Body Fillers and Putty

[Brock.Chance]

What do you guys use? Can you use regular automotive Bondo?

[DrGlueblob]

Yep. Bondo, Tamiya Putty, Squadron, Milliput,, Evercoat Euro-Coat (my favorite), Liquid Sprue, All of these and more..

[crazyjim]

I use the 2 part Bondo for large areas and Squadron white or green for small areas. Sometimes I use CA glue with a dash of baking soda.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Automotive "bondo" in the big cans is fine, but it's sometimes a little coarse-grained for model work, depending on the brand. Two-part glazing putty is the same thing chemically as "bondo"...polyester resin and inert fillers...but it's finer-grained and works better for models...usually. The two-part Bondo Professional putty recommended by Jim is VERY good and comes in small, modeler-friendly containers. It's available at most decent car parts stores and big-box joints that have a car section.

It works well for thick fill work on customs as well as for fixing minor surface problems, because it's VERY fine grained...much finer-grained than many competing products made for real cars. It exhibits very low shrinkage too.

THIS IS 2-PART PUTTY:

The "Squadron" white and green Jim mentions are ONE-PART fillers, essentially lacquer primer in paste form, very similar to the ONE-PART Bondo glazing putty. They work well for filling very minor imperfections, but shrink perceptibly as they dry. Some folks seem to have no problem with them in thick applications, but to get lasting, quality results, I've always needed to apply them in thin coats and let them dry thoroughly in between. It's just too much bother for me.

My personal favorite for large areas on major custom work is West Epoxy and microballoon. It sticks better than anything else, weighs almost nothing (we use it on high-performance sport airplanes for that reason), sands exceptionally well and it has ZERO shrinkage.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[65slotcar]

i'm a auto body tech by trade. i would not use 1 part glaze putty. it will shrink. i use evercoat brand glazing putty 2 part , you add a hardener. will not shink and easy to

sand.

Bill

[om617]

I use Tamiya basic putty and i`m not to pleased with it. It shrink/sink. Also i feel like it does not stick

good enough. So when sanding,small parts might brake off,and i have to try it all over again.

This said,maby i`m doing somthing wrong.

[astroracer]

You're not doing anything wrong other then using the wrong stuff to do body work... Google "USC ICING". This is what I recommend for anyone doing any kind of body work on styrene or resin. It is a two part polyester filler and it will not shrink. It goes on very smooth, sets up quickly and is easy to sand. It sands similar to resin.

I use it exclusively. I did a '56 Chevy conversion on an AMT '55 and used the ICING for all of the body work. ZERO shrinkage on any of it over the three year conversion time.

It can be purchased at any automotive paint shop.

Mark

[Ace-Garageguy]

@astroracer Mark...I've been in the 1:1 biz for more than 40 years, and I used to recommend Icing exclusively. It's by far the best product I've used on 1:1 projects and it works well for models.

Problem is that the smallest tube is well over $20 now, and it WILL go hard before it's used up unless you build a LOT of models.

The TWO-PART BONDO GLAZING PUTTY I referenced above is chemically identical to the Icing product, has the same advantages, and is actually finer-grained than even Icing. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it.

And IT COMES IN SMALL PACKS SUITABLE FOR MODELERS NEEDS.

[Mike Kucaba]

And it is a 3M product.

[PappyD340]

I like the Evercoat 2 part glazing putty as well, great product, a bit pricey but worth the cost!!

[astroracer]

I don't believe I was knocking anything... Just stating what I know. I have never used the Bondo Glazing Putty because, like you said, I have a HUGE tube of the ICING and it works very well.

I will have to pick up the Bondo brand and give it a try.

Mark

[Ace-Garageguy]

I will have to pick up the Bondo brand and give it a try.

Mark

I think you'll like it once you work with it a little.

Just a heads-up though...besides being finer-grained than even Icing, it's somewhat 'runnier', which can make it a little tricky to do large fills on vertical surfaces with. But by virtue of being a little on the soupy side, it also self-levels better than even fresh Icing.

For 1:1 work, I've found its thinner consistency to be helpful to have on the shelf along with icing, as it works exceptionally well for filling very small imperfections quickly.

I like the Evercoat 2 part glazing putty as well, great product, a bit pricey but worth the cost!!

The Evercoat is another excellent product, in my experience, and was my favorite of all of the 2-parters out there before I tried the USC Icing.

Edited February 24, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[DrGlueblob]

I just came into possession of a can of USC "Feather-Rite".. Anyone used this? It's a two-part formula.

[jaymcminn]

I used to love the Evercoat, but it costs a fortune and I never, even when I was building customs and using what I thought was a lot of it, came even close to using a whole container before it went bad. The Bondo 2-part glazing putty is a lifesaver and works fantastically well. There's a learning curve due to the thinness of the putty (multiple coats are often necessary) but it works better than anything else I've tried. I don't think it's any cheaper on a per-ounce basis than the Evercoat, but in the quantities most modelers need it makes more sense.

[ZTony8]

You guys may laugh(or cringe) but for filling voids in resin I use good old Testors model putty.I've got some 1/43 builds from 10+ years ago that haven't shrunk or popped.The stuff even smells like those resin bodies.

Lately I've been using Tamiya putty for my plastic projects.It dries hard and sands well.No problems with shrinkage so far.

Edited February 25, 2014 by ZTony8

[greymack]

Hey guys well here is what I use mostly napa pro body putty which is 2 part for doing heavy filling and bondo glazy putty for minor imperfection,final body work.These 2 products work together great.

[JohnU]

Do you prime first or apply directly to the plastic anytime filler is used?

[crazyjim]

I prime first.

[JohnU]

Thanks. I thought so but needed to check!