Tamiya putty basic type

[johnp23]

Hi all, I am quite new to this forum, but have been modeling for quite a few years now, I recently purchased a tube of Tamiya putyy basic type, and used it on a model loco body, to my horror and disgust, found after waiting 12 hours, give or take, the putty had reduced the plastic to a soft mess, I wrote a strongly worded email to Tamia uk, only to be fobbed off with the excuse that they dont import this product to the UK and forwarded an address of some hobby store in Milton Keynes, I sent the same email to the new address to be met with the same answer Tamiya gave me, I was just wondering if anyone else has had any experiences such as I have with Tamiya products and been met with the same not our problem response,?? Thanks for now Johnp23

[Scratchbuilder]

Tamiya putty basic... (Grey).
I have used this type on many models and never had any reaction of the type you described. The only thing I can think of is the material (plastic) used in the loco has reactred to the formula of the putty. And taking 12 hours to dry approx has to be a material reaction. For example I dropped an open tube and then stood on it, luckily I could pick the whole lot up in one lump, but that only took about 4 hours to dry.
For future reference can I reccomend DeLuxe Materials (BD44) Perfect Plastic Putty which I use to fill in areas where there has been some extensive work and I then need a smooth surface to work on.

[JR]

Unlike Wibble I don't stand in or on it , but use it for creating a rough texture . Never had a problem , find it dries quite quickly .
Tim Tim Marlow might be able to answer .

[Tim Marlow]

Tamiya putty is cellulose based, just like old style car body stopping. The solvent used will melt plastic. That is why it is excellent on surface marks and election pin depressions. The solvent ensures it bites well to the surface so doesn’t crumble back when sanded. Used in thin layers or on open joints it should flash off the solvent quickly enough for it to dry without it destroying the structure to which it has been applied. However, if you used a lot of it inside a loco body and then replaced the bottom, making a closed box, the solvent will not be able to evaporate to the atmosphere and will continue to attack the plastic substrate. Is that what happened? I’ve seen the same thing happen with thin plastic card assembled into closed boxes, and the greater amount of solvent in a large amount of putty could do this to a thicker box.

[Waspie]

Tamiya putty is cellulose based, just like old style car body stopping. The solvent used will melt plastic. That is why it is excellent on surface marks and election pin depressions. The solvent ensures it bites well to the surface so doesn’t crumble back when sanded. Used in thin layers or on open joints it should flash off the solvent quickly enough for it to dry without it destroying the structure to which it has been applied. However, if you used a lot of it inside a loco body and then replaced the bottom, making a closed box, the solvent will not be able to evaporate to the atmosphere and will continue to attack the plastic substrate. Is that what happened? I’ve seen the same thing happen with thin plastic card assembled into closed boxes, and the greater amount of solvent in a large amount of putty could do this to a thicker box.

Most informative Tim. :thumb2: