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Straightening Clear Canopy Parts


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CA or liquid cement (if you're careful) should hold it.  

 

Otherwise, yes, you'd want to use hot water to soften the plastic, so it doesn't get stress fractures.  You want hot, but not boiling water.  Boiling water risks deforming the part (as in, the plastic will try to pull itself into a blob).  Let it sit in the hot water for a few minutes to heat through, pull it out and stretch it a little past the width you need, as it will have a tendency to spring back.

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I don't know what your skill levels are, but you could carve a master out of Basswood, then make a couple of new ones out of clear plastic.  Buy a vacuformed canopy from a mail order place like Squadron or SprueBrothers.

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Use a caliper to gauge the extension that you need to stretch the clear section to fit properly. Then score the edge of either the front or rear side of the clear part with a felt tip marker and stamp it on a piece of paper. That way you'll get both the length you need to stretch your clear part and also, you will have the shape of the part you need to make a wire rib in order to stretch it to that proper length.

You can make a wire rib for both the rear and the front edge of your clear part, and glue them inside of the part in question (on each frame of the clear part). This way not only will the clear part hold its form, but also, it will be hardly visible when painted black.   

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