putty disaster!

[jspitza]

:emo10:

:emo10:Hello all and I'm introducing myself through a panic!

I purchased a airfix 1/24 bf109e and have been out of kit building for 11 years or so. I realized too late, last night that I have a 1/8" gap running along the fuselage joint line and applied squadron putty with a small putty knife in the hopes of filling the gap and building up the material to match and form a good joint. I have already primed with several coats but forgot to mask the area, now have putty everywhere and tried to use fine sandpaper to shape. My fear now is that I am removing detail, rivets etc and don't know what to do! Is there a way to just remove and or dissolve the putty? I now have blobs along the joint line so I'm really scared to do anything. This is also my first time using an airbrush so right from the start I applied too much primer and let it dry a week before moving on. If I apply more primer, will this fill in some of the material before I get down to low and sand off the detail? Thanks to all for at least reading this in amusement! Jeff.

[Guest]

You can always scribe any panel lines once you've filled the offending gaps, also the sunken rivets can be carefully drilled using a pinvice and the appropriate sized drill once you've done the filler.

Those 1:24 Airfix Kits always have quite a poor panel fit, especially when the wings are mated up to the fuselage.

[jspitza]

thanks Alan: this is my fear as I remember other kits being pretty good. Is there a way to remove the putty with a sort of liquid remover?

[wonwinglo]

Jeff,the main ingrediant is tuolene based filler,this etches into the plastic surface slightly and can be very difficult to remove,you could try cotton wool buds carefully dipped in acetone,but be careful as it will eat into the plastic,best mask either side of the work in hand,just stroke the joint with the bud and remove any surplus with a lint free cloth,do the job outside in the fresh air,work slowly and carefully.

[jspitza]

Is acetone in nailpolish remover? If so, my wife has tons of this stuff! I remember hearing something about acetone awhile back but I'm so out of practice that I did not want to just start throwing chemicals at it.Thanks for this info, wonwinglo.

[Guest]

Is acetone in nailpolish remover? If so, my wife has tons of this stuff! I remember hearing something about acetone awhile back but I'm so out of practice that I did not want to just start throwing chemicals at it.Thanks for this info, wonwinglo.

Yes it is but do be carefull, you need to work in a well ventilated area and mask the rest of the model well. I would tend to go for a very carefull sanding down myself as you stand to do more damage with the acetone if you are not carefull and there is as much potential for removing detail with it.

All the detail can be replaced and the sanding is probably more controllable. I would use find wet and dry wrapped around a small block of wood. You will be surprised at how effective this can be for removing excess plastic or filler.

[Guest]

Hi

If you want acetone buy it from Boots the chemist ask at the counter its sold in little bottles.

Nail polish also has water and in some cases oil added. My better half was a nail tech in Boston back in our days in the US so nail polish remover was in the house most of the time.

That said i agree with the other guys on here acetone certainly is not the best way to remove the filler given that it also disolves the plastic the models made from.

Try a swiss needle file and follow on with as Bunker reccons fine wet and dry.

cheers Kevin

[Guest]

oops ment to say nail polish remover and not nail polish

[jspitza]

Guys, thanks again for your help! As it turns out, I did use a very small amount of the acetone to remove the bulk of the putty. This also thinned to where the gaps actually filled with little or no damage! I also purchased a nail file to shape and all I have left to do is scribe the fusalage lines and a few hinges! I started to do this with a double bladed xcacto blade and although the lines a very rough, they do look pretty good. Thanks again guys, Jeff I'll try to post more pics.

[Guest]

That will be interesting as I actually have two of these in my retirement fund as I loved making the first one when I was a youngster.

[jspitza]

Well, Thanks for everyone’s help in what for me is a surprisingly good result in a 10 year break from this work! Lessons learned in this project:

• Don’t ever build a 1/24th scale kit coming back into this after a 10 year break!
  
• Always come to this forum first for advice before drinking your worries away.
  
• Always drink your worries away after you have made a permanent enamel or overcoat application and ruins decals.
  
• Finally, learn from your success as well as failures. I know there are things I’d love to change on this piece but I can’t wait for another kit- 109 (G-14) 1\32 scale