# what putty to use



## woof359 (Apr 27, 2003)

I was at the LHS and always wondered if I was using the correct putey to fill in gaps and seams, I see a lot of folk sing RED in videos and I buy a lot of auto glazing cause its so much cheaper , even if the tube goes rock solid before I use it up. green, white, red, what a fellow to buy ?:hat:


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## Model Man (Oct 1, 2007)

Aves Apoxie
Squadron White
Squadron Green
Tamiya Putty
3m Bondo Glazing putty
Melted styrene in Acetone.
Super glue and baking soda

Each is good for a particular purpose and terrible for another purpose. The right tool for the right job is what it comes down to, (but there will always be times when you need a flathead screwdriver but only have a butter knife, ya know what I mean?).

IMO:
Squad white is great as a generic filler, but it's chemically hot and a wad of it will melt your model. Tamiya cakes up fast, so you can't slather it much. Bondo glazing putty goes not quite as fast as Tamiya with similar results. Aves has a good working time, but can't easily be smeared thin like hte previous two. Melted styrene has a good working time, is fun to play with and by melting a sprue of the model kit itself, will match the plastic exactly. But I'm sure there are particular conditions for that too. Superglue and baking soda works great but you must sand it immediately before it turns rock hard, and you must be careful applying it lest it get all over the place.

I forgot to mention 'Green Stuff' out of Canada. Haven't tried it, but looks similar to Aves. 

And that is not to discount caulk, mud, spackle and other housing materials!

You can bet there are others out there and I look forward to hearing about them and trying them out down the road when I can.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

J B Weld is a good "2 parter" to use.:thumbsup:
-Jim


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

JGG1701 said:


> J B Weld is a good "2 parter" to use.:thumbsup:
> -Jim


But don't get it anywhere near magnets (and don't ask me how I know that) :drunk:


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

JGG1701 said:


> J B Weld is a good "2 parter" to use.:thumbsup:
> -Jim


Is JB Weld a modable putty or is it a liquid, albeit thick, epoxy? The only JB Weld's I've used were thick liquid epoxies. I also build rockets and I put a fillet of epoxy, although not JB Weld, at each fin to body tube joint and then smooth it with my finger before it cures. I could see using a liquid epoxy in a putty type application if the place you were filling was rather large and was completely contained. Otherwise using an epoxy as a putty doesn't seem to practical.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

I've been using Squadron green and 3M glazing putty, both with good results, but with similar drawbacks. I don't build a lot, and what I do build usually doesn't need much putty. The end result of that is the tubes sit around and get hard LONG before I use a substantial amount. I need to find something I can use just what I need without worrying about the rest drying up. The trick of grinding up old sprue into some lacquer thinner I figured out on my own years ago, and it works well for styrene obviously, but not for the resin or vinyl that I normally work with. JB is too hard to sand (literally and figuratively), Aves I've heard of but haven't seen it anywhere locally, in the LHS or Hobby Lobby. I could buy it online I suppose, but hate to spend the extra money on that. The one issue I've found with the super glue/baking soda mix is as stated, you have to be quick about it. If it gets hard, when you try to sand it, the surrounding areas being softer material will sand more readily and you get an uneven surface, which pretty well defeats the purpose.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

rkoenn said:


> Otherwise using an epoxy as a putty doesn't seem to practical.



Lets just say I used it to help fill my seams on my Enterprise Cutaway.
And it worked fairly well for me.
-Jim


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## ryoga (Oct 6, 2009)

I use to use all these

Squadron White
Squadron Green
Tamiya Putty

Until I discovered Aves. Really wonderful stuff for kits but don't put out too much of it if you're just filling seams and gaps. Just a little of compound A and B mixed together is more than enough. I just apply a little bit of water to get her to work easier, and some metal sculpting tools as applicators. When dry, she's just like plastic. I use Aves to add weight on my kits as well (esp on planes where they tend to tip at the rear when completed) with no side effects to the plastic. Try that with Tamiya Putty :drunk: Ugh!!!

I still have a few tubes of Squadron and Tamiya putty left in my drawer .. untouched for over 2 years now ...


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## armymedic80 (Aug 11, 2010)

Squadron putty in green and white for vinyl and plastic. White for lighter colors and green for darker colors. I've had my tubes for years and are still good and have not dried up. Similarly, the old testors putty is pretty good too for plastic, but I have not see the testors putty in any hobby stores for years.


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

I just bought two tubes of Tamiya Polyester Putty-Basic Type from Great Models Webstore. Had it on my wishlist and had to wait 3 months until they got it in. My exisitng tube is over 5 years old and is drying out inside the tube. None of my local hobby stores have had it in stock for years. It's not an epoxy putty like AVES but, in my opinion, it's the best stuff for smoothing on with a spatula tool for filling in surface imperfections.
It sands well and dries fast too. Cleans up with lacquer thinner.


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## woof359 (Apr 27, 2003)

armymedic80 said:


> Squadron putty in green and white for vinyl and plastic. White for lighter colors and green for darker colors. I've had my tubes for years and are still good and have not dried up. Similarly, the old testors putty is pretty good too for plastic, but I have not see the testors putty in any hobby stores for years.



ahhhhhhhhhhh, i wondered what the diff wasn between white and green.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

armymedic80 said:


> Squadron putty in green and white...I've had my tubes for years and are still good and have not dried up...


How do you store them? I keep mine in my modeling toolbox in the basement, the cap is on as tight as I can get it, and the first bit inside the tube neck still dries rock hard in a few days/week. I have to dig it out with something very sturdy (X-acto knife or similar tool) to get the hard plug out then squeeze it to death to get anything useable. Even that is semi hard down the first 1/4 inch or so in the tube itself, definitely not the 'toothpaste' it was when new (8 months ago?).


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

Squadron white/green shrinks so it's a real pain when you want a nice flush job. I've found the tamiya stuff doesn't do that. 
Mr surfacer is hard to find but the 500 that comes in a jar is great stuff!


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## armymedic80 (Aug 11, 2010)

Disco58 said:


> How do you store them? I keep mine in my modeling toolbox in the basement, the cap is on as tight as I can get it, and the first bit inside the tube neck still dries rock hard in a few days/week. I have to dig it out with something very sturdy (X-acto knife or similar tool) to get the hard plug out then squeeze it to death to get anything useable. Even that is semi hard down the first 1/4 inch or so in the tube itself, definitely not the 'toothpaste' it was when new (8 months ago?).


I just keep them in a shoebox container in a cool comfortable spot at room temperature. I guess I've been lucky cause mine hasn't dried up at all. Goes on like toothpaste everytime. This is the only thing that I have that hasn't dried up cause the CA for plastic models always dries up after a year or so.


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## Disco58 (Apr 10, 2011)

Ok, today is Tuesday, almost 1300. I used some of the Squadron green Sunday evening, 2100 or so. In reading this today it got me wondering so I popped down to the basement to check. It's not "hard" yet, but it's definitely starting to form a crust in the tube neck. That's what, 39 hours?! I can only imagine what it will be like by Thursday or the weekend. The cap is on squarely, it's seated all the way down and tight. A couple weeks ago I tried squirting some into a tiny glass jar (with a known good lid and seal), put in a bit of lacquer thinner to liquify it more, and it was rock solid this past weekend. I threw it away because I couldn't even dig it out. I think I need to find some Aves.


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## Ace Airspeed (May 16, 2010)

I use 3M Acryl Blue with great results. I have a 25 year old tube of it - built tons of models with it and it's still going strong. I just make sure I put the cap on securely when I'm done.


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