Hi Darrin, 20 year F-16 Crew Chief here. The gold canopies were phased out in the late 90’s (I only worked one or two jets with them) and I was told the gold addition was an anti-radiation film to protect the pilot(s) from radar waves while formation flying. The new canopies are slightly smoky, but not very dark. The aft transparency (the glass attached to the fuselage) is normally clear, mass-produced, throw away parts that make great snow sleds.
I know this is an older video but extremely helpful for me many years later. Thank you so much for sharing your skills and expertise with me (and many others) it is very appreciated. I hope you are healthy and doing well. May God richly bless you.
I just used this technique on a 1/72 f35a canopy except I used clear purple instead of yellow and I'm shocked at how awesome it turned out. This video has saved me a lot of headaches. Thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this. I've been building most of my life and I have never had the need to tint a canopy. I'm building a Hughes 500D for my channel that I really want to tint the canopy on, this process will work great. Thanks again. Have a great day.
I'm not an aircraft expert by any means but as a photographer I can tell you that I noticed some of the pics of the yellow or gold hued canopies were taken with the sun low in the sky, morning or sunset, "the Golden Hour" for photographers. The canopy in those pics may very well be just smoke but reflecting the golden hue of the light around it. Thanks for the tutorial!
Thanks Ray, it’s all about helping fellow Modelers. If you’re not subscribed please consider doing so and by all means please share the video in your other groups and with your friends.
That's what makes the hobby great: people helping one another and sharing info, tips and tricks. I am subscribed, yes, and also belong to the Facebook group -- love it!
Nice video Darrin. Good tips. I'm guessing the gold "tint" is for radiation shielding (Take a look at the F-117 and the EA-6B too). I imagine it's on F-16CJ/DJ aircraft?
Hi darrin I’m a new subscriber, I wanted to ask you what is that liquid you used future? I’m in australia and I have never seen it before, I was hoping I could find something that does the same job? Cheers and excellent video👍
Great video - very helpful - I found this when looking on how to tint the windscreen of an F-14 Tomcat. One related question for you if I may, after dipping a canopy in Klear (or similar product as Klear is difficult to find here in the UK), are there likely to be an issues with adding subsequent masking before painting the frames? I use Tamiya tape and often Eduard masks for this, I just have a fear that it might be possible to pull off some of the coat of Klear when the masking is removed. Any comments on this welcome... :)
Grumpy, love this technique. And a great job of teaching it. Many thanks. Question: If there is masking and painting to be done for the canopy frame, when would that be done? I assume before the initial coating of the canopy with Pledge (Future). As for painting does it matter whether one uses enamel or acrylic? Thanks again.
Would defer to others here, because I normally do 1/72 and pretty much never paint the inside of my canopies (I usually model them closed). However, my two cents would be to do everything Grumpy showed and THEN mask and paint the canopy frame. Once the Future is fully hardened I think it would be pretty resilient to being lifted by masking tape. I can't think of a way that makes sense otherwise. If you painted the canopy frame first, then tinted and re-dipped, you'd have a glossy canopy frame (and if you left it masked some of the Future might seep under the tape). Also, I've only tried this with Tamiya, which generally plays well with both acrylic and lacquer paint, but I believe Future/Pledge is an acrylic for purposes of figuring out compatibility.
I've never tinted a canopy, but I do dip mine in pledge/kleer. So, I'm wondering why you couldn't add smoke or whatever color dye directly to the pledge before dipping it...? As a side note, my Tamiya F-16 canopy also broke, but mine split right down the center seam. I think whatever mix of plastic they use for their clear parts it a bit too brittle/hard.
Hi! I intended to use this technique on a 1/48 SH-3 with Tamiya Clear Green. However, I got so involved in alignment issues with the windscreen piece that I glued it down, used putty, sanded masked and painted all before I realised I never tinted the overhead glass. Can this process be done on the exterior side and still end up fairly transparent?
And if you have assembled the masked canopy onto the fuselage .. could you apply the diluted smoke on the outside (after masking the canopy frame itself)?
Darrin, awesome video. I learned two tricks from this video. I have a question, with EA-6B and F-22 canopies would you use this same process for replicating the gold tint or would that be a different process?
My guess is the same process, but you'd need to check reference photos to get the correct tint. They're all tinted for the same reason and that is to protect aircrew from specific frequencies of RF radiation.
The one thing that I would note is that when tinting the F-35, as well as the EA-6B, you might notice more, for the lack of a better work, "gold flake" in the canopy. Fox Three Custom Models did a great tinting video and experimented with metallic paints. Heres the link to his video: ruclips.net/video/jy6g5LOiZdM/видео.html
I tried this technique for my F-16 canopy. However, when I dipped the part in Klear (well, sold by a different name in my country), I noticed that this solution acted as a thinner for the clear coat, washing about 50% off of the canopy, even thought I made sure to dip it just for a second. Also, my attempt to repeat the process by adding more clear coat to compensate for this, didn't work very well. Have you ever had any issues?
Thanks for the video. I am trying to find a product that will allow me to paint plastic bottles jewelry. I don't have a spray gun and don't want to invest too much money. Is there a liquid paint that I could paint on with a brush to my plastic that would stick? Thank you.
Hello there, what kind of a product is Future, I'm living in the Netherlands. I am not quite sure what this product is. Thanks in advance for you help. Amazing result by the way. I want to color the wind shield on my McLaren M23, yellow, driven by James Hunt.
Thank you for that question. Future is actually a clear acrylic floor polish. There’s a lot of information out there on the subject. Here’s a link, what I think is the best source out there. Thanks for watching!!! www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html
Donald Collins great question! I didn’t mix the paints. I 1st sprayed very light coats of the smoke until I got just to the point where I wanted the tint then I shot the yellow to bring the tint where I wanted it. Remember the key is very light coats! You can get it to dark really quickly if you’re not paying close attention.
I got the stand from UMM but I have recently reviewed a newer stand. To be honest a much better stand. They make it in 1/72-1/48 and 1/48-1/32. Here’s the video, let me know what you think. ruclips.net/video/35TThtlWnLE/видео.html
I actually used future floor wax on that part. I don't usually use the stuff but if I am trying a technique that may go wrong then I want to be able to strip the mistake off with no issue. Windex with Ammonia D strips the future off leaving no damage to the clear part.
@@GrumpyModeler future floor wax, oh damn :( it is not available in Poland or the EU, same with Pledge Floor Gloss, what else can I use to smooth out the paint and make the glass tinted and clear?
at that point you just mask the canopy as usual, I'd imagine -- with the added bonus that the Future/clear sealer will now protect the plastic a bit more :)
Hey there, I need to tint a clear railing part for a ship, and I need it a kinda darkish grey. Do you think I can achieve these darker tones with a few layers of smoke?
Hello, i tried this technique. After smoking my f16 canopies, it fogged like you said it would, however the second dip in future has not made it super clear? Its still bobbly. Any insight as to why? And a cure?
Alex Capo winder is a glass cleaner. Here’s a link. Windex Advanced Glass and Multipurpose Cleaner, 1.37 Gallon, 176 Fluid Ounce www.amazon.com/dp/B073C7KKSM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0oYCBb46W06GK
Hi Darrin, 20 year F-16 Crew Chief here. The gold canopies were phased out in the late 90’s (I only worked one or two jets with them) and I was told the gold addition was an anti-radiation film to protect the pilot(s) from radar waves while formation flying. The new canopies are slightly smoky, but not very dark. The aft transparency (the glass attached to the fuselage) is normally clear, mass-produced, throw away parts that make great snow sleds.
I know this is an older video but extremely helpful for me many years later. Thank you so much for sharing your skills and expertise with me (and many others) it is very appreciated. I hope you are healthy and doing well. May God richly bless you.
I just used this technique on a 1/72 f35a canopy except I used clear purple instead of yellow and I'm shocked at how awesome it turned out. This video has saved me a lot of headaches. Thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this. I've been building most of my life and I have never had the need to tint a canopy. I'm building a Hughes 500D for my channel that I really want to tint the canopy on, this process will work great. Thanks again. Have a great day.
I'm not an aircraft expert by any means but as a photographer I can tell you that I noticed some of the pics of the yellow or gold hued canopies were taken with the sun low in the sky, morning or sunset, "the Golden Hour" for photographers. The canopy in those pics may very well be just smoke but reflecting the golden hue of the light around it. Thanks for the tutorial!
Thanks for this. I can now do my 1/72 F-35A canopy.
Yes thanks for sharing this! I’m doing a Bandit Trans Am with T-tops and the glass is tinted/smoke. This is big help!!!
Finally a simpler way thanks Darrin
Just got myself the 1/72 Hase F-16N and this was exactly the solution I needed for the canopy. Thanks much!
Excellent tutorial! Thank you!
Great video, and very useful! Thanks, Darrin!
Thanks Ray, it’s all about helping fellow Modelers. If you’re not subscribed please consider doing so and by all means please share the video in your other groups and with your friends.
That's what makes the hobby great: people helping one another and sharing info, tips and tricks. I am subscribed, yes, and also belong to the Facebook group -- love it!
Excellent video mate, I will give it a try with my current build of the F-35 Academy 1/72. Thanks for sharing it
That looks so much better, nice tip.
Excellent. Thank you so much.
You're very welcome!
hi, is there any substitutes of that" FUTURE" liquid solution? and may i also ask what is the airbrush pressure? thanks u so much.
Very helpful video, thanks very much 👍
I have not done this before, great information!
I know it's pretty randomly asking but does anybody know of a good website to watch new series online ?
@Jesiah Tyson i watch on FlixZone. Just search on google for it =)
@Cason Ryder Yea, have been using FlixZone for years myself :D
@Cason Ryder thanks, I went there and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I appreciate it!
@Jesiah Tyson You are welcome :)
Good Job Darrin.
very cool seeing this technique , thanks for doing it .
Nice video Darrin. Good tips. I'm guessing the gold "tint" is for radiation shielding (Take a look at the F-117 and the EA-6B too). I imagine it's on F-16CJ/DJ aircraft?
I have an FA/ 18E Super Hornet. That I want to do this to. Thanks. This will help me to do it right.
Hello my Friend. Im from Brazil and Im really gratefull by your video. So, Id like to know what specific windex I have to get?
Another informative video, thanks!
Thank you very much!!
Thanks man!
Wow thanks.
Is there an alternative for the windex? In my country they seemed to have fased out ammonia in window cleaners.
Wow the best video ever can you tell me what is future because I’m from Israel and we dot have something like this here thanks
It is clear acrylic based floor polish. It is sold in the USA as Pledge Floor Care Finish. The brand “Future” doesn’t exist anymore.
Hi darrin I’m a new subscriber, I wanted to ask you what is that liquid you used future? I’m in australia and I have never seen it before, I was hoping I could find something that does the same job? Cheers and excellent video👍
Great video! Thanks!!!
Good!
Great video - very helpful - I found this when looking on how to tint the windscreen of an F-14 Tomcat. One related question for you if I may, after dipping a canopy in Klear (or similar product as Klear is difficult to find here in the UK), are there likely to be an issues with adding subsequent masking before painting the frames? I use Tamiya tape and often Eduard masks for this, I just have a fear that it might be possible to pull off some of the coat of Klear when the masking is removed. Any comments on this welcome... :)
Grumpy, love this technique. And a great job of teaching it. Many thanks. Question: If there is masking and painting to be done for the canopy frame, when would that be done? I assume before the initial coating of the canopy with Pledge (Future). As for painting does it matter whether one uses enamel or acrylic? Thanks again.
Would defer to others here, because I normally do 1/72 and pretty much never paint the inside of my canopies (I usually model them closed). However, my two cents would be to do everything Grumpy showed and THEN mask and paint the canopy frame. Once the Future is fully hardened I think it would be pretty resilient to being lifted by masking tape. I can't think of a way that makes sense otherwise. If you painted the canopy frame first, then tinted and re-dipped, you'd have a glossy canopy frame (and if you left it masked some of the Future might seep under the tape). Also, I've only tried this with Tamiya, which generally plays well with both acrylic and lacquer paint, but I believe Future/Pledge is an acrylic for purposes of figuring out compatibility.
@@vice10mmauto Many thanks. Makes perfect sense.
I've never tinted a canopy, but I do dip mine in pledge/kleer. So, I'm wondering why you couldn't add smoke or whatever color dye directly to the pledge before dipping it...? As a side note, my Tamiya F-16 canopy also broke, but mine split right down the center seam. I think whatever mix of plastic they use for their clear parts it a bit too brittle/hard.
Hi! I intended to use this technique on a 1/48 SH-3 with Tamiya Clear Green. However, I got so involved in alignment issues with the windscreen piece that I glued it down, used putty, sanded masked and painted all before I realised I never tinted the overhead glass. Can this process be done on the exterior side and still end up fairly transparent?
EXACTLY what I needed for my current build. How does the tint and Future hold up to masking afterwards for painting the canopy frames?
Man that is nice. How did you learn this trick? Were can I buy the Grumpy stickers at?
What about for brush painting seeing I have never airbrushed
And if you have assembled the masked canopy onto the fuselage .. could you apply the diluted smoke on the outside (after masking the canopy frame itself)?
Darrin, awesome video. I learned two tricks from this video. I have a question, with EA-6B and F-22 canopies would you use this same process for replicating the gold tint or would that be a different process?
My guess is the same process, but you'd need to check reference photos to get the correct tint. They're all tinted for the same reason and that is to protect aircrew from specific frequencies of RF radiation.
The one thing that I would note is that when tinting the F-35, as well as the EA-6B, you might notice more, for the lack of a better work, "gold flake" in the canopy. Fox Three Custom Models did a great tinting video and experimented with metallic paints. Heres the link to his video: ruclips.net/video/jy6g5LOiZdM/видео.html
Great channel Darrin, question, where can I get a set of those tweezers?
Here ya go. amzn.to/3dFKTGK
I'm new in this business, can you please tell me where did you dip the canopy fist to prevent any mistakes?
Quick question--
What would be the best combo of tints to use to give my F-35 canopy it signature purplish tint?
Clear red and clear blue
I tried this technique for my F-16 canopy. However, when I dipped the part in Klear (well, sold by a different name in my country), I noticed that this solution acted as a thinner for the clear coat, washing about 50% off of the canopy, even thought I made sure to dip it just for a second. Also, my attempt to repeat the process by adding more clear coat to compensate for this, didn't work very well. Have you ever had any issues?
Thanks for the video. I am trying to find a product that will allow me to paint plastic bottles jewelry. I don't have a spray gun and don't want to invest too much money. Is there a liquid paint that I could paint on with a brush to my plastic that would stick? Thank you.
What ratio of Windex or as it is known in the UK here as windolene do you use with ammonia to strip the canopy if you mess up
Hello there, what kind of a product is Future, I'm living in the Netherlands. I am not quite sure what this product is. Thanks in advance for you help. Amazing result by the way. I want to color the wind shield on my McLaren M23, yellow, driven by James Hunt.
Thank you for that question. Future is actually a clear acrylic floor polish. There’s a lot of information out there on the subject. Here’s a link, what I think is the best source out there. Thanks for watching!!!
www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html
Did you spray the yellow mixed with the smoke mixed together or just the yellow after?
great vid thanks!
Donald Collins great question! I didn’t mix the paints. I 1st sprayed very light coats of the smoke until I got just to the point where I wanted the tint then I shot the yellow to bring the tint where I wanted it. Remember the key is very light coats! You can get it to dark really quickly if you’re not paying close attention.
At the end of your video you said you like to dip your canopies before tinting but you did the opposite ?
Can I ask where did you get the stand for the plane from?
I got the stand from UMM but I have recently reviewed a newer stand. To be honest a much better stand. They make it in 1/72-1/48 and 1/48-1/32. Here’s the video, let me know what you think.
ruclips.net/video/35TThtlWnLE/видео.html
What did you use to make the tinted part sharp and clear? what did you pour on it?
I actually used future floor wax on that part. I don't usually use the stuff but if I am trying a technique that may go wrong then I want to be able to strip the mistake off with no issue. Windex with Ammonia D strips the future off leaving no damage to the clear part.
@@GrumpyModeler future floor wax, oh damn :( it is not available in Poland or the EU, same with Pledge Floor Gloss, what else can I use to smooth out the paint and make the glass tinted and clear?
What is Future please, may translate to something else across the pond?
floor polish?
I think Klear is an equivalent or maybe even same product in UK
Found it a purchased on eBay
Im trying to use ckear blue. And clear green.
You would use clear blue or green in the same manner. Thanks for the comment!
@@GrumpyModeler 1 drop each...
Where did you purchase that Future Floor Finish? I do see them on ebay, but average price looks to be $30. Which seems pretty high.
Another question. What if you need to paint the edges of the canopy to match the Fuselage color ?
at that point you just mask the canopy as usual, I'd imagine -- with the added bonus that the Future/clear sealer will now protect the plastic a bit more :)
Hello, what pressure of the airbrush?
Can i do this with out airbrush? Because i don't have airbrush.
What are the paint numbers for this ?
Tamiya X-19 smoke and Tamiya Gold ?
I'm just starting out and I don't own an air brush can it be brushed on after you mix the paint's.
Hi there! Just wondering.. what is future? could you supply a link as I am finding it hard to search online. Thank you & thanks for the vid!
it's kind of a floor varnish. You can find it in grocery store in the cleaning products aisle or at hardware store
Hey there, I need to tint a clear railing part for a ship, and I need it a kinda darkish grey. Do you think I can achieve these darker tones with a few layers of smoke?
Hello, i tried this technique. After smoking my f16 canopies, it fogged like you said it would, however the second dip in future has not made it super clear? Its still bobbly. Any insight as to why? And a cure?
I've heard of people using a highly diluted, light coat of Tamiya Gold leaf to tint more modern canopies like F-22's.
Chris you are correct. Fox Three Custom Models has a great video on using metallic paints. Here's the kink: ruclips.net/video/jy6g5LOiZdM/видео.html
What can you use if "future" isnt a product in your country?
I am not sure. I have had this bottle for many years. I also heard that this product was no longe available in the US.
How do you tint the F -22 raptor on copper/ gold ..... can’t match it !
What is windex sir?
Alex Capo winder is a glass cleaner. Here’s a link. Windex Advanced Glass and Multipurpose Cleaner, 1.37 Gallon, 176 Fluid Ounce www.amazon.com/dp/B073C7KKSM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_0oYCBb46W06GK
Another great tip. Thank you.
Get er done?😂
Jman
I've flown F-16s AND know why...