Howdy,
Just did some work on the inside of my house, filling some cracks on the basebards using DAP Alex Plus. It got me to wondering if it ( DAP Alex Plus) can be used as a filler in place of say Plastic Putty or any of the other model filler.
Possibly, but you could always test it with some scraps of styrene, leftover parts, etc.
It certainly works for groundwork for a base, over a foam insulation core. Or over luan plywood for buildings.
Only one way to find out. [;)]
As you may know, when a wooden ship is planked with the first course of planks, there is a need to sand and fill up all the holes and imperfections due to the inability of the wood to properly bend in the desire orientation.
So, what I have been using as putty to cover those areas is a wood putty that comes in powder form, which is good because you mix the amount you need with water and it become a paste that is fairly easy to put on, you just have to work fast because this stuff drys very quickly.
It is a wood putty, so it is comparable with my wood models, as you may know, when you buy already mixed wood putty, the unused putty left in the can dry up within 20 days so you are always trowing money away, with the powered putty , you only use what you need and as long you close the can, the left over never drys out on you.
Following is a photo of the can. You can buy this stuff in Home Depot or Ace. Lowes most likely also have them. It is cheap, between 8 to 20 bucks, depending on the size
Hope this helps.
Joe
I love the artwork on the can.
Yes, it is not what would you call an example of the product, maybe the designer has a sense of humor…
Joe
Probably too late but I posted someplace on this topic that I have used premix drywall mud as a filler. Most of them you don’t even need sandpaper after. A wet finger should do even after it’s dry. Painted just fine too.
Back in the '80s and '90s when I was scratchbuilding industrial models professionally, I would make silicone molds of parts I needed multiples of, and use Durham’s to cast them. It’s great stuff, lightweight, easy to use and easy to work, but would mold very precise detail, and get rock-hard when cured. Also nice and inexpensive.
Obviously those were the days before home 3-D printing and such. [;)]