Silly putty

[majel]

Can silly putty be used over a painted surface as a making agent, or will the putty pull the paint off with it? I'm going to be putting it on tamiya acrylic flat black.

[Quick GMC]

I have tried it but it just Falls off. It doesn't stick to anything

[Foxer]

I have tried it but it just Falls off. It doesn't stick to anything

I've had the same experience, which is silly! Seems tough do be doing something wrong with this ..

[astroracer]

Ahh, guys.... Silly Putty is full of silicone. It is made with a silicone oil. Silicone is something you do NOT want to get on a surface you are going to paint. Silicone will cause fisheyes and all other sorts of issues with a paint job.... This is Not a good idea.

Mark

[Nacho Z]

I will give you my experience. You will have to decide if it is worth the risk. I would suggest you test it on a spare body. I have read of others using Silly Putty. Appears to be somewhat popular with the military folks. I was at a dollar store and found a pack of knock-off Silly Putty. I have no idea of the brand. I used it on vents on a race car. I placed it on the unprimed, unpainted outside of the body shell to keep the flat black that I was painting on the inside from coming through. There was also a crazy shaped hole for venting that I had no idea how to mask. I had absolutely no problems with the knock-off Silly Putty sticking nor did I have trouble with final paint. I will tell you that I wash my models throughout the sanding and painting process. I would not discount what other have said, maybe I was just lucky. I will say that I have used this putty on multiple models with no problems.

I hope this helps you. Good luck and let us know what you did and how it turned out. You may be a big help to the next guy!

Edited March 12, 2014 by Nacho Z

[astroracer]

I would be interested to see what the ingredients are for your "knock-off" Silly Putty. I know the real one uses a silicone oil mixed with the borax.

Washing will help but this is the last thing I would use to mask off a paint job. Painting full size cars in my shop, any silicone product is banned from the area. Washing the parts with hot water and TSP will neutralize the silicone but this is something I would never consider or condone as a masking solution.

Mark

[RatRod]

Ask Bob Downie, he uses it a lot, and very talently too.

[Quick GMC]

A lot of the sports car modelers use it to mask the half engines that come in the new kits. It's fine to use if you clean up properly. It just hasn't worked all that well for me

[Nacho Z]

Hey Astroracer, I checked the "egg" that this stuff comes in. Nothing. The packaging is long gone so I can't look at that. I doubt it had any ingredients listed on it. Probably said "Made in China" .

And again for Majel, I would test this first before I used it on my model.

[Roncla]

I've always just used Bostik Blu Tack as a masking agent. Never had an issue.

Its popular amongst the Military and Aircraft boys.

It always pays to test these things on a spoon first before commiting to the model.

[Kit Basher]

I've used the name brand "Silly Putty" several times for masking, with good results. It sticks fine to bare plastic and paint, and leaves no noticeable residue. I usually paint with enamels, which are less sensitive to silicone than lacquers, so lacquers might be a problem. Just my experience...