Is canopy glue just white elmers glue?

No. I use JZ super RC 56. Its white and creamy like some wood glues, but dries clear and flexible like rubber. Takes a while to completely cure, but the wait is worth it. Looks good when cured and holds well. Good luck, Joe

Could you use elmers or any king of epoxy? Anything similair to it at the hobby shop?

If you want a clean, neat glue job......use the RC 56. get it at the LHS, or order it from Tower. Nothing works better.

I have used just about everything out there. including the 56. Diffrent planes seem to work better with certain glues. An all around glue that works great is permatex windshield and glass sealer. it is clear and strong. You can even use it as a thred lock tight. Works great in wood.

Permatex is a new one at least to me. The RC-56 (later bottles have the number RC-560) is good. I'm waiting for the glue to clear up on my H-9 Taylorcraft which it's doing slowly. Another good glue is PFM from IMP (Innovative Model Products). It is really thick like toothpaste and doesn't run like the RC-56 as it's clear out of the tube. I prefer it where the parts are wider and painted. It worked well on my H-9 Extra-260 as the canopy is painted and the flanges are wide.

Remember to wash the canopy before installing! Shaped canopies have mould release agents on them. If not removed the part will just come off later (normally on the first flight).

EXCAP232

Glue???....No!...Scews!!!! No mess, and their removable

The screws by their very nature a ugly and messy. RC 56 canopy glue. Wipe the residue off with water and it's un detectable. Nothing better.

I never like the rc56 glue. It takes a week to even get close to curing and is no cleaner than epoxy. It depends on what you are doing.
If you are putting a clear canopy on top of monokote, try clear silicone.
If you are building a kit or ARC and gluing to wood, scuff the adhesion point of the canopy with 80 grit and use epoxy.

I think you have RC 56 confused with something else. It has always dried completely clear overnight everytime I've used it. If you're waiting for it to get hard.........forget it. It's not designed to dry hard. Benn using it for decades without a problem. Theres a new one out now thats called "JZ Super RC 56. Got a bottle of it also.

Also, with the JZ 56, its removable if needed, unlike epoxy. I tried screws once, never again. Joe

During many years of kit building I used RC 56 to glue canopies to bare wood, Coverite Permagloss covering and Hobbypoxy painted surfaces with success. If it takes a long time to dry and turn clear you may be using too much.

With newer ARF's I have had very little success achieving a durable and lasting adhesion between the newer canopy material and the covering on the airplane using RC 56. It just doesn't hold up under the high stress 3D mileage that I put on my planes. Screws work if you use enough of them with RC 56. For me, durability comes first, "pretty" is secondary.

Lately I have been using Fletch-Tite. That's the stuff used by archers and arrow builders for bonding feathers and plastic vanes to aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber or wood arrows. The company's name is The Bohning Company, Ltd.

Ambroid makes professional quality fletching cement for major manufacturers but I have never seen it anywhere.

Does anyone know from experience how well Zap-A-Dap-A-Goo keeps a canopy stuck to Oracover?

Never heard of using "fletch tite." I wonder if it dries clear. When I made the statement that screws were not the way to go, I mainly meant that they were so ugly. All though the button screws don't look too bad on some applications. I have never experienced RC 56 coming loose from any ARF that I've built, (assembled) most of them aerobatic. I have 10 33% or larger aircraft that I'm flying now and they're all holding up well so far. However, if you do use RC 56, or any other type of glue, you must be sure the parts that you're glueing are clean before applying the RC 56. All canopy's have a release agent that must be wiped off before glueing. I use alcohol, and sand the bottom of the canopy before I apply the RC 56.

I use a thin flim of RTV and screws.

My first thoughts always went to silicone, yet to date have never tried it. Geistware, what is RTV? Thanks, Joe

Yes, it comes out of the tube clear and dries clear.
And yes I know how to prepare surfaces before gluing anything. In the case of canopies I have prepped, cleaned, roughened until both surfaces were ugly. Though I have never lost a canopy the glue does start to separate after awhile.

In the past, canopies could be deeply tinted in a warm bath of RIT clothing dye. I've tried that with later canopies and it just doesn't work. You just get a hint of a tint. Perhaps the canopy material is different in the models that I have purchased.

Rocketman, I didn't mean to infer that you didn't know how to prepare the canopy for glueing. I only meant that for general information for the "newbies," that may not know that. I think you've probably hit on the root cause of why today's canopy's don't accept the RC 56 glue as well as yesterdays.....It's probably the composition of the material that is being used in the manufacturing process. I'll go to "Pro Bass," and pick up a tube of the "fletch Tite," and see how it works. I'm putting together an "KANGKE" Waco, and I'm just about at that stage.

Here's another vote for fletching cement. Get it at Walmart, sporting goods, archery aisle. Reasonably priced, does not run all over the place, stays where you put it, dries way faster than RC56/560, holds tight. I normally use a few screws to hold the canopy in place, then squeeze a small bead of Fletch Rite along the joint, let it cure overnight. Next day remove the screws or leave them on. Good screw is the Dubro tiny size buttonhead, looks like a rivet with a little dimple in the middle.

Is the fletching cement clear? Thanks, Joe

RTV is Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone rubber.
The first time I ever saw the stuff was years ago at GE. They may have invented it.
It comes in a 2-part flowable version or a single part paste you squeeze out of a tube.
You can see the different versions here http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/7598

I like to use screws. #0 or #2 phillips pan head and I paint the heads to match the paint on the outside of the canopy. I think they add some nice detail and hold the canopy on very well. And no mess! John

Thanks for the link Rocketman. I'll check that out. Joe

Looks like the RTV#118 is the ticket, clear, flowable. Its safe around food and compatible for marine applications. Perfect for eating and drinking when building with no squawks from the wife if I get it on the kitchen table.

John, I tried screws on my first UCD.60 and it was a disaster. Couldn't replace them as fast as they were popping out. I hardened all the holes with CA and still lost a canopy. Joe

What about handy mans all-purpose adhesive sealant? My dad has some. It used for sealing hoses and bonding rudder. Also off the subject but how can I get fiber glass out of my hands the, sting is really starting to bug me.

Don't know how to get it out ,but if you rub plain ol VINEGAR on the itch, it will relieve it. Sounds silly but it works.