Canopy woes :(

A canopy ruined a beautiful F-86 Sabre I worked on. I used the bare-metal foil and had the same problem. In a rush to clean it I used goo gone which had no trouble lifting the paint as well. What I tried on my next kit was to dip the canopy in Future first, after it dried I then used the metal foil. There was still some residue on the canopy, but it came off easier with a Q-tip and some water. Occasionally there was a stubborn section, and a dab of goo-gone did the trick.

That experience taught me to be more patient when it comes to canopies. What I do now is paint the canopies completely separate from the rest of the kit. I mask both sides of the canopy so that no spray can seep through to the clear side. And I've found that Tamiya or MM masking tape and a #11 exacto works better than the metal foil. Or if you feel like blowing a few bucks just order a masking set from Greatmodels or Squadron.

What do you use for masking canopies?

I'll give the thinner a try. I'll try mineral spirits first before I resort to the laquer thinner.

Well, I have had that similar problem, where you get overspray on the clear. Hopefully, you painted with enamels such as Model Master or Humbrol. If you used acrylic, stop here. I have no answer. If you used enamel, your saving grace here is it is over Future, the wonder worker. Just think back and make sure you put a good coat of Future over all parts of the canopy before you try this.This will sound drastic, use a Q tip dipped in enamel thinner, then wring out most of it so the Q tip is damp. Then try removing the opverspray from a small section of the canopy. You may have to use several clean Q tipsto get it off. The thinner should not harm the future. You may have to resort to lacquer thinner on the Q tip if enamel does not get it off. This has worked for me in small spots, recoat with Future when all the paint is gone, should be OK. I would strongly suggest you similate your problem on a test canopy with the future and a bit of overspray and try this to get a feel for how much thinner, pressure, finess, etc. it will take before you tackle the real canopy.

As for the foil, no easy answer there. Run a new #11 blade alonng the paint edge to help keep the paint from comming up with the foil. Then, maybe a sharpened toothpick to try pulling the foil up. For the residue, try pulling it off with some good brand, say 3M, masking tape. Rub it on the sticky part real good, pull it off. This works pretty well on sticky tape residue.

Good luck. Been there, hate when that happens. I don't use foil for masking myself because of the same nasty problems you have encountered.