Pledge Future Shine

I stepped on my watch a couple of days ago. It badly cracked and crazed the crystal. It was a cheap watch, not worth taking to a watch repair place.  To give me a watch to wear while I shop for a new one, I painted the crystal with future!  It reduced the visibility of the cracks, and almost completely eliminated the crazing (micro-cracks).  Another new use for future!  I would never have been aware of using future if I were not a modeler.

I think there are two kinds of Future / Pledge(it has many names around the world) on the market. One is for floor care and I don't think is designed for use in modeling. The other is Future (acrylic) floor finish is the one I use for adding shine to my clear parts. I've also used windex all the time to clean my brushes after I've used the with Furtue and to remove Future from clear part when I'm not pleased with the results. The I reapply the Future. Also I will make up jigs or parallel string nets to place the "dipped" clear part in for drying. I also cover it to keep dust of but I make sure no part of the cover touches the wet clear part. A little more effort that pays dividends. Hope this helps.

For the curious....yes I was once a reconnaissnace aviator(RF-4C)  

Also make sure your parts are clean! Mold release and oil from your fingers can cause havoc. Wash parts in mild detergent, rinse, let air dry. Dip part with tweezers. Wick away excess on the corner of a papertowel. Set aside to dry over night in a clean container with a lid.

I did a picture tutorial on another forum a few years ago. Let me look for it and I'll post it up here if you guys want.

Edit- Found the article. Pictures are blocked here at work, so I dont know if they are still there. I'll double check when I get out of work tonight.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/13-modeling-forum/373683-tutorial-how-use-future-clear-parts.html

I have a bottle of Future mixed with water 50:50 for dipping. It seems to work for me, and along with the wicking Stik mentioned seems to help with the running/drippy marks.

I soak the canopy sections in IPA for about 5 minutes and they are back to a clean state.  Thanks for all the ideas.  I will have to try again on a scrap canopy.

John

IIRC, Future strips off easily with Windex or similar cleaners.  Personally when I use the stuff for dipping clear parts, I make such that I wick away as much excess as possible before putting it in the dust protected area for drying.

Oh, that's another good possibility.

pilotjohn

I did not shake it first.  It seemed to be much thinner than the old Future I remembered.  The canopy had some large "blobs" at the bottoms as well.  I am going to see if I can strip it off and then try some good paste wax to shine it up.  

I will try on some unused canopies to see what is going on.

John

 

I've never experienced the tendency to run or pool up using Future, I'm wondering what the ambient temp was when you dipped it? If it was a bit chilly, that may account for the slow spread of the film sheet and the resultant "tears."

I think a clean cloth, well wetted with more future, will remove the bad coat and do no harm to the canopy surface.

Good luck with it.

Patrick

I did not shake it first.  It seemed to be much thinner than the old Future I remembered.  The canopy had some large "blobs" at the bottoms as well.  I am going to see if I can strip it off and then try some good paste wax to shine it up.  

I will try on some unused canopies to see what is going on.

John

Hmmm... did you give the bottle a good shaking first? I'm thinking maybe some of the stuff settled on the bottom of the bottle. I always give a good shaking first "just in case". Either that, or you got a bad batch of the stuff.

Well, something's not right.   Future (or at least the Future I've been using) can be completely removed with Windex.   Have you tried removing it yet John?

Gary