removing paint from perspex

[Mewp]

Hi I have a large perspex canopy which has had an area above the pilots head painted to act as a sun shade. I find it restricts my vision in turns and would like to remove a portion of it. The total area is about half a sq/m but i need to remove about 100mm from around the edge. Any ideas?

 

 

[rgmwa]

Others may know more than I do, but any solvent that would remove the paint would probably damage the Perspex too. Also, if the canopy was scuffed before painting you could go from bad to worse trying to remove the paint. I suspect that a new canopy might be the best option, but obviously also an expensive one.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[spacesailor]

You could polish it out, & if scuffed polish the whole thing a bit at a time, like plastic head-lights.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Mewp]

rgmwa I have the same concerns about damaging the perspex. It is a large and awkward shaped canopy and would need to be removed from the aircraft to avoid any damage to the cockpit area from caustic strippers etc.. I have been told using a fine cutting paste will do the job as spacesailor suggests but do not know anybody who has actually done this.

 

 

[rgmwa]

Old fashioned Brasso on a microfiber cloth will take out fine scratches, or your can buy a scratch removal kit like this one available from Vans Aircraft, and probably Aircraft Spruce etc:

 

Restores Optical Clarity

 

 

Description

 

Scratches on your canopy?

 

Developed for the Aerospace industry in 1994, Scratch-Off™ has been hard at work restoring optical clarity to acrylics and polycarbonates worldwide. This easy scratch/defect removal system walks you through a thorough step by step process utilizing the most technically advanced system components available.

 

Ordering Information

 

Canopy Scratch Kit

 

Part Number = CA SCRATCH OFF

 

Price = $34.50

 

If your canopy is deeply scratched then be careful you don't end up with optical distortions caused by uneven sanding and polishing,

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I discovered that good old metho removes acrylic paint (slowly) and doesn't seem to hurt the acrylic canopy.

 

Worth a try in a small corner.

 

 

[facthunter]

You MIGHT be just able to shave it off with a razor blade held accurately and done with care. Scratches can be polished out. Jeweller's rouge or brasso? I'd be wary of solvents. Nev

 

 

[planedriver]

Autosol works well on plastic headlight covers to remove the yellowing. Plenty of elbow grease needed, so don't envy you with about 1/2 a sq/mtr to do.

 

An old watch repairer that I used to work with used Autosol on the plastic watch-glasses, and finished off with brasso. They normally came up looking like new.

 

 

[kgwilson]

Getting the paint off is likely to be the hardest part. Removing scratches is not difficult. There are plenty of youtube clips that show you how to do it, often to rejuvenate yellowed and hazy headlight lenses. When making the canopy for my aircraft I got a rather nasty deep and wide scratch on it somehow.

 

The basic method was to use use 1500 grit wet & dry (wet) in a circular motion to get rid of the scratch. Treat the area till there is no trace of the scratch left. Your fingernail will find the scratch if it is still present. This leaves a horrible milky area that you can not see through at all. Next use 2000 grit wet & dry. This removes the fine 1500 grit scratches & leaves even finer 2000 grit scratches but the milkyness becomes more diluted & gets the acrylic ready for polishing. Next use a metal polish. I used Autosol cream as I think it is better than brasso. After this is done you will be able to see through the area quite well but it will still be hazy. Next use a fine cutting paste. The result will be pretty clear but you may still have some swirls visible. Finally a good acrylic polish like turtle wax or Simonize diamond finish and if you have been patient and thorough you will not be able to tell where the scratch was. I challenged a number of people to find where the scratch was on my canopy & no-one was able to find it.

 

 

[SDQDI]

That all seems like hard work if you ask me. I think the easiest way would be to paint over the paint with something like this

 

 

That would solve all your problems as your windscreen would then end up clear, we used this technique at home recently, we had a green wall and were not happy and wanted it blue so instead of stripping the old paint we just painted over it with a blue paint and viola we got a blue wall with hardly any effort.

 

 

[facthunter]

Who's Viola?. ( Just want to clear that up for a starter).. Nev

 

 

[spacesailor]

Smart!

 

spacesailor

 

 

[VFR Pilot]

I removed overspray off my canopy with Clay Bar I got from Super Cheap It worked well but it took a few goes

 

 

[spacesailor]

VFR

 

Sounds like Hard work!, Use a polisher buff, plug it in throw polish at the target, & buff away, no aches & pains, just let a machine do the work.

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Downunder]

Can you take the canopy off and take it to a plasics specialist company?

 

I'd rather pay money for a profesional job than ruin yours and have to buy a new canopy.....

 

Anyway Mewp, just make sure you come back and tell us how you did it, and what worked for you......

 

 

[Mewp]

Thanks all. Have tracked down another canopy if needed. still not convinced i can remove the paint without damage and will research further before destroying it and my budget.