[fokkerpilot]

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[Gray-headed Art]

I'm about to take the Envirotex plunge to make clear Botanical windows on my 1701A Secondary hull. I've used Loctite Gel Epoxy but it wasn't very clear. I have heard that Envirotex will dry clear.

1. When pouring Envirotex into the windows, are you doing it from the inside of the model?

2.Will the "blue" masking tape serve as a good background to hold the Envirotex in the window area without sticking to the tape?

3. What, if any, problems should I expect to encounter while doing this?

I greatly appreciate the help and/or suggestions

Thanks in advance :wave:
Jack

I've used Envirotex extensively in years gone by for making small resin castings for race car models. Some observations:

1) The cure time for Envirotex is (or at least used to be!) about 12 hours, or longer, depending on the ambient air temperature where you work. On a project such as a Star Trek ship, this could well mean a lot of time to do a lot of windows, particularly on a curved surface.

2) Envirotex won't stick to the tape, if you have the sticky side of the tape next to the resin, however, it will have a rough texture there. Be prepared to do some sanding and polishing!

3) Envirotex is very yellow in color--all you have to do is look at the kit--one side of the resin is quite amber in appearance.

For these reasons, I would use a good 5-minute epoxy, such as Devcon, as the cure time is in minutes, not hours. Although Devcon 5-minute epoxy does yellow slightly, it's nowhere near that of Envirotex or most of the off-brand epoxies. Of course, you will still need to polish the inside of the window, where you have the tape, but I know of no better way to create that look.

If you want to work with CA glue, a good gap-filling CA, such as Goldberg Superjet, used with a good accelerator like Bob Smith Accelerator (sold in hobby shops branded for the particular store) will work quite well. Gap-filling CA is water-clear, and can be sanded and polished very smooth for a glass-like look in small windows. I've used that for airliner windows in years gone by as well, effect was very good.

Art Anderson

 

[fokkerpilot]

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[Pygar]

Stupid question.... is it possible to make a "bandaid" of a bit of wax paper (to go over the window) and tape (to hold it there) and use that as a backing? Could save polishing out tape-texture from your windows... if wax paper can avoid getting stuck to the goo. Do they even make real wax paper anymore?

 

[fokkerpilot]

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[SteveR]

Good idea, Pygar -- I think that parchment paper may be the thing nowadays.

But ... the issue may be sealing the paper to the hull around the window frame. The liquid may seep out and under the paper if there's no adhesive right at the edge of the frame. That's why Don Matthys recommends burnishing the tape.

... but that may just call for a bit of sanding if it happens.

 

[Y3a]

Clean the parts you are going to replace. make a mold of them and then use 1/2 hour epoxy for the parts. they will be stronger, and warp less over time, since epoxy has a tendency to droop over time.