SEARCH FINESCALE.COM

Enter keywords or a search phrase below:

Help! Scribing accross dis-similar surfaces...

533 views
3 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    November 2005
Help! Scribing accross dis-similar surfaces...
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 11:47 AM
I'm hoping someone can give me a suggestion, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting some consistent panel scribing on a 1/72 F5 I am building. My process was:

1. Larger gaps/areas were filled with styrene and sanded to general fit. Bondo spot/glaze putty applied after to smooth out any remaining issues
2. CA glue was used as filler in a few places where it was needed. Bondo spot/glaze putty applied after to clean up those areas as well.
3. Bondo spot/glaze putty used to fill various small gaps and/or panel lines that I didn't like.
4. The entire thing was then covered with primer (Duplicolor)

At this stage it looked pretty good and I was happy with the results. However, then I went on to try re-scribing some of the areas.
- Some of the scribe lines run through or across the various fillers that I used and it became VERY difficult to get a consistent line (obviously, the 'putty' areas were a little too easy to scribe, and the CA parts were a little tougher). The scriber would often 'catch' on the new material and create a noticeable flaw in the line.

What do you guys do to get a relatively consistent base to scribe into? Is there a better putty than Bondo spot/glaze that dries harder (more like plastic)? Is there something you can mix with Bondo to make it dry harder? Perhaps something that can be sprayed over the primer (future??)

My local club has a meeting tonight so I plan to take the results along and get their opinions too.

Learning the hard way!

Murray
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 1:30 PM
You may have luck "rolling" a curved #10 blade across the panel line. It will create a slight ridge on either side of the line which can be removed by sanding. That way, you won't be "digging" through surfaces of varying resistance. It also gives you a straight line without the chance of straying off course.
Hope this helps.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 11:53 PM
Thanks Pix.

Someone suggested the same thing at my club meeting tonight! There was another suggestion that I cover the entire area with thin CA and then sand it smooth.

What about epoxy putty? Does it dry harder than regular putty? Would there be the same problems if I used this??

Murray
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, January 8, 2004 12:05 AM
One problem with CA being used as a gap-filler, it dries VERY HARD.

Tip I learned through hard trial and sufferings:

Your Putty should dry to the same consistency and hardness as the material you are using.
Too soft and you remove putty when sanding, too hard and remove Kit and not your gap filler.

The other thing you could try if available close to you:

Photo-etched razors and saws.

Yup, you read right. Big Smile [:D]
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

SEARCH FORUMS
FREE NEWSLETTER
By signing up you may also receive reader surveys and occasional special offers. We do not sell, rent or trade our email lists. View our Privacy Policy.