Re: Filler for model buildings

Auto-body Glazing putty.

Its not. You're evidently thinking of what us Yanks generically call "bondo", the filler for dents and scrapes. Glazing putty is a putty that is used to fill small imperfections prior to painting, such as rock chips and bubbles in the bondo. The automotive stuff is lacquer based; I'm not sure about Squadron.

fl@liner This tagline has been certified to contain no political rants.

We're doing almost exactly the same thing. MEK is pure solvent with no added fillers etc. I've never had Testors but I guess it's mostly solvent.

Regards, Greg.P.

MEK also evaporates very quickly with all the advantages and disadvantages that entails - I'm used to using it. It was considered to be extremely dangerous 20 years ago as it is absorbed through the skin, but I understand it's now considered less dangerous but care should be taken with this and all and any solvents. ie use only in well ventilated places, avoid contact with the skin and avoid naked flames and don't smoke!

Regards, Greg.P.

No idea if that's the same as auto body putty/filler, but the filler (used to) use methyl ethyl ketone _peroxide_ as the setting agent. That chemical genuinely is nasty!

Regards, Greg.P.

I do the 'white styrene leftover bits into Testors Cement' trick myself, but find the resulting 'putty' to be very 'stretchy', leaving long strings of styrene as I scoop it up and apply to the desired surface. Also need to let it set for a few days before carving/sanding. Do you fellows have the same problem?

It takes a couple of days to get the styrene fully dissolved in the MEK so it will take several days to get the MEK out. The system does work well tho for filing cracks and so forth. The Green Squadron Putty tho does dry out a bit faster and most use it. The stuff is done for the plastic model airplane/car/other stuff like tanks modelers and they buy a lot of it.

-- Yeppie, Bush is such an idiot that He usually outwits everybody else. How dumb!

Yeah, I've learned to let my home-brew filler sit for a few days before attempting sanding (after a few PITA attempts to sand when it looked dry). I use this for corners or edges where I will need a sharp, square edge (since the filler is, in fact, styrene, and so holds it's edge after it dries out). I use Squadron Putty (the white putty, which is supposed to be ground even finer than Squadron green - I am still not convinced, but local hobby shops only sell the White Putty) for many things: kit freight cars, buildings, detail parts always seem to need a bit of filler even if assembled perfectly square (usually to fill molding imperfections, or cover up for a bit too aggressive carving/sanding session on my part). I rarely get a good solid edge here, so it's mostly to fill voids or depressions where it can be sanded smooth to the level of the surrounding material and provide a nice, flat surface.

No, not at all. I wonder if it's something to do with the additives in Testors. Mine dries inside 24 hours when filling small gaps, dips or joins.

That's the one - I repeat, for those who might find your denial ambiguous, Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide is nasty to humans.

I have a tube of Squadron - it seems quite grainy, almost as if it's clay based which I assume it's not.

Agreed! I used to work in a bathroom vanity supply house and we used that stuff daily. My skin started to do funny things... BE CAREFUL!