Making a copy of a clear canopy
 

I recently bought a discontinued ARF and the the canopy is fine but the plastic has yellowed is there a way to make a copy of the canopy without ruining the original?

Just wondering, are you sure it has yellowed and it is not a plastic film for protection that needs to be peeled off?

It is definitely yellowed i have seen others with the same exact issue. Since they dont make this plane anymore i am going to do two things 1st i am going to use Durhams rock hard and fill the canopy to make a plug so i can vacuum form a new canopy. Secondly i am going to try and retro brite the original yellow canopy apparently this works really well on yellowed plastic.

You can make a copy but it is not an easy 5 minute task. I'd try to get a replacement from tower or the mfg. There is a thread here on RCU that outlines the process. This top ic has come up several times before.

I just use standard plaster of Paris for a plug then vacuum form a new one from that.

jimmy

Don't forget to add a bit of over draw area, so that you can get the original cut line.

Good luck

The best way I have used is the fiberglass the inside method. 1. Tape up the outside to keep it clean first make sure and tape good especially the bottom edge . 2. Wax the inside with release wax or just a good paste car wax works too.
3. "Epoxy resin" and glass cloth the inside only a couple layers only. 4. let set up. 5. pop out, and add a couple more layers until rigid enough to vacuum form on.

Be careful using Plaster of Paris and epoxy resin, too thick and both will generate heat that can damage
the original canopy. A trick I have used that has a 50-50 chance of working is use tooth paste, and dampened
toilet tissue and polish the canopy, it will sometimes remove the yellow film, depends a lot on the quality of the
plastic sheet that it was molded from. Try it on the flange first to see if it removes the yellow. This is also an
excellent way of removing small scratches and marks from a canopy.

Bill D.

Dental stone.