I’ve read about the use of silly putty for painting hard-edged camo patterns (I’ll paint a 1/35 Hetzer). So I bought 5 packs of silly putty today. Silly putty is really greasy! If I used it on a model, it would be covered with grease.
So do you somehow remove the grease from silly putty before using it on a model? If so, how?
I’ve used Silly Putty for masking for 20+ years, and don’t ever recall having one serious problem with any kind of residue left on a model paint job. The 2 “eggs” worth I’m using now are several years old (and still going strong), but I don’t know if the formula may have been changed recently to something greasier.
Like any masking material, I try not to leave it on any longer than necessary. But I’ve occasionally left it on over a couple of days of multi-color camouflage jobs (mainly over Tamiya acrylics, these days) with no problems.
I encountered the same thing a few years ago-when the paint hit the Silly Putty, it pooled up and ran off, creating some issues. Might have been the paint mixture (Tamiya acrylic & thinner) but I think not.
My suggestion would be to ‘work’ the Silly Putty, kneeding it and then rolling it flat-let it ‘air’ out a bit.
I reuse my Silly Putty-the addition of the paint has on effect on it…yet.
If you’ve got an old model (or even a primed plastic milk/juice bottle), you might want to test it and see if it is an issue.
Chriskk, I had the same problem with Silly Putty last year on my two-tone A13 British Cruiser. It left a noticeable dark, oily like stain on the paint. I simply wet a wide brush with Mona Lisa paint thinner, brushed it on like I was applying a filter and the stains disappeared!
There are times that silly putty gets overly soft almost greasy. Just place the model in the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes. the silly putty hardens up and is then easy to remove.
Mike T.
I’ve had it get soft and runny, but even then it didn’t leave a deposit. Once the paint on it dried, it firmed back up and came off fine. I did however trash that batch and buy new, thinking that I had too much paint in it.
I flattened silly putty and took out the greasy substance with cotton cloth napkins. I tested by sticking it to some plastic piece. It didn’t leave anything.
Has it occured to any one that if an outsider ( non model builder ) were to read this page they would think we were trying to cook “Silly Putty”? Or that were all nuts ?
a) We are all nuts. But that’s beside the point.
b) If you cook it, doesn’t that make it more tender?
Even adding hot sauce its still a bit chewy! Ooops! Sorry everyone. I’v led us down the path of destruction.
i have the opposite problem. i can’t get my silly putty. to stick to the painted surface. i am now experimenting with modeling clay on the side skirts of an old tamiya JGPZ-IV. mixed success buit it may just not be my night to paint.
Greetings,
Just a quick question for Chrisk: Did you get the real Silly Putty or buy some knock-off brand?
Now for a tip about Silly Putty… be careful what paint you use! Acrylics and enamels are fine, but lacquer paints are NOT compatable with Silly Putty.
hth