James Maynard Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 What is something good to use for a body filler. I need something that can make all of the fifth wheels on my semi trucks smooth and get rid of all of the dips and ridges in them. I want them to look smooth like they do on real semi trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youpey Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 i like vallejo putty https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PHCNLC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kromolly Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 I'm happy with this 2-part I got at NAPA. It sands nicely and I haven't noticed any shrinkage. I don't have a painted, finished product yet though to monitor for long term shrinkage. I've used Evercoat Eurosoft in the past and was very happy with that product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 Any two part filler should not shrink, as it cures by the chemical action of the two parts being combined. Many other putties are at their essence extremely unthinned primer. Those cure by the evaporation of the small amount of solvent in them (compared to primers) so naturally those will shrink as they cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick L Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 I also like Evercoat ultra smooth glazing putty. It’s not cheap but it works well and doesn’t shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plowboy Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 I like Tamiya Gray Putty. It works well for filling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cole Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) On 3/20/2021 at 3:50 PM, Mark said: Any two part filler should not shrink, as it cures by the chemical action of the two parts being combined. Many other putties are at their essence extremely unthinned primer. Those cure by the evaporation of the small amount of solvent in them (compared to primers) so naturally those will shrink as they cure. X2. A 2-part putty is the best way to go. One part filler, one part hardener. Use equal parts, NOT equal amounts. The tube of hardener is smaller then the tube of putty, so your equal parts won't look equal. Edited March 22, 2021 by Jon Cole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnU Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 4 hours ago, Jon Cole said: X2. A 2-part putty is the best way to go. One part filler, one part hardener. Use equal parts, NOT equal amounts. The tube of hardener is smaller then the tube of putty, so your equal parts won't look equal. Wow! I would have gotten that confused pretty quick! Would not have expected equal parts not to be equal amounts! Thanks for the heads up! What kind of a mess would that have made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 It is really not that complicated. You can clearly see that the hardener comes in a smaller size tube, so it would make no sense to dispense a full (smaller) tube of hardener, to a partial tube of putty (to get equal amounts of each). What Jon meant was to dispense equal percentage of each tube. So 1/3 tube of hardener and 1/3 tube of putty. If you read the actual instructions, it gives you more info about the mixing ratio. It is really not difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kromolly Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 For the small amount of filler I mix at a time I'm using about a dime-size dollop of putty and a pencil lead size helping of hardener. It doesn't take much. Like Peteski said, the hardener is in a smaller tube so you get an idea of the proportion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnU Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 10 hours ago, peteski said: It is really not that complicated. You can clearly see that the hardener comes in a smaller size tube, so it would make no sense to dispense a full (smaller) tube of hardener, to a partial tube of putty (to get equal amounts of each). What Jon meant was to dispense equal percentage of each tube. So 1/3 tube of hardener and 1/3 tube of putty. If you read the actual instructions, it gives you more info about the mixing ratio. It is really not difficult. Well now, percentage makes more sense and clears the confusion for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted Black Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 On 3/20/2021 at 2:47 PM, James Maynard said: What is something good to use for a body filler. I need something that can make all of the fifth wheels on my semi trucks smooth and get rid of all of the dips and ridges in them. I want them to look smooth like they do on real semi trucks. Instead of putty, why not glue a piece of thin styrene to the part and then shape to match? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 26 minutes ago, Painted Black said: Instead of putty, why not glue a piece of thin styrene to the part and then shape to match? I don't think anyone is promoting the use of putty to fill whopping huge holes or gaps, just smoothing the transitions from the as-manufactured part into the modified area. It's just the way I do things (not speaking for anyone else) but I do use styrene to fill the huge voids, then rout out slightly the area between, then use epoxy putty to smooth out the transition. Two-part filler is used to finish the area to a greater degree. I generally only use one-part putty for final finishing, filling ejector pin marks, and other minute flaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted Black Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 (edited) Sorry, my bad!! Didn't say anyone was "promoting putty" just offering a different solution... Edited March 23, 2021 by Painted Black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted Black Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 On 3/20/2021 at 2:47 PM, James Maynard said: . I want them to look smooth like they do on real semi trucks. I've not seen a smooth one on real semi's, can you post an image of one? I searched and could not find any, I did see covers made for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Maynard Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 They look smooth after they have the grease on them. I know they have the ridges and grooves in them under the grease. But some really old ones are worn smooth over time. I'm going to make some of my older trucks look worn and rusty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 43 minutes ago, Painted Black said: Sorry, my bad!! Didn't say anyone was "promoting putty" just offering a different solution... No problem...with me anyway, I've seldom been able to just join two parts together without having issues with the seam. I've sometimes joined panels together at the panel line itself, but more often than not the join is somewhere that shouldn't look like there is one...for that, there is the filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painted Black Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Sounds good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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