Need Ideas on Making Perfectly Clear Windows

Hi all. Looking for fresh takes on something I've been working on the last week. I'm going to be building a 1/350 TOS Enterprise as well as Nice-N's 1/350 D7 soon. I'm creating in individual rooms for transparency film that will be seen through the windows. I'm looking for a way to create a glass clear insert for those windows that will be flush, edge to edge. So far my experiments have been limited to epoxy resin. I've been trying to find a material that with hold the resin in the window and peal away once it's dry leaving a smooth surface with no luck. The tape's adhesive leaves a matte finish. Anything else, like a smooth piece of plastic taped over the window, sticks. I've tried 3-in-1 oil and Vaseline on the plastic, but the resin still sticks. I've tried micro kristal klear in the past, but it doesn't seem like it's possible to make it dry flat. It's always concave leading to lensing. I've considered cut clear styrene or even glass, but that would be hard to cut just right for every window and would have problems like lit edges, visible glue holding it in, and wouldn't work for round holes at all. If this works out I'm hoping to share the room backings with others building the kit.

I can't help you with window material, but as far as gluing them in, have tried making tape handles?
This way the tape doesn't touch the glue and comes right off after the glue dries.

perhaps use a laser cutter and some thin/correct thickness acrylic?

The matte finish of the epoxy can be polished, Novus polish or even toothpaste will do.

You could also cut windows from clear plastic like you said. The edges can be avoided by cutting the windows out larger, glue in the clear plastic, sand smooth then polish clear. Mask the desired window size and paint, the edges will be hidden under the paint. Using this method you can gang several windows together into one clear piece.

robn1 said:

The matte finish of the epoxy can be polished, Novus polish or even toothpaste will do.

You could also cut windows from clear plastic like you said. The edges can be avoided by cutting the windows out larger, glue in the clear plastic, sand smooth then polish clear. Mask the desired window size and paint, the edges will be hidden under the paint. Using this method you can gang several windows together into one clear piece.

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Could you elaborate on these options a bit more? When polishing would that be with a cloth by hand? I’ve tried wet sanding with 1000 grit paper with less than great results. As for the plastic route, are you saying to grind away some of the outer hull to make room for the windows and then blend it in?

Mark2000 said:

Could you elaborate on these options a bit more? When polishing would that be with a cloth by hand? I’ve tried wet sanding with 1000 grit paper with less than great results. As for the plastic route, are you saying to grind away some of the outer hull to make room for the windows and then blend it in?

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Wet sanding will still leave a foggy finish, hand polishing with a cloth and polish will restore clarity. Toothpaste and a paper towel should do.

Yes, enlarge the window opening in the hull, and glue in an over sized piece of clear plastic.

Has anyone had experience with clear nail acrylic? I think with most of these solidifying materials there’s got to be a way to tape up the window and get a smooth surface. I have nearly done it. In some cases with the resin. Polishing doesn’t seem to be a great option. It’s a lot of work and different materials as far as I can tell from research. Toothpaste didn’t do anything for me, neither did metal polish.

Future Floor wax perhaps.
Many of the aircraft modelers use it to get clear canopies.

division 6 said:

Future Floor wax perhaps.
Many of the aircraft modelers use it to get clear canopies.

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From what I’ve read it makes too thin a film and never builds up. Also, again is the issue of having not stick to the barrier.

It's meant to coat your plastic piece that has been sanded to make it clear.