I finally tried the world famous Milliput putty (epoxy) from England and I was very disappointed. This product comes in two sticks of component A and component B that you’re supposed to mix together by kneading so the mixture can “harden” later. Doing this is like trying to mix some white bread and some black bread together. I hope you get the idea-you can knead the mixture, roll it in your fingers, add water to make it more moist but in the end you still have two separate pieces of bread that will not mix to form “hybrid white-black bread”. The mixture is not homogenous and you see the same thing in Milliliput: the two components hate one another and refuse to mix. You can smash them into all kinds of shapes but in the end they will stay separate.
Milliput failed to harden on me even after 24 hours of wait but since the efforts to mix the components had been fruitless this is no surprise.
As a reward for your failed effort to mix the Milliput putty you get sticky, greasy hands that are quite difficult to wash with soap and water.
I think this product has its uses as modeling clay for very advanced modelers who must sculpt their own figures and other items but as everyday modeling putty I strongly discourage the use of Milliput.
The only way I see it, is yours has expired. I have never had a problen using this product. It should be the consistancy of clay. I kneed the two for about five minutes to get a complete mix. Then I add a bit of water as needed for the job. I build 48th scale aircraft, and milliput is the only filler I use on resin parts. I have never had a problem like the one you described, nor heard of one. Please do not be turned off by one bad experience.
I had a bad experience with bare metal foil the first time I tried it. It would not stay put even with burnishing it down. Another modeler said to relax, you have a bad sheet. I tried a piece that the gent gave me and have been using it with success since.
I encouage you to try again with the one you have. Be patient. It takes time to kneed the two together. If you still have a problem, send me a private message (PM icon at the bottom of this thread) and I will see what I can do to help.
Once you have gotten used to it you will find several uses for it other than as a filler.
I bought my first package of Milliput in 1978, and I’ve used it for lots of different stuff - from carvings on the sterns of sailing ship models to repairs on ceramics and old picture frames. I have, on a couple of occasions, encountered the problem MonsterZero did: the stuff just didn’t want to dry. I think there are two possible causes. One, as DrewH suggests, is that Milliput apparently has a limited shelf life. (I don’t know how long it is, or how it may be affected by temperature, humidity, etc., but the stuff does seem to go bad after some years in storage - or maybe less.) Nowadays I make it a point to mix up a test batch first and make sure it dries within three or four hours. If not, I throw out the package and buy a new one.
I also made a big mistake with Milliput once when I decided I wanted to apply it in a thinner consistency. So I mixed a considerable amount of water in with a batch as I kneaded it. Bad idea. It dried eventually (after a week or so, if I remember right), and thereupon fell off the surface to which I’d applied it. The moral to that story is that if Milliput is too thick for your purposes, the thing to do is keep rolling it between your hands for a while. The warmth will soften it considerably. It’s perfectly ok to smear a little water on the surface to make it easier to smooth out, but the water needs to be able to evaporate before the putty hardens.
It’s also essential to mix the two parts together thoroughly - really thoroughly. If you can stil distinguish two colors, you’re not done mixing. I like to start out with a ball, roll it out into a thin string, wad the string up into another ball, and repeat the process till the color is uniform throughout. It does take a while, thought the blending process goes quicker as the putty gets warmer and softer.
Milliput is great, versatile stuff. If you have a bad experience with it initially, it’s worth trying again - preferably with a fresh package. Good luck.
If you are using the Milliput that comes in the white/red box, be aware that the darker material do get ‘old’ and in times forms a ‘crust’ that needs to be removed before you can mix it with the lighter component. Brand new batches will not give you that problem, but it’s hard to tell how long a particular box has been on the shelf before you buy it!
I’ve used the stuff for many years and it would be VERY hard for me to stop using it; it’s a major product in my trade, pattern-making. Like you, my first experience was not too good: it never dried up. But do not give up just yet. Milliput can be a great help in our hobby.
Now thats what I’m talking about! A great well described question and some Excellent Informative answers. MonsterZero, DrewH, Jtilley and djmodels thank you very much! I just learned something.
Klaus, I’ve never had the ‘crust’ on the lighter (yellow-green) component, but I guess it must happen at some stage! The Super-Fine Milliput is much harder to work with indeed. For one, it dries MUCH faster and then, it’s harder to mix properly as you say. It’s also more expensive. Unless you are into figure sculpting, I think the Super Fine Milliput is a waste of money.
What would be the correct way to store it, being from New Mexico, I live on a high desert plateau with low humidity and summer temps in the nineties and winter temps in the low thirties any advice would be greatly apprecated…
I use both Milliput (silver grey) and other two part epoxy putties and find them both useful for different applications. Milliput is good for fine, finished detail and has a super fine porcelain finish when hardened. It isn’t as robust as the other, industrial epoxy putties when soft or after hardening, but is a good product. I understand that it is used primarily for the repair of bisque porcelain and fine china, so extreme strength isn’t really it’s probity.
My favorite all round putty is A & B Epoxy putty, but since moving from Dallas, TX to the Nashville, Tenn area, I’ve had the hardest time locating a vendor for it.
