Dayton Murdock
Well Known Member
Hi All
I have 2 scratches in my canopy now
. Have any of you had any experience polishing your canopy?
I have 2 scratches in my canopy now
. Have any of you had any experience polishing your canopy?
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Canopy Scratch
- Thread starter Dayton Murdock
- Start date
Roadjunkie1
Well Known Member
Canopy scratch repair
That sucks!
I have used the NOVUS three strength system: 1: for polishing/cleaning; 2: for light scratches; 3: for heavy scratches. I have some on my canopy, attributed to my Hangar Mate and Maintenance Officer aka Sir Cat Sampson. These are light and should polish out without difficulty.
I do have my canopy covered with both a blanket and my canopy cover but he has CLAWS and sometimes they get through the covers. There is NO keeping him off of the canopy.....
Hi All
I have 2 scratches in my canopy now
That sucks!
I have used the NOVUS three strength system: 1: for polishing/cleaning; 2: for light scratches; 3: for heavy scratches. I have some on my canopy, attributed to my Hangar Mate and Maintenance Officer aka Sir Cat Sampson. These are light and should polish out without difficulty.
I do have my canopy covered with both a blanket and my canopy cover but he has CLAWS and sometimes they get through the covers. There is NO keeping him off of the canopy.....
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wcalvert
Well Known Member
Dayton, the NOVUS system is good for the light scratches that come from a rag or something slid over the canopy. Will do some good and the is little chance of causing too much damage.
If the scratch is more serious, like you can feel it with your fingernail, then a Micro Mesh setup might serve you better. It includes sanding papers of various grits and some polishing compound. It is the kind of repair that may cause some distortion in the canopy, but will remove almost any defect since it really does remove material.
Neither one is cheap but they do perform. Check out their websites for specific applications and recommendations.
Sorry to hear about the scratch. Now if you want some advice on fixing your cat problem ...
If the scratch is more serious, like you can feel it with your fingernail, then a Micro Mesh setup might serve you better. It includes sanding papers of various grits and some polishing compound. It is the kind of repair that may cause some distortion in the canopy, but will remove almost any defect since it really does remove material.
Neither one is cheap but they do perform. Check out their websites for specific applications and recommendations.
Sorry to hear about the scratch. Now if you want some advice on fixing your cat problem ...
I used this product to clean up my canopy. For scratches, I wet sanded with 800 grid and used the polishing product from the most aggressive to the final polish compound.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/scratchoff_1.php
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/scratchoff_1.php
Light and shallow scratches can be polished out without causing visual disturbances.
But if you try to "blend" out a fairly deep scratch, you will create a small but smooth depression, or shallow "valley" which WILL cause visual distortions as you look through the canopy.
Case in point: Back in the '70s or early '80s, I was flying F-4 Phantoms in the Navy. We had new helmets that had an adjustment knob for the visor. Unfortunately, the screw that held the knob stuck out a bit, an every time we "banged" our helmets on the canopy, which was often, it left a scratch.
In their infinite wisdom, the USN decided to "buff out" the scratches. As you might have figured out, the "buffed out" canopies were MUCH WORSE than the scratched ones, because the buffer created a lens effect that literally ruined the canopies for air-to-air use. We had to order all new canopies at great expense!
Bottom line: Be very careful if you blend or buff out anything but a minor shallow scratch.
But if you try to "blend" out a fairly deep scratch, you will create a small but smooth depression, or shallow "valley" which WILL cause visual distortions as you look through the canopy.
Case in point: Back in the '70s or early '80s, I was flying F-4 Phantoms in the Navy. We had new helmets that had an adjustment knob for the visor. Unfortunately, the screw that held the knob stuck out a bit, an every time we "banged" our helmets on the canopy, which was often, it left a scratch.
In their infinite wisdom, the USN decided to "buff out" the scratches. As you might have figured out, the "buffed out" canopies were MUCH WORSE than the scratched ones, because the buffer created a lens effect that literally ruined the canopies for air-to-air use. We had to order all new canopies at great expense!
Bottom line: Be very careful if you blend or buff out anything but a minor shallow scratch.
Dayton - somewhere I have a MicroMesh kit, and some equivalent grit pads intended for this use - my experience using them is minimal, and mixed only because it requires more patience than I used to have….. how bad are the scratches? That really determines what you start with - it might be as easy as toothpaste.
I have also seen the “fix” be worse than the “original” due to distortion…so it all comes back to what you’ve got….
Paul
I have also seen the “fix” be worse than the “original” due to distortion…so it all comes back to what you’ve got….
Paul
