Palette Knives

Hey Baron !

 Did you peek at my old train building book ? That's how I used to create fluted sides on passenger cars , way back when .  T.B.       Yeah , I did Zimmerit with it too .

I've got some dental putty spatulas that I use.  As Don points out, they can be cleaned up with strong solvents.

I also have made my own, with plastic table knives.  Similar to what TB described, I filed off some of the teeth, for a straight edge.  I also squared off the tip, and I left some teeth on the curved side, for carving ridges in putty (eg, making Zimmerit).

Hi;

    If you've ever seen the assortment of trowels a brick-mason uses , you will find a lot of palette knives in those shapes .The one that is my go to for tight spots is shaped like a cake trowel . I will check more , I just returned from my local Hobby - Lobby .

    They have nine different shapes , both in long and short blade surfaces .The thing is , wether filling cement join gaps , or preparing a surface for new panel lines , these can be helpful in many applications .

    Another simple applicator , believe it or not is the ubiquitus plastic knife you get at a burger joint . File off the teeth and it's perfect for doing wing fillets ! T.B.

I just hit these with some laquer thinner and it didn't affect them.  Easy to cut to specific shape with a razor blade of # 11 blade.  Only issue is they are a little flexible when cut to a narrow point, but that can be an advantage in some spots.

Next time I get over to HL I want to take a look at what they have in the metal versions.

My pallette knife is my goto for filler application.  However, I use a wooden handle- stainless steel blade version.  The stainless blade means I can clean off any residual putty left on the blade with no problem.  I can also wipe blade with lacquer thinner to clean it after I am done applying putty.