Hi Richard
A good buddy of mine worked at the Lawrence Livermore lab for 30+ years. He specialized in Optical clarification and manufacturing of items, mirrors, glass, etc etc. This guy knows everything there is to know about optics. He has made items that are still sitting on the moon and have been floating in space for decades.
He cleaned up one of my canopies 10 years ago. I watched him for weeks work on it. If the crazing and fogging doesnt go deaper than about .003-.005" then you can get it out easily by simply taking off the top surface. Any deeper you will need to wet sand with many different grits of sand paper all the way to 5000 grit, then do the steps below.
You will need all three Novus products, #3,#2,#1.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php?query=novus&search=1Also He used these pads.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/polishingpads.php Get 2 pads, one for#3, one for#2. DO NOT MIX THE PADS with #3 and #2. Mark them !
Start with Novus#3 at LOW SPEED ! Do not stay in one place. Use a low speed drill or electric Makita. Just a couple hundred RPM is all. To fast will create heat which will distort the optical clarity. Keep moving around, DO NOT sit in one place as it will create a low point which will distort your vision when looking thru that spot.
Next use #2 the same way.
#1 is done by hand and a cotton cloth. I use#1 to clean my canopies on all my planes before I fly. Best product I've ever used. Buy the big refil kit of #1.
The worst part about this process is it takes a lot of time and elbow grease. You must have a lot of patience! He spent about 250 hours on my canopy and removed slight surface crazing. IT SPARKLES still 10 years later and 300 hours of flight time! The crazing and fogging has never returned.
FYI, use the #3 and #2 to take off dried tape on plexi or real glass that wont peal up. That 60+ year old tape from NOS parts is tough but this process removes it perfectly.
Chuck
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