Anyone have any tips and tricks for working with and cleaning up Squadron green putty? I opened a tube and a good amount of oily liquid came out before any solids appeared. I applied it with my finger but it smeared rather than filled the seam between layers of acrylic plastic–it actually made the seams more visible. Plus I now have a green finger; neither isopropyl nor denatured alcohol got it off.
The tube’s about a year old–maybe older. It might simply be too old.
If you get the oils, just keep squeezing and ‘mix’ the oil & green stuff together. I like it to be a little ‘runny’ so I can fill seams.
Myself, I use a large tube of automotive ‘Red Cap’ bondo - much cheaper. It all seems to sand the same. I find that it takes about 2-3 coats(sanding between coats) to get a smooth gap free finish. After the second sanding, I sometimes ‘paint’ the area with liquid cement to force the body putty to ‘fill-in’ the areas nice and tight. A final sanding and some grey paint to see if I have missed anything.
If you are filling in holes from your kit-bashing - use styrene rod or sheet material to make a tight fit - less body putty messing around! And liquid plastic cement should clean up your finger. I have a small kitchen ‘potato’ brush that I use to wash up with at the end of the evening.
Scrap sprue material makes good filler for larger holes - that’s why I never toss the leftover sprues after building a kit (a kit? what’s that?). Putty alone does a horrible job with other than really tiny holes. For example, in doing my Atlas undecorated RS-3’s, I need to remove the single not horn that mounts on the hood in front of the cab. Putty alone SORT of works - I apply it fromt he inside of the hood and press it in until it oozes out the top Let it dry, trim off with a knife, then sand smooth. However, an easier way seems to be to glue the horn in from the inside, then cut it off, then use a little putty to smooth around the plugged hole. All else being equal (same loco, same grades of sandpaper), the plug then putty method seems to result in a less visible hole than just trying to fill it with putty.
I use the end of a microbrush to apply, of course it stick to that and is hard to clea off, but there’s not much it won’t stick to. You do want to mix the ‘oil’ in, it’s a plastic solvent that helps the putty bond with the plastic you are filling.
There was a piece in the January, 2011Model Railroader Magazine approximately two issues ago, where Lance Mindheim thins Squadron Putty with paint thinner to make it more pliable. It was done on a piece he did showing roof details and various roof types. The thinned putty was used to fill in cracks on Walther’s roof air conditioner units prior to painting.
I like to put painters tape on each side of the seem.
I smear a small amount of modelers potty with my finger down the seem.
I then use an old chissel blade xacto tip and scrape down it, forcing it into the groove. (The blade rides overtop the tape, and evens out the the distribution of the putty, hopefully putting excess on the top and sides of the tape.
I then lift the painters tape off and use a dentist scrapper tool to reform motar work (if necessary) before it dries.
I use Squadron Green and White putty. I have also had the experience of the oily surface – now I more or less expect it and have a toothpick ready to mix it back up with the putty. I avoid touching it with my hands. Sometimes the first bit squeezed out is partly solid and just sacrificed for the better stuff below it. I never apply it to the work out of the tube. I apply it to an old piece of wood and get what I need from that. Yes there is waste but more control.
Use Milliput instead. This is an English product but it is sold here by Micro-Mark, probably others if you Google it. Greatly superior to Squadron.
I have a warning to all about the Squadron product. I used it for years, and then found to my horror that at about the ten-year mark it crumbles to powder if touched, sometimes even without touching. Milliput is a forever product, your benchwork lumber will disintegrate first!