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I'm starting a big build of 1/48 scale model aircraft and I want to make the cockpit glass nice. It's about 20 years since I built any aircraft and I'm out of practice.

As a substitute for Johnson's Klear, would acrylic gloss varnish do the job?

Secondary question -- what's a good kind of wire to use for the rigging on biplanes?

For dipping the canopy? Probably not. Klear worked because of its stupidly good flow properties.

This said, I have heard rumours about a B&Q laminate floor polish that's supposed to have a very similar formula to the original Klear. I'll check it out next time I'm there and let you know.

I bought a bottle Klear from waitrose in the last 6 months, they have changed the name slightly for whatever reason.

I'll check later to see what it is called. There are allot of airbrushing forums devoted to this very subject!

Alternatively if you can wait until the next PD you can have half of it.

The new formula Klear is not the same as the old. It's Pledge Klear with Future Shine, or some such thing. Be aware it may not behave as expected.

winterdyne wrote:For dipping the canopy? Probably not. Klear worked because of its stupidly good flow properties.

This said, I have heard rumours about a B&Q laminate floor polish that's supposed to have a very similar formula to the original Klear. I'll check it out next time I'm there and let you know.

This one perhaps.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9279043&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372013}/categories%3C{9372028}/categories%3C{9372109}/specificationsProductType=flooring_trims__adhesives___tools/specificationsSpecificProductType=flooring_adhesives___sealants


Automatically Appended Next Post:
It sounds highly self levelling, which is the good flow properties.

For dipping the canopy use Future Floor polish. It's amazing.

Nah, this one is the one I was told about:
http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9374566&fh_location=//catalog01/en_GB/categories%3C{9372013}/categories%3C{9372028}/categories%3C{9372109}/specificationsProductType=flooring_trims__adhesives___tools/specificationsSpecificProductType=floor_care

@Nectarprime- that's what we're talking about. In the UK, Future was called 'Klear'. However the EU nutbags in Brussels have decreed that something was icky in it, so the formula's been 'improved'. The new formula is not as good (and apparently it yellows, which would suck on a canopy).

Ah ok. Yes yellowing would be very bad on a canopy!!

For the wire, I'd suggest some electronics wire if you're after proper stuff for 1/48 scale. Strip it, peel out the requisite number of strands and twist.

To twist the wire, clamp one end, wrap the other around a handle of some sort and pull just taut before twisting. DO NOT slacken the wire while twisting, and you should get a nice even twist along the length. If you want to keep it twisted, you can run a little liquid superglue along the length too.