Tamiya putty and primer

[majel]

I am using Tamiya white putty to fill in locator holes and the hood blower opening cut outs on an AMT nomad. After several costs of putty and sanding I was ready for primer. I used Tamiya fine sandable primer in three mist coats only to find that the putty had lifted or expanded causing me to sand down the putty. I am now ready to prime again but am kind of leery of using the Tamiya primer. Was this lifting a fluke or is it normal, and has anyone else experienced this. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Edited May 23, 2014 by majel

[High octane]

I haven't used Tamiya putty as yet, as I'm currently using Bondo and it seems to work well with Tamiya primer.

[Speedfreak]

Jim, I just looked at my tube of Tamiya white putty. I can't imagine there being a problem using their primer since on the white putty tube instructions it says you can 'dilute' the putty with Tamiya lacquer thinner and I'm pretty sure their primer is lacquer based. From what I just read on-line it sounds like your problem may have something to do with 'curing' time, which can be eight hours, or , longer(?) to fully cure, it doesn't say on the tube how long curing time is. Let it sit overnight before priming and see if that doesn't 'cure' the problem.

[majel]

Gene, thank you very much for the information!!! I believe my problem is with curing, I know it did not cure for 8 hours before spraying, probably more like two hours!! Hopefully I will get a chance to try again this weekend.

[Speedfreak]

Jim, I hope it works. Post what happens cause I'd like to know.

[slusher]

I have used Tamiya putty and it does take a while to cure. I also use Squadron putty. I do like it better..

[English Jules]

I use a few, although being in England i guess they are different. I used to use tenax solvent but its banned in Europe (like Tamiya extra thin cement) but who cares............

shrinkage can be a problem, and some are hot, lots of people use Mr Surfacer, i hear lots of great things about that, i bought some a few days ago but not used it yet

[my80malibu]

When I use Tamiya basic putty. I let it dry overnight.it stays put for me that way.

[935k3]

if you are filling holes it is better to use plastic rod(Evergreen) glued with liquid glue. If done correctly no putty would be needed. I always try to fill with plastic first then putty as necessary.

Edited May 24, 2014 by 935k3

[mikevillena]

When filling holes I try to use a length of stretched sprue from the same kit. This ensures that the plug will have the same hardness and expansion properties as the surrounding plastic.

[Speedfreak]

Michael, do you use heat to stretch the sprue material? Can't think of another way you could do that.

[mikevillena]

Michael, do you use heat to stretch the sprue material? Can't think of another way you could do that.

Hi Gene. Yes, I use a candle to stretch sprue. With practice you can learn to vary the thicknesses that you can draw. You can also vary the taper at the ends.

[Stuntman Mike]

Putty from tubes, wether it´s Tamiya or any other brand, tend to shrink for a long time. In excess for months. The best thing to do in my opinion is not to use tube putty.

My favorite way to do bodywork is using thin CA and Microballoons. For example: Put a drop of CA on a sinkmark of a trunk lid or whatever. Then scatter the Microballoons onto the CA. It will harden immediately and never in a lifetime shrink. Wait ten minutes, sand it down and you´re done. If you´re doing major bodywork where a lot of areas are being modified, you can make much faster progress than with using putty. What usually takes a week to get done when using putty, can be done in one evening with CA and Microballoons.

A can of Microballoons costs pretty much the same as a tube of putty. But it´ll last for years, even if you use it alot. And no more waiting for stuff to cure. You can just go ahead and get something done instead of getting frustrated due to slow progress.