Hi All,

I just bought an old Czech Model Kit (1/48 Me-309) and the vacuform canopies are badly yellowed; I'm talking dark yellow. I prefer not to use them as a mold to plunge-forge new ones; thats a lot of work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or if, I can make them clear again?

Thanks in advance,

--J

Some people swear by future , you could try dipping the canopy in that . I have never tried this . Or you could try Tamiya gloss clear , that I have used to fix scratches and dull plastic windshields in vehicle models . That I know works .

Thanks for the response Chumpo,

The problem is not scratches; the canopies don't have a single scratch. It's the color--dark yellow. I've seen this with some older kits. I assume with age, the plastic yellows but in this case it's such a dark yellow they're unusable. I'm hoping some one has a trick for bleaching or treating the canopy to get rid of the dark yellow color.

Thanks for the reply,

--J

Maybe real fine sand paper . Use it with water . How abouth the Tamiya polishing compound they come in three different types ?

Chumpo,

The problem is that the plastic itself has yellowed. It's not something that can be sanded or polished out. Just for fun I cut a corner off and looked at it under magnification. The yellow color goes all the way through. But, thanks much for your responses; much appreciated.

best,

--J

I believe the Squaron shop the carry canopies maybe they got what you need .

Well Chumpo I've done some reading on line and it seems this is a common problem with old Czech Master and MPM kits. Just google Me-309 canopy and and threads pop up. Apparently, it is due to impurities in the plastic and aging; there is no fix. Looks like I'll be using the kit canopy to make a mold from which I'll make a new canopy. Oh well.

Thanks again for your responses and happy modeling!

--J

Since it is unusable, you could try dipping it in bleach. I'm not sure if this will attack the plastic, but I doubt it.

Hi John,

There is a procedure for restoring old yellowed decals that
might work on the canopy.

Expose the canopy to direct sunlight for a few days. The UV
light might bleach the yellowed canopy.

ie: tape to a window that is directly exposed to sunlight

This works great for old decals.

If you see positive results, continue exposure till you're
satisfied and then dip the canopy in Future for protection.

Cheers,
Joe

Hi Matt and Joe,

I'm trying both of your ideas. I've cut a small piece from the plastic backing and have immersed it in bleach. I've also taken one of the canopies and taped to a window that gets a lot of sun --well as much as we get in Seattle this time of year. I taped it up 2 days ago and don't see much of a change but I'm in no hurry. I'll let you know.

Thanks for the responses,

--J