Man, that's bad luck indeed.  I assume that Dullcote is still lacquer, right? (I haven't used any in more than 20 years).  I'm afraid your canopy is ruined.  I don't think the Future will have any impact on this problem; once lacquer hits clear plastic, it won't be clear again.  Unless it can be sanded off?  Sanded and then polished back to clear with a graduated series of sandpaper and then polished with a plastic polish. That's a tough break, but someone smarter than myself may be along shortly with a true miracle cure.  Good luck!

Gary

Looks great Gary.  Its nice to see something different.  The moisture angle might have worked if she was a European Jug....lol.  Unless I missed it, what kit is this?  I might have an extra lying around.

Joe

Joe,

It's a Revell jug.  Since it's not a real loss if it's ruined, I'm not worried about it.  It's actually the first plastic model I've done in something like 40 years, so it has been a test bed of sorts, especially for the weathering effects.  Although it does have a rather "worn" and dusty appearance from being in the south Pacific, I think I over-did it a bit.  It was a learning experience. 

But some good news.  I've tried the q-tip and alcohol routine on the canopy, and it does seem to remove most of it.  I think the Future coating may have saved the day here.  After I've cleaned it up, I'll apply another coating of Future and see how it looks.

If it comes down to it, I picked up some plastic sheet early in the build and joked about making my own canopy since this one fits so badly on the model.  If things don't clean up well, I may just do that!

Thanks!

Gary

GAF

But some good news.  I've tried the q-tip and alcohol routine on the canopy, and it does seem to remove most of it.  I think the Future coating may have saved the day here.  After I've cleaned it up, I'll apply another coating of Future and see how it looks.

Gary

That is good news!  That plane looks too good to scrap man.  If all else fails, how about a vac-formed canopy from Squadron, etc?

Gary

Awww man ,great looking build too! Betcha did that Homer Simpson "DOH!" when this happened.  Anything you try for the canopy could only help cuz it cant get much worse, right? You say there's Future under the Dullcoat? Then there's certainly some hope that swabbing off the Dullcoat might still be a viable option.

Other than that, just build a little half dressed female figure to put in the cockpit with the pilot.

Ouch and a beautiful job on the P-47!

I've had matte finish turn white and frost an entire model, so it could be worse....

Gamera

Ouch and a beautiful job on the P-47!

I've had matte finish turn white and frost an entire model, so it could be worse....

on that, Gamera. just take a look at this;

But hey, at least I had the canopy masked Actually, the canopy wasn't installed at the time of coating.

One day, I'll attempt to salvage this poor, poor Stuka.

Nice looking T-bolt! Think of it like this - since the Pacific Theatre was so hard on paint, wouldn't the canopies also suffer from coral dust, wind and sun?

Dont try to remove the dull cote but try to apply Future over it.

Would soaking it in brake fluid remove the paint? I've done it with non-clear parts, but I'm not sure how it would work on clear.

Best,

Jose

like constructor said I have had luck applying Future over small corners of canopies where my mask had came off a bit and it went back to being clear you might want to try it on a pane or two and see what happens.

Flyitlikeyoustoleit:

that looks to me like the base paint wasn't cured yet, one of the reasons I went to using acrylics  

Dip the canopy in alcool overnight....Tomorrow by a brush you can clean it....ciao Enrico.

That's great news GAF! I was hoping that Future on the canopy had sheilded it from the clear coat. Whew!! All is well in the world again.

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(((Flyitlikeyoustoleit:)))

that looks to me like the base paint wasn't cured yet.

(((Rambo:)))

Kinda looks that way, but nope. That paint was 3-4 days old at the time of clear coating. I've been through all the "what ifs?" and "whys?" and I don't care anymore. I'm simply going to keep using Future as my clear coat. No worries! But, one day I'm going to need some advice on trying to salvage underlying paint job while removing that coat, if possible. Meanwhile, I'm leaving it that way as a reminder.

Thanks, guys for the suggestions (and the condolences).  I must admit, I thought I had completely ruined the plastic, but I've lucked out somewhat.  After I got home from work, I removed the canopy from the model (very easily as I had used Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue and it came right off without marring the paint or surface).

Texgunner:  I looked at getting a new canopy when I first started this model back in February (you can read through the build logs starting here:  http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/142602.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=79 ).  Apparently, the only canopy I can find for the Razorback in 1/48 scale is from Falcon Models out of New Zealand, and Squadron is out of stock.    Bummer.

Constructor & Rambo:  I tried your suggestion of applying Future over one of the panes.  It did clear up the frosting, but it left a residue after drying.  It just doesn't get the Dullcote off by itself, and it still stains the plastic.  Good thing to try, however.

Jgonzales:  Brake fluid would probably work.  I can't remember, but I think I soaked the bubbletop canopy in Purple Stuff and it removed the old paint without clouding the plastic.  Not sure I would trust leaving it in there too long.

Italian Starfighter:  Dipping it in alcohol was what I finally did, rather than swabbing it with Q-Tips.  It not only got rid of the Dullcote, but took the paint off too!  Since the canopy had been pre-dipped in Future, I suppose the 91% alcohol just dissolved it away, taking Dullcote and paint along with it.  It only took about 15 minutes to work.

Gamera:  I think we discussed earlier the dangers of lacquer coatings on paint.  I was finally forced to use the Dullcote as my search for an acrylic flat coating in the local hardware stores came up empty!  It seems to have worked okay on the model, though there might be a little frosting on the wings.  It's hard to tell if it was the Dullcote or my use of paint thinner to streak the wings a bit.  It doesn't look bad, whatever it was.  The gun-streaks on the other hand are WAY overdone!

Flyitlikeyoustoleit:  I was wondering where I could find a half-naked 1/48th scale female figure? 

Wow, that Stuka really is frosted!  Time just to place it in a snow-landscape, paint some white on it and call it "Russian Front - Winter 1943".  As for removing the frosting, you might try the alcohol and Q-Tips on some sections and see how it works.  Sure would be a shame for the model to be ruined. 

Thanks, guys!  Now all I have to do is mask and repaint the frames.

Gary

Gary: It's good to see you were able to pretty much save the canopy!

Flyitlikeyoustoleit: YIKES! Way worse than mine. I believe looking back that my frosting was because I laid the matte varnish (Testor's MM Acrylic here) way too heavy and fast. So somehow when it dried it stayed whitish and never cleared. Most of it pooled in the panel lines and low areas and with good helping of dark washes I was able to cover most of it.

I've been using light coats since then and haven't had the same problems.

No matter what, that's a sweet looking jug.

I think it turned out great.  

G-J

No matter what, that's a sweet looking jug.

I think it turned out great.  

Thanks, G-J!  I'll post some pics up once the canopy is redone.  It's being framed right now.  Then a dip in Future and she'll be ready. 

Next time I'm going to try taking photos in more natural light.  The flash may be a bit too bright on the white background.

Gary

One thing I used years ago was PineSol cleaner to remove paint without attacking the plastic.  Just let it soak for a few and it scrubs right off.  Did not attack the plastic and has a nice scent to boot!  Glad the alcohol worked for you and nice looking build.