Milliput problems

Yes. I think (though I have no scientific evidence) it happens when the Milliput is old. (You can't tell how old your package is; there's no way to tell how long it sat on a dealer's or distributor's shelf before you bought it.) 

Another possible problem: water. The instructions suggest using a little water when you're smoothing the surface. That's a good idea, but if you overdo it the Milliput may (a) take forever to dry, and (b) chip off easily when it does. 

I only have occasion to use Milliput once or twice a year. When I do, I start by mixing up a blob and see if it's dry in four hours. If not, I throw the package out and buy another one.

All that said, I really like the stuff. I have a sailing ship model with Milliput "carvings" that I put on it in 1979, and they haven't deteriorated at all.

Agree with JTilley. I also had issues with mine and buying a new package fixed the problem.

--Chris

jtilley

Yes. I think (though I have no scientific evidence) it happens when the Milliput is old. (You can't tell how old your package is; there's no way to tell how long it sat on a dealer's or distributor's shelf before you bought it.) 

Another possible problem: water. The instructions suggest using a little water when you're smoothing the surface. That's a good idea, but if you overdo it the Milliput may (a) take forever to dry, and (b) chip off easily when it does. 

I only have occasion to use Milliput once or twice a year. When I do, I start by mixing up a blob and see if it's dry in four hours. If not, I throw the package out and buy another one.

All that said, I really like the stuff. I have a sailing ship model with Milliput "carvings" that I put on it in 1979, and they haven't deteriorated at all.

AS JTilley, I concour with his thoughts, & I use it so seldom, it's usually gone 'off' by the time I want to use it.

The 'Standard' stuff appears to 'sweat' brown stuff & harden one of the sticks outside-in, at which point I bin it.

Some report that you can gently microwave 2 equal blobs of the unmixed stuff, then mix it, but I would try a test blob off-model, as I haven't tried that.

I find that the white version is less prone to that, but I buy direct from Milliput on Ebay.co.uk, & it's likely to be fresh.

For seam filling I now use Deluxe Materiels Perfect Plastic Putty, a lot easier to use.

I never knew milliput had a shelf life and will definitely not use water next time. Many thanks.

It does deteriorate, but I have a pack of the standard grade Milliput that I bought around 1990, and I can still use it.  Yes, the one log has hardened from the outside in--it looks like those horrible pretzel-and-gritty cheese snacks.  But I cut off a bit and carve away all of the hardened material, and then mix the batch, and it still cures like it did when I first used it.

Since they're stored in the box in plastic, which will allow air and moisture to transpire, has anyone tried putting the box in a glass jar?  Maybe that would help extend the shelf life?

I prefer apoxie sculpt to milliput. It is less sticky to work with, smooths better with water, dries harder, sands better and most importanly it comes on plastic screw type jars and doesn't dry out anywhere as fast as milliput. It is really a very good product. look for it on ebay or google search it. apoxie sculpt. it comes in many colors and sizes and is used widely in the larger figure builers market. 

...or buy it direct from Aves:

https://www.avesstudio.com/online-store

I like it, too, for sculpting.