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I did not think of removing the plug of hardened material just chucked it. Rather stupid in hind sight I guess I was thinking it would be like CA glue and be solid pretty much all the way through. It felt solid anyway.It does dry fast and I have left the lid of for at least an hour several times. I just take a flat tooth pick and remove the hard gunk. I've had this tube since 2007.
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I use the technique described by Wojtek, used sparingly, smooshed in over small areas. Sometimes it takes 2-4 applications. As for thinning it, I've never felt the need but have read using lacquer thinner or nail polish remover
I am positive I did not do the sanding properly as well, so last night I got one of my wifes nail files and wrapped it with 240 grit wet/dry sandpaper until my actual sanding kit arrives. I sat down and began sanding again keeping it wet but not sopping wet. Made a LOT of progress! I am now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! I am going to keep at it and perhaps repaint in the Green colors used in earlier 17's will keep everyone posted on my progress!Andy, I'm still thinking Robert did't do and finish sanding properly. Or , as I had mentioned it , it was done too quick before both the putty and the plastic got the proper hardening.
You said it! While I am far better off than I was I now face the prospect of restoring the detail I lost. Oh well, another skill to acquire practice! The Tamiya Putty comes in White and Gray, is their any difference other than the color between the two that you are aware of? I could not see a difference in the ingredients?The application diagram was very good. Now that you've gone beyond that, I think it might be better to use Tamiya putty to create a new surface entirely above what's there. It may change the belly's contours a bit, but it would be regular and smooth and take paint well. I'm well aware of the lousy seams on that model and since it had raised panel lines it's very hard to restore them after filling all the gaps. Just getting it smooth should be your goal since the surface is inaccurate anyway.
Looks like just the tool! And in my budget! Do you know if I take one of the guards off if they make a rag wheel for it?Harbor Freight Tools has a nice little bench grinder [Item #43533] with a flex shaft tool (Dremel-like) attachment included. I bought one a few years back and it works perfectly for small grinding jobs and the flex shaft is a bit clumsy to use but quick and handy when I don't want to get the Dremel out or the battery is low
I am fortunate in that one of their stores is less than 10 miles from my house, heading down their today!It's a 6in grinder so I would assume that any 6in wheel would fit. Harbor Freight is on line so it would be easy to check. They have a flat rate shipping charge which is great for heavy items costly for small.
Actually the one that equated to the part number you gave is a 3" grinder and is what I bought. And I was able to purchase a 3" rag wheel from them as well as assorted different wheels if I ever need. Fired it up this afternoon and it works like a champ. The guards are not removable but there is plenty of room to work with so I should be good. I love the fact it is variable speed as opposed to single speed and the flexible tool is nice, I have a similar one for my Dremel but hey can never have too many option! By the way it was 38USD and change at my local store. Great deal!It's a 6in grinder so I would assume that any 6in wheel would fit. Harbor Freight is on line so it would be easy to check. They have a flat rate shipping charge which is great for heavy items costly for small.
I love Paul's videos! His delivery is great! I keep hearing about milliput but have yet to find a local source, will have to peek online and see where I can get some to try. I have a bunch of spare sprue lying around so I think I will practice with many of the methods I have seen talked about it here by glueing together some sprue pieces and then filling and sanding and see what works best for me. Thanks very much for the information.Lots of good replies so far, I'll share what I've discovered...
1. For tiny hairline seams, I find a lacquer primer like Gunze Mr Surfacer makes a better filler. You can build up several layers and sand it off. As long as you keep your layers reasonably thin it dries within a few minutes, though I still wait an hour or so before sanding. Expect to do multiple applications and sandings, but because it dries fast and sands easily you can build it up and sand it off several times before squadron or tamiya putty would dry once.
2. For moderately larger gaps, I use either squadron putty or tamiya putty. Several thin applications, the first application focusing on smooshing it right in to the gap otherwise when you sand it off the gap will reappear. Thick applications take longer to dry, a very thick application may not dry properly for a very long time because it melts the plastic. I don't plan to have this putty as my "final" surface, if it is smooth enough in the end that's great, but often it's hard to get a nice finish with this sort of putty and I'll still be able to see a hairline on the seam or where I cordoned off the area with tape there'll be a fine line because the putty slightly melted the plastic. So once I've got it "pretty good" I whip out the Mr Surfacer and use that for the final smoothing.
3. For big gaps I find a putty that DOESN'T melt the plastic is easier to use. I use milliput which is an epoxy putty. You can actually mix it with water if you're struggling to get it in to the gap. I find you want to be generous and apply quite a bit with water if necessary and then before it tries use a wet sculpting tool and wet Q-tip to smooth it and shape it. Milliput is sandable but unlike squadron or tamiya putty you can manipulate it before it dries so your aim should be to smooth it out to the point where little to no sanding is used.
4. When gluing stuff with plastic-melting glue, avoid using too much because a large puddle of molten plastic can take ages (like, weeks if not months) to dry properly so sometimes gaps will look fine and then slowly reappear. Paul Budzik covers it in a video...
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WajXJPPyE8
One thing Paul mentions I've never been able to get to work is using CA cement as a filler. It seems there's a very small window where it's easy to sand, wait too long and it'll go hard, harder than the plastic, so any sanding attempt removes more plastic than CA, so I favour using milliput for big gaps and Mr Surfacer for small gaps because they sand easier.
5. If there's a step between the two parts you're filling, sand it smooth before trying to fill the gap unless sanding it smooth would alter the shape of model.
I have also starting leaning toward milliput for gaps that are in hard to reach places like some wing roots, because it's hard to get in there and sand it, you can use the wet milliput with wet tools to smooth it out so sanding isn't required.
I honestly had never thought of that! I have actually gotten pretty good at sprue stretching!You can replace the raised panel lines with very fine stretched sprue
What is talc and where can I buy it?