Squadron Putty a No-No?

[sigfan]

Hi, all.

Me again. I just bought some Squadron White Putty from HobbyTown, and while looking around at a few sites on my lunch hour, I have seen a lot of people hate it and would not recommend it. Is that the case on this site too?

I haven't opened the package yet, so if somebody had a suggestion for a better product, I could take it back.

I have heard about a Bondo putty/filler (glazing?) in a tube that would work well. As I am just starting out and nowhere near a show-class builder, I do not need to use the premium ($$) fillers mentioned elsewhere on the site.

Again, any help would be appreciated!

sigfan

[Dino Scuderia]

Any one part putty is a no-no.

The main reason it is is always going to keep shrinking.

Two part putty is best because it 'kicks' when mixed and is going to shrink hardly any.

3M Bondo which you can get at about any auto part store works well.

Just make sure what you get has the tube of putty and a small tube of catalyst.

[Zoom Zoom]

2 part catalyzed putty is easy to get now; a small tube of Bondo Professional Glazing & Spot putty is about $7 at Pep Boys and well worth the investment. You only need to use a small amount of the catalyst, just enough to change the color. It will be ready to sand in about 15 to 20 minutes. I can't stand the old-style Squadron or Testors or any of the air-dry products for models.

[BRE350Z]

Two part is definitely the way to go.

Wayne

[BobC]

Two part is definitely the way to go.

Wayne

Agreed, but they will stick much better to primer than the bare styrene.

[sigfan]

OK. I bought the 2-part Bondo Professional Glazing and Spot Putty, but I did not pick up any primer. I'm a little uncertain on this point -- do I need to shoot the body with primer before I use the putty, or is that not really necessary for using putty in small areas? The tube says there is a 5-minute working time -- nothing like a little pressure! (The instructions say to use a 1-inch diameter blob of glazing and a 1-inch strip of hardener. Is that the "recipe" you would suggest, or is there a ratio for model cars?)

Also, in a separate post, someone said they used auto primer on their models and it doesn't seem to etch the plastic. Is that a risk? Should I only use model primer to be safe?

Finally, I will be doing a resin conversion on this car. What would you suggest I do in terms of the Bondo work? It will be a while before I even receive the conversion kit. Is there any harm in doing the Bondo work and then doing the resin stuff? Or does everything need to be done together in order for things to turn out properly? (I don't use Bondo with resin, anyway, do I? )

In the end, it may be easier for me to just pay one of you to do this. I'm more of an out-of-the-box man, I guess! ;)

Again, thanks for the help and good suggestions!

sigfan

[Dino Scuderia]

OK. I bought the 2-part Bondo Professional Glazing and Spot Putty, but I did not pick up any primer. I'm a little uncertain on this point -- do I need to shoot the body with primer before I use the putty, or is that not really necessary for using putty in small areas? The tube says there is a 5-minute working time -- nothing like a little pressure! (The instructions say to use a 1-inch diameter blob of glazing and a 1-inch strip of hardener. Is that the "recipe" you would suggest, or is there a ratio for model cars?)

Also, in a separate post, someone said they used auto primer on their models and it doesn't seem to etch the plastic. Is that a risk? Should I only use model primer to be safe?

Finally, I will be doing a resin conversion on this car. What would you suggest I do in terms of the Bondo work? It will be a while before I even receive the conversion kit. Is there any harm in doing the Bondo work and then doing the resin stuff? Or does everything need to be done together in order for things to turn out properly? (I don't use Bondo with resin, anyway, do I? )

In the end, it may be easier for me to just pay one of you to do this. I'm more of an out-of-the-box man, I guess! ;)

Again, thanks for the help and good suggestions!

sigfan

Keep in mind the suggestions for mixing on the bondo is for a 1:1 car.

To give you an idea I mix the bondo 99% of the time with a toothpick.

I use the plastic bags the model parts come in for a mixing surface. I put a dollop of putty about the size of the cap on the tube on it and a dollop of catalyst less than half that size.

You only need enough catalyst in it generally to change the color of the putty. For example, If the putty is white and the catalyst is red then with the proper ratio the putty will be a very light pink.

You don't need to mix all the putty you dispense at one time...just scoop a bit of it and mix/apply then repeat for the next area to be filled.

This way you won't be wasting it and trying to work fast to stay ahead of the putty kicking.

You don't have to do everything at the same time.

Primer won't hurt plastic, it isn't like spraying straight lacquer paint on bare plastic. I prefer Plastikote T-235 but it's getting hard to find.....so Tamiya primer or Dupli-color...any of it will work....except stay away from Testors primer.

[BobC]

In case you don't know it - solvent type styrene cements won't work on resin. When bonding resin to styrene or resin to resin use CA (Super Glue) or epoxy.