putty thinner?

I was told recently that a good thinner for putty is model cement. Does anyone here have any suggestions. What about primer as a thinner?

Reply to
hypnotoad
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Yes, liquid cement works great for putty thinning. Primer might thin putty a bit, but only a bit, and if you don't stir them together, you'll end up with discontinuities in the texture. Using liquid cement has the advantage in that it is all solvent so will penetrate into the mass of the putty, and can even revive putty still in the tube that has started to harden. I've been using the same tube of old Squadron Green stuff for more than 20 years doing just that.

Reply to
steve gallacci

I've also used rubbing alcohol with good results, although the alcohol evaporates pretty fast. Mostly I use it as a first coat to fill in deep seams. You can use it to wipe down applied putty without damaging surrounding plastic or resin as well.

-- John ___ __[xxx]__ (o - ) --------o00o--(_)--o00o-------

The history of things that didn't happen has never been written - Henry Kissinger

Reply to
The Old Timer

Nail Polish remover. put your putty in the gap, then smooth it with a ear swab dipped in the remover. Its very toxic though, so use only in a well ventilated area. If you start getting woozy or head aches ...quit... and ventilate better the next time. Mike IPMS

Reply to
Mike Keown

Mike I think your blowing smoke about the toxicity of nail polish remover. In this age of protecting everyone from themselves, something that women rub onto their fingertips can't be very toxic. That being said if you were to snort a goodly quantity up your nose you might be in trouble. Being cautious to the point of being debilitating is as foolish as being foolhardy. Pete (a research chemist)

Reply to
The Laws

I agree, it's Acetone. I wouldn't recommend snorting the stuff, and it might give you a good headache if you don't ventilate well, but women have been using the stuff for decades without any ill effects............................................. of course, now that I think of it, it might explain a few things;-)

All joking aside, just use some common sense (which is fairly uncommon) and you should be fine.

Francis Marion (a retired geologist that took lots of chemistry!)

Reply to
Francis Marion

nope, it's true. check out the warning labels.

Reply to
e

AFIK, nail polish remover is a mix of acetone and linseed oil, so for the Ladies it's far less dangerous than pure acetone.

I mix nail polish remover with about the same amount of acetone for hobby purposes: pure nail polish remover doesn't remove the putty well enough, and pure acetone is too strong. And yes, I ventilate well...

Regards, Bert

Reply to
Bert H.

Thank You All for your responses to my post, but you must understand I am disciple of Murphy's Law and my warnings, which some feel were 'overstated', were simply put there to 'cover my a**' in case a modeler did do damage to his or her self while using the procedure I posted. I've been using nail polish remover, to smooth filler putty in difficult places( engine compartments, landing gear and bomb bays ect.) for some time with no ill effects; but from my experience in the business world I know there is a lawyer lurking for every case regardless of how major or minor it happens to be. With this in mind I posted my warning to make sure 'Judge Murphy' couldn't lower his gravel on my head. To those of you who have read this, thank you for your time, and I wish all Happy and Safe Holidays. :-) Mike IPMS

Reply to
Mike Keown

It depends on the nail poish remover.If it has acetone in it, it will work real well for the task specified here, and it's an honest-to-god toxic substance that women have been using on their nails for decades.

There are also no-acetone polish removers--I don't know what they use. I presume they are at least somewhat less toxic; otherwise, why bother? Using those to thin putty might not work so well.

Mark Schynert

Reply to
Mark Schynert

That all depends on what kind of putty you are talking about.

Most modeling putties are probably little more than autobody "spot & glaze" putties, used for filling small imperfections in automotive bodywork, prior to final prime and paint.

The solvent-based autobody spot putties are pretty much thick primer, so with those lacquer thinner works just great (I use acrylic lacquer thinner to thin out 3M Acryl Blue putty.

For most of the model car bodywork (and filling seams, sink marks etc. on aircraft or armor is pretty much the same technique, only the subject matter differs) I do anymore, however, I prefer catalyzed automotive spot & glaze putty, which is sold under many brand names (Evercoat, Eurocoat, mine is US Chemical & Plastics). Look for the thinner compounds, often called "Icing", as these are thin enough to almost pour out of the tube.

For spreading (application) my two favorite tools are a 3/4" Grumbacher palette knive, which is shaped like a miniature masonry trowel, and is ground to a tapering thickness toward the small end, giving it a certain "springiness". Also, the tip is cut (and polished!) to about 1/6" diameter curve, which lets me get into some very tight places.

Catalized automotive spot putties are polyester compounds, meaning they do smell just like fiberglas resins (also polyester), and use just a very small amount of a creamy consistency hardener for mixing, and cure hard in about 19 minutes, ready to sand out, prime and paint. They sand very well, have great "feather-edging" properties, and absolutely do not shrink, in my experience (solvent-based spot putties continue to shrink until all the solvent is evaportated from them).

Also, while of course there is some odor, the extremely small amounts of this putty that one uses at any given time isn't enough to cause more than a mildly irritating smell for a while.

Art Anderson

Reply to
EmilA1944

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