Gargoyle

I am building a 1:20 size CAP232, and I have this really cool looking G-man pilot that I picked up from parlor city pilots.
I think that a tinted canopy would really set off the canary yellow ultrakote. Can anyone tell me how to tint the stock clear canopy ?

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Auto supply store,(Pep Boys, Auto Zone) spray on window tint. Buy 2 cans, use up one practicing on an old canopy or piece of plastic. Works pretty good. *** Clean surface !!!! no fingerprints, smuges. CLEAN !!!

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

Ritt die and patients!!
Basically, it's like this: get a large pot, get some Ritt fabric die. fill the pot with enough water to cover the canopy. mix in die. heat die solution to about 130°F on the stove (not too hot, to 'melt' the canopy material. dunk in a test strip from the canopy. wiat a few minutes (5 - 55 minutes; 15 typically,or depending on teh 'intensity' you want) repeat with another test strip, and then do it with your canopy.

No, seriously, we have a good detailed explanation on our site. Under 'Hints and tips'
www.aerotech-rc.com

J_R

dr_wogz's suggestion of Ritt die is the easy way. HOWEVER, the key to his post is to test the material first. There appear to be two types of material used for canopies. One will take the tint, and one will not.

If you have the one that will not, then try the spray on type tint. It is not as easy to apply as you would think. Either the spray on window tint from an auto supply store, or the stuff made for RC car bodies from the LHS works. The stuff or RC cars comes in different colors. The auto stuff can appear purple over time. The biggest problem is runs. That's why die is prefered. Spray the INSIDE of the canopy.

JR

PS use vinyl gloves if you have them, and think ahead. This makes a mess. Where are you going to put that die when your done? I finally figured that making a funnel to get it down a drain is less work than scrubbing sinks or toilets. If you poor it outside, the ground, gutter, etc is gonna be that color for a long time to come.

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

We have done it several times in a stainless steel pot. So far, no colour leeching into the steel.
Also, when dumping it down the sink, run water to help is go. again, mostly a stailness steel sink. Clean up while it is still 'fresh, and it'll be easier!

Also, the test is to determine the proper 'dunk time' the longer you leave it, the darker it'll be.


You can also dunk the nylon wing bolts. the die will take to teh nylon parts. So, you can match the bolts to the covering!! control horns too!

rorywquin

The dye method is a pita - get the spray as suggested in the earlier thread or buy some of the tint spray used by the r/c car guys - if you are building a big plane I assume you have enough building/spraying experience to use a can of aerosol paint.

The spray is quick and easy and takes less than 15min on a warm day - I cannot understand why people keep on messing around with dyes!

SST

My Feedback: (2)

AMEN. I read all that hokus-pokus stuff...temp just so...so much ammonia...so much salt...check every few minutes...few minutes to a few HOURS...some canopies don't tint AT ALL (maybe during a full moon after sacrificing a goat. LOL)... And then went to my LHS and bought a can of Testor's transparent blue. Been using that same can for two years, and taking less time to tint than it takes to read this post.

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

Hey! It's cheap!!!
And yo9u can do t-sheiorts & such after teh capony is done!! "groovy man!!"

With teh spray-on stuff, do you have to mask the outside of the canopy to avoid overspray?!

SST

My Feedback: (2)

I have not had to mask the canopies I have done to limit overspray, but it can't hurt to form a spray lip around it's edge. My SSTs use flat sheet that's then formed and glued to the airframe, so I can just lay it flat and spray the backside. Shallow formed canopies are no big deal, but I would go ahead and mask a deep or large one just to be on the safe side. You could also wax or brush on something like petroleum jelly on the outside to protect it from overspray.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

Testors and pactra make two versions of spray tint for windows, I prefer the one that cleans up with rubbing alcohol, that way if it's too dark or wavy I just clean it out and try again. Fuel will remove it but that's not a problem since you seal the canopy to the fuselage anyway. The can I have say's Pactra Racing finish window tint part # RC294.

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

I just use flat black rustoleum..spray the inside and forget it!! Comes out great

SST

My Feedback: (2)

He said he wanted to use a pilot figure...Can't see much through solid black.

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

Oops!! Missed that[8D]

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I'm redoing the tiger 2 I have, lets see, I built it about 7 years ago and I took the canopy off, cleaned all the old tint out and reshot the tint a little lighter in depth. That's awsome in my book, to let it sit for years and just redo it at anytime. The beauty of the pactra is if it comes out with fuzz stuck in it or runs in it you just wipe it out with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol and try again.[:-]

mwick

I tinted a canopy on a U Can Do using the r/c car tint. After a few months the canopy became brittle to the extent of easily breaking. I thought it was the tint I used. I forget which brand name, but it was one of the top brands, not something on the discount rack. Anybody else experienced this problem? Was the Texas sun the culprit? I prefer to use the spray method, but not if it consumes the canopy.

Thanks
Mike

SST

My Feedback: (2)

I have 3 year old spray tinted canopies, and they're fine. I would suspect UV radiation, myself.

speedy3do

Hi
Well this is my 2cents
now keep in mind this only comes in light blue though, might not be the colour you want,
tool&die lay-out ink comes in a spray can, you spray it on and wipe off and should only tint slightly depending on how long you let it sit before wiping off

Bidule

My Feedback: (1)

hi guys...

I want to share my experiences for canopy tinting with everyone here. I wanted to tint the canopy of my Funscale Corsair 40 from Dynaflite. This kit is discontinued. I read all the post concerning canopy tinting before i decided to go with the Rit Die. I went to the store and bought a candy thermometer. I heat the water to 140 degrees, put the cleaned canopy inside water and went for a piss. Came back about 90 seconds later and .... damn... here is my canopy

Bidule

My Feedback: (1)

I searched on the web for another canopy that could fit and i found that the Sig Corsair 40 was similar. I order a new canopy. This time i used hot water directly from the tap and the tint was perfect after about 15 minutes. I then painted black stripes (stripes as on the photo of my third canopy) on it to look more scale, and after the paint job it was almost perfect, except those little paint runs so i decided to clean it with 99% alcohol. omg... i just scrap another canopy... because the plastic all melted. DOHHHHH !!!

This time i had to ordered a third canopy still for the same airplane. I orderded a Great Planes Corsair canopy because my lhs did'nt have anymore. This time i tried to tint it the same way as the second one , but the plastic is different and after 24 hours it is still clear .
It don’t want to take the die. I just ordered a spray can of pactra window tint and i should get it this week.

So from my experience, you don't have to heat up the water, it will take the die but it will be longer. It took about 2 minutes the first time @140 deg. and with water from the tap about 15 minutes. It's safer to use it from the tap.

This photo is my third canopy, before i paint it with spray tint. I will post a photo of final result soon !