AN F33 CFI REQUESTED A POP UP IFR CLRNC FROM PWM; BUT WAS ONLY GIVEN A PRACTICE APCH WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO REMAIN VFR AT SFM.

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I WAS ACTING AS A FLT INSTRUCTOR (CFII); WORKING WITH ANOTHER INST RATED PLT TOWARDS THE ISSUANCE OF A FLT INSTRUCTOR INST CERTIFICATE. WE WERE PRACTICING STEEP TURNS AT ABOUT 3000 FT JUST SW OF THE P-67 PROHIBITED AREA. WE WERE APPROX 1000 TO 1500 FT ABOVE THE TOPS OF A SCATTERED LAYER. ONCE WE HAD FINISHED OUR MANEUVERING; WE DECIDED TO SHOOT SOME PRACTICE APCHS AT THE SANFORD REGIONAL ARPT (SFM); USING BOTH THE VOR-25 APCH AND THE ILS-7 APCH. AS I DID NOT FEEL WE COULD MAINTAIN VFR CLOUD CLRNC DURING THE APCHS; I CONTACTED PORTLAND APCH ON 119.75 MHZ AND REQUESTED A 'POP UP' IFR CLRNC. WE WERE THEN ISSUED VECTORS FOR THE VOR-25 APCH. WE DID NOT ENCOUNTER IMC UNTIL WE WERE CLRED FOR THE APCH; WHICH I UNDERSTOOD TO BE AN IFR CLRNC. OUR MISSED APCH INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED 'REMAIN VFR.' DURING THE APCH; WHILE WE DID NOT GO INTO ANY CLOUDS; WE DID NOT MAINTAIN VFR CLOUD CLRNCS. ON THE MISSED; WE CONTACTED MANCHESTER APCH ON 125.05 PER THE PORTLAND CTLR'S INSTRUCTIONS; AND SHE REPEATED THE 'MAINTAIN VFR' INSTRUCTION. WE ASKED IF WE WERE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN; AND SHE RESPONDED THAT WE WERE NOT. WE CONTINUED THE FLT BELOW THE SCATTERED LAYER; AND SHOT A MODIFIED VERSION OF THE ILS-7 APCH. I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE WAS CAUSED BY A COM FAILURE BTWN MYSELF AND THE PORTLAND APCH CTLR; AND MY FAILURE TO CONFIRM THAT WE WERE ON AN IFR FLT PLAN. FURTHER; I SHOULD HAVE QUERIED THE 'REMAIN VFR' INSTRUCTION ON THE MISSED APCH.