Squadron Green Putty question

[Dusky]

I haven't used the green, but I've never been fond of the white. It never wants to stick when I try to apply it and I always have to prime over it. I prefer using Tamiya's putty.

 

[Grendels]

The trick with the white is to thin it first with acetone based finger nail polish remover. Then it will stick just fine. It is also much easier to work with.

The bondo is much better than the white or the green.

I currently either use Aves or bondo to fill with, then finish up with Mr. Surfacer 500 or Mr. Dissolved putty.

 

[the Baron]

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

Ah, OK, thanks! Though I don't recommend the smell test (Do you know, in the early days of chemistry, tasting a substance was a common test? Reminds me of the old joke about the two Eskimos, walking in the snow, coming upon some dog poop )

I do think you're right about the ingredients between the green and the white--both do have tolulene. I'm not sure now what the difference is between the two, apart from the color (dark, fur use under dark colors or against dark plastic, and white under light colors/against light plastic?) I'm curious to track this down.

I agree with Soarinsukhoi, I do find that the putty doesn't want to stick right away, but thinning it/mixing it does make it work better. And I agree with JMac, applied in thin coats, it works better out of the tube. And I agree with whomever said, don't use this for sculpting, it's not designed for that, use Miliput, or better, Aves 2-part, or Sculpey in its variants.

Anyone ever try the 3M blue or green putties? They're available in automotive supply stores, and can be thinned with lacquer thinner or liquid cement.

I tried automotive 2-part fillers, but found that mixing the right proportions in such small batches was too much effort, to measure and judge the proportions.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

The white seems to be a bit grittier than the green, and yes, they both have Toluene in them.

 

[Dusky]

The white is supposed to be finer than the green.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Not that I have seen, unless they have changed it in the last few years.

 

[Chris S]

Scott ECH is right , The Green is classed as 'Fine grain filler ' The White is'nt

Chris.

 

[Dusky]

Both are labeled as fine grain filler on Squadron's website. The only difference listed between them is the color.
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=SQ9060
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=SQ9050

I'll stick with my Tamiya putty.

 

[NecronautDrummer]

I agree. I've been using Tamiya gray putty thinned with acetone, and it's worked OK for me. Once the tube's done, I think I'll try the fine autobody filler again (which thins with acetone too, from what I've seen). For now, those are my weapons of choice for gross filling. For the finer stuff, I'm using Mr Dissolved Putty or Mr Surfacer.

Is Aves better suited to either big or small filling? Any shrinkage or cracks? Anyone tried it out and gone back to a solvent-based filler? Why or why not? Comparison to Milliput?

 

[Ziz]

The trick with the white is to thin it first with acetone based finger nail polish remover. Then it will stick just fine. It is also much easier to work with.

I do that with the green too but I use Testor's Liquid Cement to thin it.

The bondo is much better than the white or the green.

I currently either use Aves or bondo to fill with, then finish up with Mr. Surfacer 500 or Mr. Dissolved putty.

I was going to try using Bondo but then I noticed it was a two-part system. Right next to it in the auto parts store was this stuff...

http://www.uschem.com/index.cfm?page=productDetail&id=63&pid=1

$8.00 for a 1 lb tube vs. $4.00 for a 2 oz tube of Squadron. Comparatively speaking, that makes Squadron $32.00 a pound!

 

[Grendels]

Bondo spot or glazing putty is not a two part system. It comes in one tube.

As for Aves, it doesn't shrink or crack. I have used it for small seams and large. It's only real problem is that if you let it cure too long, it will set up harder than the plastic around it. Which can be a pain to sand down if you are not careful.

But it can be thinned with water, which is very nice. I have used it in a very thin consistency and it didn't effect the result.

 

[NecronautDrummer]

Can you define 'too long', Grendels? I usually tend to let my putty work cure for 24 hours before sanding it down.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Both are labeled as fine grain filler on Squadron's website. The only difference listed between them is the color.
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=SQ9060
http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=SQ9050

I'll stick with my Tamiya putty.

Maybe so....but looking at the 2 side by side....the green is a finer grain, and unless they have recently changed the formula on the white...it was always a coarser grain than the green.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

The trick with the white is to thin it first with acetone based finger nail polish remover. Then it will stick just fine. It is also much easier to work with.

I do that with the green too but I use Testor's Liquid Cement to thin it.

The bondo is much better than the white or the green.

I currently either use Aves or bondo to fill with, then finish up with Mr. Surfacer 500 or Mr. Dissolved putty.

I was going to try using Bondo but then I noticed it was a two-part system. Right next to it in the auto parts store was this stuff...

http://www.uschem.com/index.cfm?page=productDetail&id=63&pid=1

$8.00 for a 1 lb tube vs. $4.00 for a 2 oz tube of Squadron. Comparatively speaking, that makes Squadron $32.00 a pound!

That's great, but the 1lb tube will likely be hard and no good once you get about 1/4 of the way into it, depending on how many models you make, and how much you use.

Like getting 5 gallons of milk direct from the cow, vs buying a gallon of milk from the store. Sure....probably cost you less per gallon from the farmer that has the cow....but if 3 gallons of it spoils before you can use it....are you really saving any money?

 

[Grendels]

Can you define 'too long', Grendels? I usually tend to let my putty work cure for 24 hours before sanding it down.

More than 24 hours and it will be harder than the plastic. I usually let my putty work cure for 24 hours as well. Especially if I am using Aves.

 

[NecronautDrummer]

How about a 4-5 hour window for letting the Aves cure? Can it be sanded then? Say, between getting home from work and going to bed for the night?

 

[Ziz]

The trick with the white is to thin it first with acetone based finger nail polish remover. Then it will stick just fine. It is also much easier to work with.

I do that with the green too but I use Testor's Liquid Cement to thin it.

The bondo is much better than the white or the green.

I currently either use Aves or bondo to fill with, then finish up with Mr. Surfacer 500 or Mr. Dissolved putty.

I was going to try using Bondo but then I noticed it was a two-part system. Right next to it in the auto parts store was this stuff...

http://www.uschem.com/index.cfm?page=productDetail&id=63&pid=1

$8.00 for a 1 lb tube vs. $4.00 for a 2 oz tube of Squadron. Comparatively speaking, that makes Squadron $32.00 a pound!

That's great, but the 1lb tube will likely be hard and no good once you get about 1/4 of the way into it, depending on how many models you make, and how much you use.

Like getting 5 gallons of milk direct from the cow, vs buying a gallon of milk from the store. Sure....probably cost you less per gallon from the farmer that has the cow....but if 3 gallons of it spoils before you can use it....are you really saving any money?

I've got a lot of conversion parts on my "to do" list - last count is well over 100 - so I'll be using it more or less every day for a good long while.

 

[Grendels]

How about a 4-5 hour window for letting the Aves cure? Can it be sanded then? Say, between getting home from work and going to bed for the night?

I don't know, I have never tried that. I usually let it sit overnight. One thing to try really soon!

 

[the Baron]

How about a 4-5 hour window for letting the Aves cure? Can it be sanded then? Say, between getting home from work and going to bed for the night?

I don't know, I have never tried that. I usually let it sit overnight. One thing to try really soon!

That reminded me of the old Tootsie-Roll Tootsie Pop commercial from the 70s

 

[Grendels]

The difference here is that we are trying to avoid the gooey center.....