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Using Acrylic Fingernail filler for bodywork


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Jason, I tried the Micro Balloons & Superglue filler before finding this one, and the fact that this stuff strengthens joints was the big selling point for me, along with it's ability to hold an edge beautifully.

And Jim's right about the smell, it's awful, make sure you've got some good ventilation when you use this stuff. :)

Thanks Roger, I just hope it helps some of you guys to complete some of those "old" projects we all seem to have laying around!

Edited by Mike S.
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  • 9 months later...

Mike, I used some of the acrylic powder recently. Bought a kit @ Wally World. You're right about the smell. Even outside I had to use a mask.

I even molded a chassis and 'Vette axle mount together. Failed tho due too plastic plate I had set it on.Did not use the coloring, tho I will to help see things.Very good tutorial. Keep up the good work.

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Mike, I used some of the acrylic powder recently. Bought a kit @ Wally World. You're right about the smell. Even outside I had to use a mask.

I even molded a chassis and 'Vette axle mount together. Failed tho due too plastic plate I had set it on.Did not use the coloring, tho I will to help see things.Very good tutorial. Keep up the good work.

Randy, the food coloring is a very important part. As I'm sure you found out, this stuff is very hard to see without some kind of coloring added. And heed what Randy said, get yourself some ventilation or one heck of a respirator, this stuff is smelly!

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This is very interesting. Your presentation is very clear and well illustrated.

I had a few parts I've made the molds for (squish cast RTV silicone for logos and door handles) and have only some old resin to cast them. This sounds like a good thing to try this material on and I have some in the mail coming. :rolleyes:

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Mike, I used some of the acrylic powder recently. Bought a kit @ Wally World. You're right about the smell. Even outside I had to use a mask.

I even molded a chassis and 'Vette axle mount together. Failed tho due too plastic plate I had set it on.Did not use the coloring, tho I will to help see things.Very good tutorial. Keep up the good work.

Hey, Randy!

What is the WallyWorld product ... name ... series ... appearance of the package? I want to go check it out & WW is a lot closer than Sally. Besides, my wife gets suspicious when she asks where I've been and I tell her 'I spent some time at Sally's place today.'

Mike! Big shout out for this excellent tutorial and for opening up another new area of modeling exploration! Thanks!

:)

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Hey, Randy!

What is the WallyWorld product ... name ... series ... appearance of the package? I want to go check it out & WW is a lot closer than Sally. Besides, my wife gets suspicious when she asks where I've been and I tell her 'I spent some time at Sally's place today.'

Mike! Big shout out for this excellent tutorial and for opening up another new area of modeling exploration! Thanks!

:D

No problem Dan, I'm glad people are willing to try it. Now as far as Wally World, I'm not sure if this is the one or not, but there's a kit with the brand name of "Kiss" I seem to remember seeing there at one time. It's about a 4"x6" package in a clear blister pack. If you look around the area where the nail polishes and fake fingernails are, you'll stumble across it. It's a small amount, but it'll let you see if it's something you want to use or not. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Edited by Custom Mike
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No problem Dan, I'm glad people are willing to try it. Now as far as Wally World, I'm not sure if this is the one or not, but there's a kit with the brand name of "Kiss" I seem to remember seeing there at one time. It's about a 4"x6" package in a clear blister pack. If you look around the area where the nail polishes and fake fingernails are, you'll stumble across it. It's a small amount, but it'll let you see if it's something you want to use or not. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Thanks!!

;)

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Hey, Randy!

What is the WallyWorld product ... name ... series ... appearance of the package? I want to go check it out & WW is a lot closer than Sally. Besides, my wife gets suspicious when she asks where I've been and I tell her 'I spent some time at Sally's place today.'

Mike! Big shout out for this excellent tutorial and for opening up another new area of modeling exploration! Thanks!

:rolleyes:

Danno. The brand is KISS. On the nail glue bottle it is white cursive lettering on a red background. It is made by Kiss Products of Port Washington, NY. Might be able to Google it for good pix. If I remember well it was in a clear plastic bubble pack with cardboard liner. I recently moved my hobby area to another room and haven't unpacked all yet. It cost around $8.00 i think.

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I got the stuff and tried molding a few small parts. I had to buy the Beauty Secrets liquid as the one pictured on the first page wasn't available. I did add some green dye but it didn't seem to do much . the parts came out as white as the powder. White is good, but I did add more coloring for the next time. The molds I had squish cast using RTV Silicon casting putty. The nails material did not stick to it at all .. nice. I did have a couple plastic stops on the GMC logo mold which it did stick to. Have to use some Vaseline next time. The parts are difficult to make out but will paint to see how they are. There are some door handles and a GMC logo off a front grill. So far they look good, but paint will tell how good the finish is.

I did this using a brush same as the body filler tutorial here and pushed the material into the molds with a flat spatula.

GMClogoDSC_8013.jpg

Edited by Foxer
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Mike you've got to post pics once you clean those parts up, I really want to see how good it works. And the Beauty Secrets liquid is what I normally use, but I ran out and had to buy the OrigiNails stuff. As far as the tinting, the McCormick Neon stuff works the best so far, the Purple is my personal favorite. Now hurry up and get that stuff cleaned up!

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  • 1 month later...

Mike, great tutorial I bought the stuff after seeing it used in your momad. What is the best way to build it up to do custom fender flares or larger apllications? Hoping to find a way to use it instead of balsa wood which I always break.

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Mike you've got to post pics once you clean those parts up, I really want to see how good it works. And the Beauty Secrets liquid is what I normally use, but I ran out and had to buy the OrigiNails stuff. As far as the tinting, the McCormick Neon stuff works the best so far, the Purple is my personal favorite. Now hurry up and get that stuff cleaned up!

I came to the conclusion that for very small parts the powder gave it too much texture. I expected the powder to dissolve in the liquid but it acted more like a fine sand. I can see this is no problem when using as a filler that you would be sanding anyway.

Edited by Foxer
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I came to the conclusion that for very small parts the powder gave it too much texture. I expected the powder to dissolve in the liquid but it acted more like a fine sand. I can see this is no problem when using as a filler that you would be sanding anyway.


I kind of figured it would be rough, but at least now we know. Thanks for giving it a shot anyway Mike!



Mike, great tutorial I bought the stuff after seeing it used in your momad. What is the best way to build it up to do custom fender flares or larger apllications? Hoping to find a way to use it instead of balsa wood which I always break.


Kyle, there are two ways to build something up using this filler. One is the method I used on the Momad to fill in the backside of the wheel arches on the Magnum body, and the other is applying it straight to the area you want to build up. On my Concept Charger, I added a rear spoiler made entirely of this filler. I placed a piece of tape on the trunk (Since I wanted the spoiler to look like a separate piece, I made it removable) and laid the filler on it until I had the rough size and shape I wanted. If you were doing wheel flares, you could just lay down some filler where you wanted it on the plastic. Lay down some filler, and let the first application cure (About 15 minutes if it's not too thick) and apply some more, building it up until it was slightly larger than what you wanted. If it's a thick application, let it harden overnight, then start shaping and sanding it. Here's a few pics of the Charger's spoiler being made, the only limit with this stuff for body work seems to be your imagination!


The filler built up into the rough shape of a spoiler, this took 3 applications to get the thickness I wanted...
ConceptCharger0366-vi.jpg


After a little rough shaping.....

ConceptCharger0368-vi.jpg


The final shape prior to fine/finish sanding...
ConceptCharger0369-vi.jpg


And a shot of it off the car, it's not completed in this pic, but you get the point. From here, it was finished off, then super-glued to the trunk. I cut the ends off and attached them to the quarter panels, making a 3-piece spoiler completely from Acrylic Filler!
ConceptCharger0370-vi.jpg


And the completed model, with the spoiler in place!
ConceptCharger010-vi.jpg

Edited by Custom Mike
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Here is a picture of a hubcap that I copied using this stuff. Can you tell which one is the copy and which one is the original?

DSC03666.jpg

I use this stuff for making all kinds of small parts. I'm really sold on it fer sure. Dan

Dan, spill it, I can't see a difference. How did you get past the grainy texture that Mike had when he cast his stuff? Both of those hubcaps look like kits parts, I want to know how you pulled it off myself!

Edited by Custom Mike
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Well Mike, I used the product from Sally's beauty supply store and I used Alumilite molding material for the mold. It is very smooth after it cures. I then pored in the liquid and then the powder. After it cured it was just as smooth as the mold. I myself can't tell which one is the original and which is the copy from the picture cause I forget and the only way I can find out is to take them off the car and look. :)

They both are sprayed with Alclad. The original had its chrome worn off so it had to be redone also. Dan

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