I know this subject has been covered several times but I didn't find the exact info I'm looking for in all the threads I read. I want to tint a butyrate canopy which has already been cut away from the mold. This yields the first concern as I don't want to end up with a warped canopy after I submit it to the hot water, and it has been suggested that the canopy is tinted before its removed from the mold precisely to avoid this . The second thing I want to know is if the butyrate will take the tint.

Plugin, for what it's worth, I've only tinted one and it was from an older great planes kit, the super aeromaster. I cut the canopy to fit before I tried my hand at tinting. I made one mistake, I cleaned it with acohol prior to putting in the Ritz dye and it scratched, acutally skuffed up a bit. I used a stainless steel bowl that I could just get the canopy in and made sure it was fully submersed. I went up to around 170 degrees and pulled it and checked for color every few minutes. The canopy turned out great other than the scratches. It was only in the bath for about five minutes or so. There was no distortion at all. I also got a good uniform color that I wanted.

You might try with some of the scrap material first if you still have the trimings.

This isn't a good shot of the canopy, but it should give you a hint of the tinting job.

Don

Ditto, I've dyed many canopies after they have been cut. I just use hot water from the tap. It takes a little longer, but you avoid the risk of warping.

Just a question here, not a negative comment. Why did you scratch the surface? Was that part of the process? The alcohol cleaned it, right? Was that a necessary part of the process or would ordinary soap and water do the trick?

CGr.

Just use soap and water. I heat the water to 150 degrees, and some canopies take longer than others. I keep a sealed bucket full of the dye, and use a heating element and a turkey deep fry themometer to monitor temps. 2/3 bottle of black RIT and 1/3 bottle of denim blue gives this smoky look (in about 4 gallons of water)

Deadeye, actually the canopy I'll be tinting is for an Extra just like your's... well when I say just like yours I mean its a GP too because there is absolutely no way that I could achieve such an impeccable covering job you did on your plane. Its just fantastic. I congratulate you. I want to get a black/brownish tint, more to the dark side than to the light side.

[sm=red_smile.gif] Gee, thanks for the compliments. Many people that know me would chuckle at the 'impeccable' comment, but thanks anyway!

I've never messed much with my dye mix, but can tell you that using straight black will result in a reddish tint. I wonder what black and brown would do?

What about green?

CGr, the scratches were the unwelcome byproduct of cleaning the canopy. I haven't got a clue what contaminated the paper towel I used, but there they were. Maybe some sandpaper grit got on the towel roll, don't know. In any case, it was not intentional. I just wanted a clean surface with no finger prints to start with.

Don

paper towels are about the worst thing you can use on lexan, butyrate, or acrylic to clean it.... use a soft cotton cloth to dry it... the fibers themselves act as an abrasive to the surface.

Cloth rags are miles better than paper towels. But if you want the ultimate softness and cleaning capabilities, try a microfiber rag. You will never use anything else again.

I spray painted the inside of the canopy on my SSE with black spray paint. you can't see through it, but it looks good. I will see if i can get a pic for ya.

I did the same thing with my SSE when it wouldn't take the Rit dye [:@] Here's a pic.

If your canopy won't take RIT dye, you can buy translucent paints for doing simulated stained glass at craft shops. Use it to paint the inside of the canopy!

J

Do find that it loses it's dyeing capabilities over time. How long can you have that stuff in a 5-gallon sealed paint bucket before it loses it's effectiveness? I have 4 canopies I'd like to tint would I at least get to reuse the dye over a snap of lets say 1 month? In the past, I used it once and down the drain it went [:@]

Mine is somewhat sealed in a catfood plastic bucket with a snap on lid. Not air tight at all, and it's been sitting 1 1/2 years now. Never freezes, but my shop gets mighty hot in the summer time. Just dyed two canopies last month, and it went great!