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Smoothing Tamiya white putty


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Howdy folks!

 

Can Tamiya white putty be smoothed after it has cured like the way Perfect Plastic Putty can?  I'm working on a Monogram F-4C/D Phantom and I had a small gap at the wing roots (both sides).  On the port wing, I applied it nicely and I smoothed it out while it was still wet and life is good.  On the starboard side, however, I didn't do as good a job and the putty ended up kind of rough.  If I put mineral spirits on something like a Q-Tip, will that "re-wet" the putty so it can be smoothed out or am I just doomed to break out the sandpaper at this point?

 

Thanks!

 

Eric

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Once its dry, sandpaper is the only option. Can be smoothed while still "wet" with lacquer thinner. Use Tamiya or Mr Color. They are not as hot as regular hardware store lacquer thinner and won't attack the plastic.

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While lacquer thinner (I use Mr Color thinner, not the levelling version) works best before the putty sets, you can smooth it some with repeated applications, one it has dried. However unless there are details you are afraid of losing if you sand, sanding will definitely be the quicker option once it has dried.

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I regularly smooth it once dry with nail varnish remover (containing acetone) and a Q-tip. It takes a minute to become wet again and off you go, no need to risk the surrounding details with sanding paper 🙂

 

Arnaud

Edited by arnobiz
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I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for the tips and insight.  Last night I took a Q-Tip and some nail varnish remover and smoothed out the Tamiya white putty on my Phantom's wing root.  Worked like a charm!  That 90° angle where the wing meets the fuselage would have been a little challenge to sand without losing a bunch of detail.

 

Thanks again!

 

Eric

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As noted above, Mr Thinner works perfectly to smooth Tamiya putty while wet as well as once dried (though more patience is required when dried). Mr Thinner won't damage the plastic, so there's no worry about damage to nearby details.

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dnl42, I really need to get my hands on some of those "Mr." products.  Here in Green Bay, we used to have a real mom-n-pop hobby shop that carried several of their products.  I tried one or two of them (can't remember exactly which ones at the moment) and all I can remember is how impressed I was with them.  The stored closed several years ago and now, if I want any of the Mr. products, I need to get them online.  Time for me to pull that trigger.

 

Eric

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  • 2 weeks later...

The preferred method for gaps is use of tenax 7 or similar with plastic slim rods or styrene strip that previous in dry fit you Mark with marker areas with gaps be gentle tenax melt styrene strip but can melt model also in past people stick styrene in gaps with liquid model glue carefully to inside Seeam not Contac with exterior model in extreme cases Tamiya gap filer liquid but is better work with styrene rods along line of seem and dry fit until tenax or light Testors or Tamiya thin glue and melts styrene then Sand only excess of plastic that will come out.always use a primer to find real small gap that can be filled with mr. surface or tamilla light surfacer

Edited by velosirraptor1
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