The one part putty I use sets in twenty to thirty minutes, the same as the primer I use, so an hour after I apply it (depending on how long it takes to smooth the putty) I will know if I need more work on the seam. I use auto body glazing putty and krylon primer.
It takes me a week to build a quarter scale fighter from start to finish. Depending on the kit the equivalent of three days of that time is spent on seams. My current build is the old Monogram TBD-1. I started it Saturday afternoon and yesterday it went through it’s second and third rounds of seam work. I haven’t worked on it today but the next bench session will be the forth and final round of seam work. Speed isn’t a problem.
There are some really good ideas and suggestions here but I have a couple of observations to make. If you use CA, get it filed/sanded down as soon as possible after it sets up - the longer it sets, the harder it gets (I once applied a mixture of baking soda and CA to the underside wing joint to an 1/72 and then went to summer camp at Fort Carson, Two weeks later came home and the joint was like a piece of granite!) And if you need to apply a coat of putty that is more than 1/32 of an inch try to apply the putty in 2 or 3 thin applications instead of one thick coat (let each set up before applying the next coat).
Wow guys thanks SO much! I’m sorry I haven’t been as involved here as I should be - for some reason I stopped getting email notifications of responses.
I think my biggest problem is trying to rush through the seam work and not letting things set up, in combination with using too much pressure and sanding too much. I have been trying to experiement with some of the putties that can be “wiped” down (Tamiya or Mr. Surfacer with Lacquer or Perfect Plastic with water) but these seem to be a little bit finicky for me.
Patience, gentleness, and learning when to stop sanding are going to be my keys to success, it seems like. I am working on an F-14 and F-18 and they both have plenty of seams that I am working on for some good practice.
To answer one of the questions - I have used CA Gap Filling, Perfect Plastic, Tamiya white, and Mr. Surfacer 500. I tend to mix these up depending on the type of work I am doing.
Also, when you guys sand, say, Tamiya or Perfect Plastic, what do you use - straight sandpaper or pads/sticks? I am wondering of the “padding” of paper/sticks is hurting or helping, or if regular paper with fingertip application would be any better.
Also, how do I keel files clean? As Don said, they clog up incredibly quick but I do love using them for heavy work…
To keep files clean you can use a file card that you should be able to get at any home improvement store. But, as an alternative, I usually wipe the file off right on my pants. That works good enough for me.
File cards sold at most hardware stores tend to be too coarse to really do a good job on fine needle files. I found a dremel wire brush wheel with very fine wire, and use that to clean my needle files. Also occasionally use one of those 3M kitchen scouring pads.
Do you actually run the dremel with that wire brush on the file or just use the brush by hand? I happen to have one of those…
Sometimes (slowly- both of my Dremels have good speed control) but more frequently I just grab the brush in my fingers and use it like a conventional file card. Hardest thing to clean out is solder when I have been working with soldering brass. Plastic and filler clean out fairly quickly, primer paint is somewhere in between.
Use gap filling CA clue.Wet sand after 2 hrs .
I have no luck with CA so I tend to use putty.
Also, if using putty or something like it, mask the area to get it on as small a part of the model as possible. It makes a step, but that can be sanded off.
For really stubborn, wide seams, I’ll run a couple of strips of tape down both sides of the seam, then lay the putty in the trough, leveling it with a putty knife or piece of plastic card stock. Pull the tape, let it set, then hit it with a sand paper board. It seems to do a better job of hiding the seam, and not making a big mess down the side of the seam.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
Yes! This is the big problem with the original post. If the orignal glue joint is not good enough, no amount of filling will be satisfactory. The glue joint MUST hold. Then you can worry about fillng the remaining seam.
Often times I find that the putty didn’t really fill the seam so much as bridge it. So, as I’m sanding it later, the gap under the putty is revealed. In this case, it may appear that the seam is reoccurring but in reality I’m just sanding the void open. That’s where practice, practice, practice comes in. Gotta make sure your putty is filling, not only spanning, the joint.
And, as others said, glue strips of thin styrene into wider gaps before puttying.
Question on this: after you apply whatevermethod, how do you deal with covering up raised details like rivets and raised panel lines. This is a continual frustration for me…sanding away detail to get rid of the seam!!
The seams that give me the most trouble are the ones where one side is higher than the other. You cannot just sand the high side down to match the low side without creating other problems. These have to be feathered with putty which I have to keep at over and over.