Acetone or not to acetone ??

I asked this question because there are several references to acetone that show up in the forum search. I know acetone will melt styrene, I guess my real question should have been phrased differently. When you use NPR and a q-tip to smooth out the putty in a seam or gap are you using the acetone free kind? Or is the quantity of acetone on a q-tip not enough to damage the plastic?

Thanks everyone

Dave

Dave,

Your best bet is to try the technique on a bit of sprue or unused piece of kit. That way, you can experiment without potentially marring the actual kit. Some putties may react differently to solvents, so it's best to make sure before-hand.

demono69

Let me get this straight!

You can remove excess putty with nail polish remover???

Please tell me more.

P.S. this could save me lots of sanding time....

I've heard of the technique mentioned before, but never read anything specific about it. I'd like to know more as well actually, it'd save a lot of sanding.

I'm building the same monogram f-18, just not the blue angels version. The gaps on the underside are huge, it took me a very long time to get them filled and sanded,and in the process, I lost a lot of the raised panel lines. Blah. Knowing about the nail polish remover would have helped greatly. It probably still will, as I'm sure that I'll build another monogram kit eventually.


madda

I have heard of people using denatured alcohol to remove excess putty on vinal kits before.
Mainly because you cannot sand on a vinal kit.
Never tried it my self.
I wonder what denatured alcolhol would do to a plastic kit?
I have also heard of people using Japan dryer on their kits but I do not know why.

Be very careful withthe acetone. It has the potential to score and soften the plastic you typically find in a model. Like anything new, try it on a scrap piece of plastic before you commit it to a valuable model.

All the information is available on Internet search for www.aircraftresourcecenter.com, than Tool'n'Tips, than you find filling and the writer is Wil hendriks. I can asure to every one, that it works perfect and it save's a lott of time consuming sanding.

you forgot to put "http://" in the link
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

The article I read their said to use regular old nail polish remover.
Not the eviromentally safe or the thinned downed stuff.
Cutex is the brand they used.
I will check it out and I hope it works.

On a side note, acetone glues plexiglass together.

I knew that! Really!! That's chemistry stuff!!! - Ed

Hey guys, I use the Cutex stuff that's sorta orange color and it says Acetone-Free on the bottle. It works very well. I bought some discount bin no-name acetone-free stuff once before and it didn't work at all. I even thin the putty down with it if I want to 'paint' it into various areas rather than 'paste' it.

Murray