Well, many of you know I like to play with my canopies, and have finally decided to do a "how Wayne does his canopies" thread, so pay attention and ask quesitons, there will be a test
This time I decided I would try my hand at it on a new TRex SE canopy. The one I chose to start with was the white one. I chose this because white makes an excellent background to paint on. Align also offers it in Yellow and Clear,....I'll talk about the clear a little later on.
As with any process there is a beginning, many steps, and an end. The First step is Prep.
I can't say enough about preparation. You know what they say about the 5 "p's" of life? Proper Preparation Prevents pee Poor Performance. 'Nuf said on that.
The canopy starts like this
First thing we have to do is remove all the stuff that isn't permanently attached to the canopy (like the grommets)
Now that that's done, we have to cut out the portions that are permanently attached,......but shouldn't be
***TIP*** - an easier way to remove the vent holes / etc. is to heat up the blade of a #9 blade before you cut, but be careful, the blade is hot, and it slices through the plastic like a hot knife through warm butter, a slip of the wrist means a gash in the canopy.
For the excess around the edge of the canopy, I use a set of hairdressing scissors (VERY sharp), but cuticle scissors (small blade, curved tip) work very well, or the method mentioned above.
Now that we have it cut out and "stripped", it's time to take our 280 grit sandpaper, and sand it dull. Make sure to get the edges where you cut out the vents and the excess around the canopy. Some people will say you don't need to sand the canopy dull, but I disagree, I feel it gives the upcoming paint a much better surface to "grab" on to. After the 280, move to 320 or better, and you can even finish off with 0000 steel wool.
After this is all done, give it a quick trial fit to make sure everything clears. A couple of areas to double check on the TRex are the swash plate rods, and the main gear. Also make sure your motor wires aren't forced into any wierd bends or anything.
So, to this point, we have stripped, cut, sanded, next is to mask of the inside of the canopy. I do this because I don't care how careful you are, if you don't, you are going to end up with overspray on the inside of the canopy, and it can affect the finish color.
Ok, so now we've removed, cut, prepped, masked, now our first shot of primer. The Krylon brand pimers work good, but for this model all I had left was some TopKote (model airplane) primer, so I used it. This is where the true test of patience comes. First, before you paint,
***READ THE MANUFACTURERS DIRECTIONS FOR THE PAINT***
As an example, this paint clearly states multiple light coats with 2-3 minutes between. So, follow as directed, no longer, no shorter, and light means light - basically just dust it. It'll get to the color you are looking for after a few coats and drying (granted this is just white primer, but you know what I mean)
So, to this point (again), we have removed, trimmed, prepped, masked and primed. Once again, patience!!! I must now wait 12 hours until I sand it, and 24 hours until I paint my next color. For this model, I found that 2 coats of primer was plenty, you may experience different results, but again, lightly, by the directions, and BE PATIENT and let it dry all the way.
That is all, until tomorrow afternoon when I begin determining the paint scheme, and beginning the "masking" process.
Wayne
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