Squadron Green Putty question

[fubar]

Hi i just have a question that i hope you guys can help with.

I just got my first ever Squadron Green Putty via online and when i got it i saw all the health warnings on the tube!!! Brain damage, breathing damage, birth defects......sounds worse than a WMD.

Is a modeling putty really that dangerous to use or is that just them being over cautious, i only ask because i'm not the only person around my work desk.

Thanks in advance.

TTFN Matt

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

It has Toluene in it, which can be harmful, however unless you are purposely sitting there sniffing it, or eating it....and decent ventilation while using it, then you will be fine.

Probably says on there that it can cause birth defects or cancer in pregnant women in California.....not sure why ONLY California.....must be something in the water out there! ;D ;D

 

[fubar]

OK thanks for that, i did think it sounded all a little extreme for just a modeling putty. lol

TTFN Matt

 

[Chris S]

Really just use common sense with it ,you'll be fine It can also be thinned out a bit with plastic cement ,but there is some fumes off it ,so use in a well ventilated area ,and dont forget a mask when sanding !

Chris.

 

[kolja]

It's not really any worse for you than say enamel based paint, or cement, or anything. If you work in a really small space, then you may want to leave the door open or invest in a small fan. A bedroom sized workspace should probably be fine unless you're spending the ENTIRE day in there with an open tube!!

I've been using it for years and the only person who thinks I'm brain damaged is my wife. ;D

 

[Ziz]

Also remember the quantities you're dealing with. You're squeezing out a tiny bit onto your kit or the end of a hobby knife - not enough to do any serious damage to skin as long as you wash your hands when you're finished. For it to cause the kinds of problems the warning labels say, you'd have to be using it in place of toothpaste or shampoo.

 

[fubar]

ROFL maybe i could try the stuff as some sort of extreme hair gel!!!

 

[Chris S]

Not recommended ...unless you want to look like Jedward ;D

Chris.

 

[Kryptosdaddy]

Its vicious stuff- use it sparingly. Squadron putty will eat styrene if you try to use it as a space filler. Never use more than a 1/4 inch thickness if you try to shore up a weak space or try to fill a landing gear bay or as a way to secure a counter weight in a nose cone ect. Though with normal spaces and gaps its fine. You can thin it with lacquer thinner or acetone, I have not used the later- though the thinner will break it down into a solution that you can brush on- sad thing is you can't save it in it's thinned state, it will harden like a rock then. Good luck with it!

 

[fubar]

I am in the process of scratch building a figure and was wondering if this stuff is ok for scratch building figure parts?

If not what is good for figure sculpting?

 

[the Baron]

Its vicious stuff- use it sparingly. Squadron putty will eat styrene if you try to use it as a space filler....Though with normal spaces and gaps its fine. You can thin it with lacquer thinner or acetone, I have not used the later- though the thinner will break it down into a solution that you can brush on- sad thing is you can't save it in it's thinned state, it will harden like a rock then. Good luck with it!

Is that the green, or the white, or both? I've heard others mention this, but I use Squadron white, and haven't noticed any damage to any of the plastic in the areas to be filled. I do thin mine with acetone, which works basically the same way as your mixture with lacquer thinner. I call it my homemade Mr. Surfacer I put a dab of putty in a well on my palette, then add acetone with an eyedropper, till it's liquid and thinned to a consistency I want. It can be applied with a brush, and though it dries quickly, I can refresh it with additional drops of acetone.

I haven't tried saving the mixture, but I have found that I could "revive" a batch on the palette several days later, by applying acetone again.

I also use the putty to fill seams, by troweling it in with a dental tool (a blade used to apply putty when making crowns, etc), and then using a cotton swab dipped in acetone to wipe away the excess (use a swab with a paper shaft, not a Q-Tip, with its plastic shaft--the acetone will dissolve that).

To the original question, work in a well-ventilated area, and you should have no problems.

 

[Chris S]

Its not really the sort of stuff to use for sculpting ,its just a filler . Try something like Milliput ,Aves ,sculpty ,that sort of thing ,I like Milliput myself .

Chris.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Have never had either the green or white Squadron putty attack plastic. I got a Star Wars AT-AT with it's sides zimmerited with it....and it is still in one piece with no plastic degradation.

Personally I use the green, as I find the white is a little more gritty, but it is each their own.

 

[Kryptosdaddy]

Baron- that was green putty- I have never used the white, but it smells the same. May have the same properties.

 

[Kryptosdaddy]

This is what green did to my f-14. this was a shelf queen that had sat for awhile and I decided to finish it. I filled the bay with green -DUMB DUMB DUMB- and then set the ill fitting doors on- I had to do something as I like to build things strong.




Thats the hole. The smear is from me angrily scooping this stuff out after it ate the plastic. The circle is the size of the hole. It didnt cause the hole- it softened the plastic to a gel.



Here she is sorta patched after the softened plastic was removed. Thank god i didnt fill the forward bay.

 

[Chris S]

I have used Squadron Green thinned with plastic cement for years and not once have I ever had that happen . Was that thinned with the thinners you mentioned ? as its more likely that would attack the plastic .

Chris.

 

[Kryptosdaddy]

NO - this is straight up pure from the tube Squadron Green

Incredible- i'm far from professional but I have been building for decades. As kids we would run old red tube Testors glue from the tube directly onto kits and puddle like hell. But never have I seen a reaction like this.
This is Hasegawas 1/48 Atlantic Fleet Squadrons F-14 A, not a shabby kit! Live and learn. just a heads up.

 

[Grendels]

I swore off of the green when it did something similar to a Polar lights 1/100 TOS enterprise. It ate right through it.

 

[Kryptosdaddy]

That really blows^^^ so far we have heard that junk eating expensive kits! Bondo works, and some swear by it- I havnt tried miliput, should tighten the belt and pick some up.

 

[JMac]

I use the Squadron green putty all the time. The thing I've found with the Squadron green putty is to keep the coats thin and build the surfaces up with successive coats. Too thick and you get shrink marks, cracks, and a lot of solvents that can attack the kit plastic. Better to fill the space roughly in with scrap plastic first & then coat it over with the Squadron green.