color to 2 part clear and go slowly building up the shade
UV resistant and the shine is awesome

Thanks Fred.   I'm sure it does look great.    I have bad experience with two part clear (Nason) I know due to lack of experience.   I have it but don't feel like risking the project when I mess it up.   I totally ruined two new airplanes with it.   The airplanes looked like they had the measles after I sprayed them.   Thats also what I get being in mass production mode sometimes.   The stuff needs to be thinned greatly.   Nobody including the manufacturer can tell me how much and with WHAT to thin it.

Dave

Well just as a follow up-I finally got the airplane to the 'painted' stage- too many projects going at once.  I lightly sprayed thin black dope on the outside.   It sat a few days.  After I did some ink lines and was ready to shoot on some clear I saw a bit of tape gum near the canopy.   Took a little alcohol on a paper towel to remove it.  In the process I wiped a little on the canopy and it took the dope right off!  Obviously didn't really stick.  I touched it up best I could and have now shot clear over it all.   This surprised me since I have several other airplanes with plastic Sig canopies that I doped solid and never had a problem after several years and flying seasons.   It seems like it could be a different clear plastic.   I'm just going to finish it up and see how it goes.  If it all starts to come off I will probably clean the canopy off entirely and try the plastic car enamel painted solid.  Wish now I'd have just painted the inside before I put it on....

Dave

Quote from: Dave_Trible on December 02, 2025, 04:17:08 PMBut is there a black?   

Dave

Clear dope with a small amount of black. Add coats until the desired darkness.