Advice on 'dipping' please....

[BarryW]

I have some Pledge aka Klear being delivered today and I am going to try dipping the canopy of my next build. Never done this before so a question.

Should I dip the whole sprue of clear parts or remove the bits and clean them up before dipping and if so what and how do you fix the parts ready to dip?

Thanks you...

[stona]

It's much easier to remove the larger parts from the sprue(s). Very small parts,like wing tip lights I leave on a small attachment,just enough to grip with tweezers.

Next I pour Klear into its own cap.

Grip a part preferably on an area that will be painted like the canopy frame.After you put the part down the Klear will usually cover this little area anyway. In the case of a very small part hold it by the little attachment that you've left. Once you've got a good grip dip the part in the Klear.

I let most of the Klear run off and then carefully set the piece down in the bottom of an old cake tin lined with kitchen towel. Place a canopy part on its framing,this will wick off excess Klear. Small bits can be stuck,by the attachment,to a blob of Blu-Tac,excess Klear can be wicked off by first gently touching the corner of a kitchen towel to the part.

Put the lid on the tin,which will keep dust off the drying parts,and leave until the next day.

Oh yes,don't forget to pour the Klear back into the bottle. You may have read that this causes Klear to yellow or thicken but I've been doing it for years and have noticed no problems.

If anything goes wrong (not that it should) Klear is removable by itself so just immerse the dodgy part in the Klear for ten minutes and repeat the process.

Cheers

Steve

[BarryW]

Thanks Steve

[mossiepilot]

Ah, thats what you do.

I've been using a wide brush to "paint" the Klear on.

Seems to work OK but I'll try this method next.

Thanks Steve.

Cheers,

Tony.

[stona]

Hi Tony, dipping clear parts,particularly canopy parts is just easier.I don't see why 'painting' would give a worse result.

I 'paint' Klear onto my models rather than spraying. I have sprayed and can't see any advantage to doing so. I'm a lazy b*gger and rinsing a paint brush is a lot easier than flushing an airbrush!

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

What is the purpose of using Klear on a canopy please? Its already clear!

[Ian M]

It hides any small scratches, makes it shinier, and makes them appear thinner. Well in theory at least.

Also should you have a paint cock up, it makes it a bit easier to clean off and start again.

Ian M