How to clean up Squadron Putty?

Agree with your take on their putty.. that said, for their "green putty", I have good results using nail-polish remover on a "q-tip" swap, makeup sponge, soft rag.

MonsterZero

One of the reasons I stopped using Squadron Putty and switched to water-based products is because once applied to the model it cannot be cleaned up without damaging the model (or sanding, which also damages the model).

The other reason is Squadron dries inside the tube and now I have 4 or 5 tubes of rock-hard putty in the house, completely useless.

Or am I missing something? Is there a thinner that will wipe Squadron Putty clean without melting the model underneath?

 

 

I have heard of useing acetone for clean up. But each tube i have had, i am lucky if i get half of it out before it goes hard. Stopped useing it now.

When it comes to sanding or filing damaging a model, sometimes no amount of filling with a putty will fix a seam- sanding or filing will be required.  One example is where the fuselage sides are not the same height along the seam.  That is, one side does not exactly match the other side.  Even if the sides are so flat that there is no gap along the seam, there will be a step at the seam.  This is actually quite common.

So making the seam invisible often does require sanding or filing- one has to learn to deal with this.  Yes, sometimes this means that panel lines that cross the seam fade out to invisibility.  The normal way to deal with this is to re-scribe those panel lines- just another skill the modeler must eventually acquire.  Or, in other cases the builder may say, hey, these panel lines wouldn't really be that visible in this scale, and prime and fill the finish so that those seams disappear.  Many painted aircraft that are kept in good condition only show panel seams on removable (access) panels or things like passenger doors or gear doors.  In other cases, things like wood or fabric covered construction have very few panels.

Good move.

If you use most fillers, there will be some clean up after. At least all of the ones that I’ve tried have needed some sanding with progressively finer grits in order to blend with the surrounding area flawlessly. 

That being said, Squadron putties respond well to liquid cement to help them attach, settle, and more malleable. And yes, you will have to sand afterwards to get a good finish for painting afterwards.

Soak a q tip in rubbing alcohol and rub away the excess. Should work with squadron and testors putty. If you do it while the putty is still a tad bit damp it is very easy to work with. Good luck!