Thin putty for small areas?

I use a DuPont automotive laquer based spot & glaze body putty for 90% of my putty work. I keep a small square jar (old Pactra glue bottle) in which I have some putty thinned to aproximately the consistancy of melted ice cream. It gets applied with an old pointed paint brush which gives me pretty good control over where it goes. If it's going where detail is a problem, try to limit damage to the surrounding detail by placing masking tape to either side of the putty location and remove when sanding is completed.

So you just use the reddish body filler spot putty that comes in a tube? Do you have to worry about it damaging the plastic? I've found the squadron putty will soften the plastic if you put it on too thick and I'd expect an automotive product might be harsher than one made for modeling.

Gunze Mr Surfacer 500 will fit the bill perfectly.

Brush it on and wash your brush with either Mr Thinner or lacquer thinner, sands easily to a very smooth finish.

Cheers
Darren

I've mixed liquid cement and tamiya's putty togther and it works well..

mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by darson Gunze Mr Surfacer 500 will fit the bill perfectly. Brush it on and wash your brush with either Mr Thinner or lacquer thinner, sands easily to a very smooth finish. Cheers Darren

I personally swear by Mr. Surfacer 500. Near as I can tell it's virtually the same stuff as the automotive spot and glaze putty that qmiester talks about, only it's pre-thinned.

Right now, Mr. Surfacer might be a bit tough to find, though. They haven't been importing much, for some reason.

I've got another (I think Gunze) product, called 'Mr. Dissolved Putty'. It's basically a putty that is about like maple syrup in consistency. It goes on in really thin layers with a paintbrush, dries relatively quickly, and can build up nicely.

http://www.best1hobby.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=168&Product_Code=GUP119

And a picture of it's use:

http://www.holmesonics.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=PLEnterprise&id=DSCN0026

Dan

I use Mr. Surfacer too. Good stuff. (As a side note, I've had good results thinning it even further with lacquer thinner) and using it as a primer).

I use automotive spot/glaze putty too, and it can be thinned with a little lacquer thinner, or even some nail polish remover (acetone). Lots of people apply the putty, wait for it to dry, and then 'smooth' the joint over with a q-tip dipped in nail polish remover. Great technique and a nice way to remove any excess putty that got a little out-of-control, without worrying about sanding off important details in the plastic.

I wouldn't use any of these types of putties for 'large' fill areas. As mentioned, I've heard that they tend to soften the plastic if used in thick applications. Several thin layers would be better. Or, better yet, use an epoxy putty (like Milliput) instead.

I've also used CA to fill areas successfully. CA is starting to become my filler of choice. I hate waiting for putty to dry, and with CA, I can cure it instantly with some accelerator. I've been using CA to fill panel lines and wing-root joints too. Works really well for me. The trick is to sand it right away (after the accelerator). If you wait to long, it becomes rock hard and get's to be a real bugger to sand without wrecking the surrounding plastic.

Hope something in there will help

Murray