Best two part puty suggestions?

[Rogi]

I've been "betrayed" by Tamiya one part putty, I never knew that if you let it dry long enough a certain amount of shrinking takes place. This means seams that were once fixed are visible now, Thankfully I noticed on my favorite kit early enough (been working on it for 3 years already) and can fix the problem.

I've heard two part putties never shrink due to the chemical reaction, so off I went and did a search Bondo no.801 was the two part of choice but for some reason it isn't stocked here in Canada!

Is there a good readily available two part putty that our members would recomend? Has to be good and easy to work with

Any suggestions are appreciated

Thank you guys

Igor

 

[Robert Porter]

Aves Apoxie Sculpt and Milliput Standard seem to be the two most often cited and used 2 part epoxies in the forums I belong to. Including here. I would say Aves is more commonly used for filling very large areas while Milliput tends to be used for seams, seatbelts, and smaller details. Not sure why as both could be used for either application but that seems to be how they get used.

I am new to them myself but the work I have done with them so far shows minimal shrinkage and very easy to use so long as you are very careful to mix the correct proportions. I have only actually used Milliput both standard and superfine white. I would say that the "Standard" version is the way to go for most modeling applications. But I am sure others will chime in with more detail. And more experience!

 

[stona]

+1 for Milliput, though I use the fine version.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Airframes]

Milliput - preferably the 'Standard' type, as it is less prone to flaking on general work.
The White, or Superfine, can be used, but they are really designed for porcelain repairs and similar work, and not quite as resilient when 'worked', for example sculpting, carving etc.

 

[Crimea_River]

...and Milliput can be smoothed nicely with water. Tamiya can't.

 

[Rogi]

Thank you all for the input it is greatly appreciated just one to two final questions as I've seen milliput in my LHS and may give it a shot.

Aves looks amazing and comes in various colors so would be perfect but im not so sure we have them here.

As for milliput, once it dries (overnight) is it ok to sand it? Or do you need to work it out until it comforms to the seam exactly? As I've been doing a bit of reading and it dries hard overnight, just afraid it will be hard to sand if needed.

Shrinkage should be small to none on smaller applications?

Is primer needed with either of these or can I work without it in the final step?

 

[stona]

You can sand Milliput, though it does eventually 'dry' very hard. I usually sand it, if required, before it goes off completely. It's hard to say how long as it depends on the proportions you have mixed, temperature and other variables.
I do the same with the CA/talcum filler that I make myself. Anything that finishes up harder than the surrounding plastic is difficult to sand to conform.
I usually use Milliput to fill or build up really serious gaps etc. Often I give it a scim of a conventional putty which will sand and feather in nicely to the surrounding plastic.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Airframes]

Have a look at my Mosquito PR.IX thread, in the current Group Build. There's an illustrated section showing 'Milliput' being moulded, carved and sanded.

 

[Robert Porter]

That thread is where I learned how to use Milliput as well. One caution, and this is equally true of Milliput or CA fillers and that is if you need to rescribe panel lines be careful. First it is harder than the surrounding plastic so getting the line to be the same depth and width is tricky. Second if you are two quick with it you could crack it and tear a chunk out. Just go slowly and deliberately.

 

[Walrus]

Are you using it as a filler?

TBH I never use a two part putty for filling.

If it is a big gap I use styrene strip with liquid poly to cement it in place
Trim back, sand and than any small glitches can be filled with conventional fillers (see below)

Thinner gaps I have started using stretched sprue, usually from the kit being modelled, and again use liquid poly cement
Allow to cure and sand

Small glitches I either use CA + Talc (urrently I use graphite powder instead as it is easier to see when sanding)
or
Vallejo Liquid Putty. This can be applied over small gaps and smoothed. Being water soluble, with care you can use a moist tool of choice and it needs very little attention once dried, if any.

I use Milliput Fine for anything that needs substantial, sculptural work, like reshaping the nose of the Hobby Boss P-49 for example

HTH

 

[Rogi]

Thank you all for the help I'm now narrowing down the yellow-green as suggested or the silver-grey, since I want this kit completed and 100% ok I think I'll go with standard for now and test out the silver-grey sometime later, will grab some of the miliput next week at the LHS and give it a shot.
It seems from reading your advice milliput is very similar to clay and thankfully last year I did a clay class in my college, was a wonderful experience and we got to make some lovely things, I especially enjoyed the eagle mask and shark serving tray I'll get some pics up later if you guys like.

As for your advice Walrus,

I'll follow it for the future and see how it goes, so far for this kit i need a 99% good to go solution so will try the miliputt hehe CA and talc i've tried but its been very touchy and smelly and anything that has a funky odor is a no go as my workbench is fairly close to the neighbors and opening a window would karate chop them into smellyness lol

I'll be using the milliput to fill seams (usually small ones as I work from 1/144 up to 1/48 so they aren't large), the fuselage seam is fingernail length/possibly smaller that I was filling, it is a 1/144 kit I've been working at for 3-4 years already and preparing her for our IPMS competition.

I used the Tamiya white putty in a thin application and then sanded, but it appears that I've had a bad batch as it has shrunk over time, the kit was painted and ready to go but I noticed that it developed a seam, so it was back to the drawing board and asking the forum for help. If it wasn't for competition I wouldn't mind, but I've cut the kit fuselage apart and scratch built a radar installation so I like it to be done right with all the work involved.

Funny enough I went to my other models and checked them for seams (the completed and non-completed ones) the ones I did with the Tamiya Light Curing putty = no seem, each kit I've done with the Tamiya White putty = seam :O so I've got a couple to fix.

I'd like a ready made solution and as mentioned Bondo 801 (the one most recommended on the forums) is unavailable here, most two parts aren't supposed to shrink, so I think for the safety aspect of this build I will go with the two part for now.

Thank you all for your help and guidance on this I went from nightmare :..( to "it will be fixed!"

 

[Robert Porter]

Most putty's will shrink over time, some more so than others. Milliput has had very little if any shrinkage that I have seen, and same, for very small seams, with Sprue Glue, which is basically dissolved styrene in Tamiya Extra Thin glue.

 

[JKim]

I use Milliput (White- Superfine) and have no complaints whatsoever. I've not experienced any of the flaking issues that Terry has mentioned but then again, I don't usually do a lot of carving or grinding. I like to preshape any significant fills with water to reduce the post application work.

 

[Wurger]