Does anyone know if heating tamiya putty will help it cure faster when it is applied thick? Thank you in advance.
Um no… It it is a straight-out-the tube filler, applying too thick will cause it to: Shrink, heat up, & possibly ment/distort your kit, or all three.
Applying enough Heat to make it set quicker would cause damage to your model.
The best way to apply straight-out-the tube filler is to:
Minimise the need for it, where possible, ie fill deep holes/seams with sprue or plasticard.
Then apply in thin layers, allowing to thouroghly dry/gass out between layers.
Or use something else, such as:
Deluxe Materiels Perfect Plastic Putty or a two-part putty, like Milliput, Duro, etc.
They shrink considerably less, and can be shaped with water, q-tips, fingers, etc, TO MINIMISE the amount of sanding you will need to do.
Solvent putties such as Tamiya, Squadron, Bondo Red, etc harden by evaporation of the solvent. Applying too large a lump may not harden, or may take a while to harden throughout because a skin of dry putty forms over the rest of the putty. Heating the putty still needs a place for the solvent to go. Perhaps piercing the skin multiple places/times may help. Heating may also warp the surrounding plastic.
Similarly, don’t use solvent putties inside a sealed space such as a nose cone to hold weights. The solvent has no place to go and can warp the plastic
The speed of setting is one reason I like auto glazing/spot putty. The solvent is a fast evaporating one- smells about like lacquer thinner. I find it sets up in twenty to thirty minutes unless it is a very thick application.
I’d go back one step before the point where there’s a seam: test-fit as much as possible, and where possible, use the extrusion method. Run liquid styrene cement along a seam and apply enough pressure to extrude a bead of melted plastic along the seam. Band or clamp the piece till it sets. When it has set, scrape away the bead with a hobby knife. This reduces the amount of seam cleanup work as much as possible.
And generally, I like Jon’s method. I like to use styrene where possible, on seams, gaps, holes, sink marks, with liquid cement for styrene, on a styrene kit. I like that the material is homogeneous throughout.