To putty or not to putty, that is the conundrum!

[Barney]

Today's word ic conundrum. Can you say conundrum? I knew you could...

I'm guilty of watching School House rock videos... I do it every so often...

I am at the point where I am starting to putty seems and other booboos. I hate SQDN putty, find miliput difficult to use, and am not so sure about Tamiya.

What is the consensus on putty? I would like something that is easy to use and not a mess to clean up.

I know this has been discussed before, so if someone can point me to those discussions, I fold my tent and silently steal away

 

[Mo_]

I've been using mig black super glue pretty much for all my needs..the black helps you see what your doing..it may take just a little longer to sand..but the trade off for me, once I hit it with the accelerator I'm sanding. No more waiting for the putty to dry. Now I still use my putty's...but far less.

 

[Tojo72]

I have used Perfect Plastic Putty,can be cleaned up with a Q tip and water.
I also use Mr Surfacer 500 for small seams, I smooth it LT on a Q tip

 

[Iron Mike]

Mr Surfacer is a good choice, but it's a lacquer and has a strong smell. I like Tamiya Basic Putty pretty well.

This is some good stuff, acrylic made by AMMO. I like it very much.

 

[Duke Maddog]

I use several brands.

Mr. Surfacer 500 is excellent for small to mid-sized seams for me, as well as shallow indentations, scratches or dings; such as sink marks. It sands smooth and feathers exceptionally well. However, as has been mentioned it has a strong Lacquer smell. The nice thing is that whenever it starts getting dry, you can thin it back to it's usual consistency with Lacquer thinner.

I use Tamiya Putty as well for the small to medium sized seams. This can also be smoothed out with a wet Q-tip or fingertip before it dries. Afterward, it sands smooth and feathers as well as Mr. Surfacer.

For the smallest seams and those in concave areas of a model; or along perpendicular joints, I use Vallejo acrylic putty. It is almost the same as PPP. I like it because of the ability to smooth it out with water and a Q-tip

For the largest seams/gaps I use CA glue applied around stock styrene cut into shape and inserted inside the gap. I sand it smooth and will use either Mr. Surfacer 500 to smooth things out even more if necessary after all the sanding.

For instance, on the melted nose of my A-400; I used a two-part epoxy formed over a skeleton of sprue and then any air pockets or blemishes after sanding were filled in and smoothed out with Mr. Surfacer 500

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I have an old (square type) Testors liquid glue bottle that is half full of Squadron Green putty. I add a fair amount of MEK to it until it is about 1/2 as thick. To apply I dip my stainless dental tools in it and get a small amount that gets smeared over the area in question. Until it is slowly built up where I want it. I try to get most of the work done before trying to fill and that is the last bit. I never use the putty straight out of the tube as it is always too thick and difficult to apply.

For thin gaps I mix 1/2 and 1/2 thin and medium CA and apply it to the gap and let it wick into the gap. I keep adding the CA working down the line until it is filled. I can usually even fill it up and blend the surfaces with my fine applicator so it takes minimal cleanup to a joint that way.

 

[moon puppy]

I've used the hot stuff for years, didn't know about the acrylic flavors. Guess I'll be looking for it at the show tomorrow.

 

[Barney]

I've used the hot stuff for years, didn't know about the acrylic flavors. Guess I'll be looking for it at the show tomorrow.

Show?

I hate you.

 

[Sharkmouth]

I use CA and cellophane whenever I don't use A&B epoxy putty (like Aves).

Regards,

 

[helios]

I'm usually using the Tamiya Basic (grey), unless I want to fill a gap, but leave a "panel" line, in which case I'll use Mr. Surfacer 1000. This is assuming the gap is small enough that I'm not using some styrene strips to fill, in which case they almost always have a bit of Tamiya over the top.

 

[moon puppy]

Show?

I hate you.

Sorry dude...Yeah, we had one. Barney it was at NG Armory and hotter than hell.

I picked up some Ammo branded acrylic putty today.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Show?

I hate you.

There is a show in Louisville KY in September! At this point I am planning on going. Don't remember where you are from Barney, but if that is closer, give it a thought.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Sorry dude...Yeah, we had one. Barney it was at NG Armory and hotter than hell.

I picked up some Ammo branded acrylic putty today.

Show?

I hate you.

Yeah, we had one in San Diego back on the first weekend in June. What a blast!

 

[Barney]

There is a show in Louisville KY in September! At this point I am planning on going. Don't remember where you are from Barney, but if that is closer, give it a thought.

When? Where? I from Ohio and will be in Louisville on Sept 11 for a concert.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

When? Where? I from Ohio and will be in Louisville on Sept 11 for a concert.

It's about a 5 hour drive for me one way. I can do it with little trouble, just have to be sure to rest up a couple of days ahead of time.

 

[Barney]

I have already made my reservation. I am not up to 5 hour drives and then turning around the next day and coming home.

A nice little weekend... Visit a distillery or two...

 

[Heavens Eagle]

For Wonderfest I drove up in the morning, left in the late afternoon and drove home. Seven hours at the show and 10 on the road. Actually the drive home wasn't all that bad.