E.D. --- The canopy layup seems like a daunting task but it really is not bad ... if taken one step at a time. If you look at my DOGAviation Blog beginning around September 2015 you will see lots of photos of the process along with documentation.
Suggestions:
Like Don mentioned, mix black pigment (or your interior color of choice) in the resin for the first lay-up batch including wetting of the Plexiglas ? makes for a nice look from inside the cockpit.
Ric gave good advice about the micro beads and electrical tape ? I used high quality 3M red tape ? don?t use the thin cheep stuff for this task.
I used the thickest duct tape I could find and placed it onto the fuselage as suggested by Van?s then covered it with clear packaging tape, then smeared a thin film of Vaseline onto the packaging tape as the release agent ? worked great!
For cutting the fiberglass cloth suggest using a round fabric cutter (think pizza cutter with a sharp wheel) this is almost a must because the pieces deform almost by breathing on them and do not take well to being cut by scissors while being held.
Don?t pick up the cut pieces by hand as it can seriously distort the fabric ? I used thin metal rules slid under the fabric to move it from the cutting table onto a sheet of paper with the layup number written on it.
Get the cheep 1? bristle brushes from Harbor Freight and cut off about half of the length of the bristles to make it stiff and use it for stippling the resin into the dry cloth and also to work air bubbles out once the layer is on the airplane.
Place at least two layers of vinyl gloves on your hands ? at times I used three then peal off a layer when it gets too sticky.
When actually ready to do the lay-ups, have helpers ? it will go much smoother with extra help. I had two helpers for mixing the West Systems epoxy and wetting out the next cloth layer while I stippled the lay-up on the aircraft.
Place the cut cloth upside down on a piece of plastic wrap (I used plastic pallet wrap) and wet it out with resin then transfer to the canopy, position, and peal off the plastic.
Nothing wrong with cutting the cloth a little longer in the area of the canopy skirt ? it is easy to sand away the excess.
Do use peal ply to help wick up excess resin.
Go to an automotive paint shop and pick up a good sanding block with a rounded edge. I used one that is for self-adhesive sanding paper with good results. It will also come in handy for the cowling and tail cone fiberglass work.
Watch the video on Van?s site for lay-up and sanding tips.
Hope you find the posts covering the canopy lay-up on the DOGAviation Blog helpful.
Happy building,