canopy and paint for hawk pro..question

[929freak]

Here is my dilema ,the guy who paints my nitro racers (jammin x1-crt,losi xx-nt,assoc mgt,incase u were wonderin')said if I sent him a canopy he would paint it to match all my racers(FOR FREE!) he doesn't normally do heli's but he is a talented painter...I know there are differances in painting a heli canopy ,and from what I read a fiberglass canopy would be easier to paint....so question 1 ,where can I get a reasonably priced "glass" canopy for a hawk pro ??are there other canopies that would fit(t-rex,raptor,etc.?)? question 2, can he use the "normal" paints he would use for a rc body? (and yes after he paints it a local body shop is gonna 2stage or 2 part clear it for me)......thanks for any help on this...you guys make being a newbie sooo much easier!!! keep flying till ya stop smilin'!

[theLane]

I have asked that question about some other canopy fitting a few times and the answer is no, there are no others.

As for painting it, it's bleach-bottle material so is hard to get anything to stick. I heard some stuff about using bumper paint, etc but Century does sell a fiberglass canopy, same style and you should use it if you want to custom paint the canopy.

[yoshgixxer]

you can make the swift stock canopy smooth and make the paint stick, you need a few special things you can pick up at at auto paint supply store,you need a red scuff pad,dupont plastic etch and primer,good spray can primer works fine, and 320 and 400 grit paper
the first thing you want to do is scuff the entire body with te red scuff pad untill there is no shine left at all,
next you want to clean the body with soap and water, hthis also helps get rid of any static left on the body, then apply a very light coat of plastic etch on the body and let dry for about ten minutes, once thats dry then apply the primer, 3-5 good medium wet coast should be a good start,let dry for about a hour, or you can "bake it" with a hair dryer that really speeds things up,but let each coat flash off for atleast 10 mins between coats,once thats dry sand with 320 grit dry, NOTE-if your first couple coats of primer appear to look "fuzzy" from the plastic "hairs" from scuffing the raw plastic dont worry, this will all go away when you sand the primer,
after you 320 the first few coats of primer, try to get all of the orange peal out of the body,after thats all done i like to put on 2-3 extra coats of primer then wet- sand with 400-600 grit sand paper,
then your done,it sounds like alot of work but it really isnt, it just takes time for the primer to dry
, then you can preaty much apply any type of paint you want,with out worrys of pealing or chipping, the auto supply store also sells "jammin" clear thats sold in a spray can that as long as its applied correctly has a really good shine,
i do collision repair for a living and this is basicly how i repair bumpers on cars and it works really well and is really nice when you just can get a glass canopy and the plastic will hold up much better in them sure to happen unforseen wrecks,

[Dilbeck]

Check this out, the problm with the bleach bottle canopy is paint wont stick to it, A tried and true way to do this is get a tourch and heat up the canapoy back and forth slowly with low heat, it changes the molecular structure of the plastic and after its done it will hold paint like a champion. Their are many sites that show this in action, Ive tried this after many attemps and it will hold paint 10 times better than without it.The good thing about the plastic canapoy is its very durabale. The fiberglass one is egg shell thin and wont survive a crash? I think i say this in detail on RR, and it works.

[jackheli]

See how you like this T-Rex 600 FRP on my Falcon:

[dxtarl]

Jackheli did you have to trim out around the the pipe?

[jackheli]

I actually never flew with the canopy mounted this way. I only fitted it for these pictures.

The canopy (600 electric...) seems to work but some trimming is required.

I also learned in another forum that the Rappy 50 canopy would also work great... (F.Y.I. The 90 size fits my Predator perfectly)