Questions on Model Filler

Welcome back to the hobby  

That sounds a bit strange.

They will harden up in the tube eventually, but one year shouldn't be a problem. I have a tube of Squadron Green putty which I started using in either late '05 or early '06 and to me it looks as good as when I first opened it.

Once it's hardened in the tube, it's game over. Even if you could get it out of the tube, water will have no effect on it. You can soften hardened putty using acetone or lacquer thinner but I would be doubtful about its adhesive properties.  

You need to keep the tubes tightly capped when not in use. Get into the habit of only taking as much as you need for a particular job/spot. Re-cap the tube and don't leaving it lying around with the cap off while you're working.

As a filler of any sort, Squadron's not the best. It goes hard in the tube (as you have found), the clear liquid that sometimes seperates out can melt styrene, and the worst of all - it shrinks when it dries. I advise getting Tamiya's putty, which exhibits none of these properties. If you can find it, get Tamiya's light-curing putty which cures, on exposure to UV light (outside sunshine) in a minute flat. It can then be sanded, drilled, tapped, etc. Awesome stuff! If you need a more 'kneadable' type product, you could look at Aves Apoxie Sculpt which is also great. Stay away from Squadron...

Testor's liquid cement is a great thinner for Squadron Putty.

I get an extra bottle of glue, use 1/4 of it, and squeeze some Squadron putty into it up to the top, and mix it all up with a cocktail stick to get a much softer, thinner putty that is  super-easy to use in many various applications. 

Your out of luck (at least here in the states) Tamiya has discontined their putty.

Thad

the doog wrote:

Testor's liquid cement is a great thinner for Squadron Putty. I get an extra bottle of glue, use 1/4 of it, and squeeze some Squadron putty into it up to the top, and mix it all up with a cocktail stick to get a much softer, thinner putty that is  super-easy to use in many various applications.

I'm gonna have to try that! Thanks for the tip!

 

I have a tube each of both green and white Sqd.....I have opened neither yet. (been back modeling less than a year) On advice here, I have a tube of Bondo Spotting & Glazing putty that I think is wonderful! It tends to separate in the tube, too, so I keep toothpicks handy and stir inside the top of the tube.....and usually apply the putty with the toothpick.

Other than that, I'm getting quite good at gap-filling with CA, also based on advice I gotten here!

Good Luck! 

"How long should a tube last?"

>Obviously, "it depends", but I have a tube of squadron white putty (about half the size of a small  tube of toothpaste) and it's lasted a LONG time.  Do yourself a favour and for for quality versus quantity in this department.

"I bought a tube of squadron green putty, only used it once, now the tube is hard and solid cant get any filler out. The same thing has happened to my Humbrol Model Filler, both tubes are just over 1 year old; only my Revell Plasto has survived."

>ouch--never had this happen to any tube I've properly sealed myself.

"Is there anny way to reactivate the tube?"

>Not that I know of, short of a witch-doctor maybe.

 

I like Doog's idea. If you don't want to do the chemistry, a similar ready made product is Gunze's Mr. Disolved Putty.

I try to avoid putty type fillers completely. I spend a bit more time on dry fits and dressing the mating surfaces before commiting parts to each other. If I find a spot that will need filler of some kind, I usually make a shim from stock styrene sheet of appropriate thickness and affix it to one of the mating surfaces prior to cementing the parts together.

I find that drastically reduces the amount of filler I need and all of my subsequent filler requirements have been nicely met by mid to thick viscosity CA glue and accelerator.

I used to buy Tamiya putty as, unlike Squadron, it came in a tube small enough to meet my needs. I always found that a tube of Squadron putty would become unusable before I got through half of it, it just became a waste of money. 

As others have said, once your putty has hardened in the tube its game over for that tube of it. The curing process is chemically irreversable, even if you do soften it out to a usable consistancy with solvents of some sort, you've knocked the original chemical balance of the product off by doing so. There would be no guarantee that your "reactivated" putty could do the job as fresh could.