Tom Flynn 1 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Hi All I have bought an ex club members collection of model aircraft bits. One of the aircraft I have bought is a TT Cessna, which looks like it has been a favourite, but the plastic is now a very dirty looking brown colour, no doubt from hanging in the shed for so long. Any idea’s on how to clean it back to the white it was when originally assembled. thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zflyer Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Try Elbow Grease. Not taking the Mick it's a cleaning product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 How about trying T-Cut? No experience of it but cutting compound might well remove the ingrained top layer. "As well as for use on vehicles, T-Cut can also be used around your home in a range of restoration projects on products such as domestic appliances, windows and doors, garden furniture and more." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 T-cut is perfet for gel coat, what sort of plastic is it ? you can try Vim,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flynn 1 Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Thanks guys Well I’ll give them all ago, the plane looks OK on YouTube. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cripps Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Great model. I've had 3 of them over the years, all of which were fitted with floats for waterplane flying. They fly well, if a little "heavy" (especially with floats), and can bite if you try to fly too slowly. If you're brave then try spinning it! I think they are moulded from ABS and therein lies the problem - the plastic degrades over time with exposure to sunlight, hence the dirty brown/yellow discolouration. On my first model I noticed that the hinges on the elevator were cracking. When I grabbed the elevator to give it a tug, my fingers and thumb met in the middle! There was similar brittleness on all the control surfaces and the model had to be scrapped. Something to watch out for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flynn 1 Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Hi Nick well I have been out playing with it this morning. I have tried T cut, Jif, and WD40, so now the plane is clean but the discolouration is still there. a Jupiter came with this model, and yes that plastic had started to crack, luckily a friend took it off my hands so I will see what he decided to do with it. As I said the Cessna looks like it was a favourite model, but a few years hanging up in a shed, after the guy packed up, followed by lockdown, hasn’t helped the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 I had a carosel from ARC and it used the same plastic construction. As Nick found, my model slowly degraded to the point where it was becoming unsafe to fly so it went in the bin. A shame though and i keep looking out for new in box models but there are none to be found ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 My 20 year old Jupiter is still a regular flyer, probably my most flown aeroplane. Likely has lasted so well as it was painted when new and had protection from UV. Couple of hinges have been replaced by slipping in some balsa between skins and fitting pin hinge. Also been keeping an eye for NIB of any of the range but none to be found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flynn 1 Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, J D 8 said: My 20 year old Jupiter is still a regular flyer, probably my most flown aeroplane. Likely has lasted so well as it was painted when new and had protection from UV. Couple of hinges have been replaced by slipping in some balsa between skins and fitting pin hinge. Also been keeping an eye for NIB of any of the range but none to be found. Hi JD8 some guy has just put a NIB plastic plane on BMFA classified. A trainer of some kind, you never know???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 That may well be a Ready then, had one once a bit fast for a trainer but a good second model that could handle some wind. Been unable to access BMFA site classified for some time. Been in touch with them and hope glitch will be sorted with this years renewal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 As a recap what was the full range of ARC Modelfly models? The ones I can find are: Ready & Ready 2 Carousel Jupiter Cessna 177 Beaver RF4 Motor Glider Were there any others? I'm also trying to establish the historical connections, if any, between ARC, Mantua Model and Aviomodelli. They all seem to have links to Cremona in Northern Italy and have each offered models with the ARC type construction. I hava a GoFly glider which has the fuselage and tail in very similar construction to the ARC Ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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