I use silly putty a lot for hard edge patterns, but had a problem last night. Subject: Tamiya Type 90 tank, nylon mesh basket; the putty worked into the mesh and just would not come off. In short, I took a brush dipped in white spirits and was able poke holes in the mesh, got most of it dissolved that way, still messy and needs touch up. Anyone have other ideas on reversing such a mess, and what to use over said material in the first place to avoid this problem?

Silly putty sticks to itself really well, I've used a small blob of new or fresh Silly Putty to get scraps from around tools, tool clasps, screening, etc. Just touch your blob (sounds wrong, doesn't it?) to the bits you want to remove, and using a little wiggle or friction, the stuff you want to remove should stick to your fresh blob.

If it still won't come off, put the part in the freezer. The silly putty will come off quickly when frozen as it breaks apart without sticking.

Then switch to poster putty, which does not crawl or infiltrate mesh or screens.

Yeah, I've not done the Silly Putty trick because of it's tendency to ooze through stuff like that. I use poster putty which isn't as pliable as SP but comes up a bit easier.

It will do the same thing to etch mesh screens. I found slipping a piece of thin paper underneath any mesh before applying the silly putty stops it oozing through and causing problems.

Thanks to all of you for the great ideas.

It's never a good idea to use Silly Putty as a masking agent when you have PE on the model. Silly Putty will take off the small bits , then you have to search through your lump of putty to find them - which are usually damaged in the process! I like the gentle feathered edge you get with a stand-off mask like Silly Putty will give you, but as much as possible, paint your PE separately and apply after. You could also try liquid latex and brush it on. It will also peel off without affecting base coats.

I'm with Matt: Blu Tak or whatever it's called is stable and doesn't cause those kinds of problems.

I have said this before and I will say it again,it is great that we can help each other with even just the little things like this.Anyway I have never felt comfortable with using silly putty as a masking tool anyway.

Try physiotherapy putty. Link is to a 6-piece trial set of various viscosity.

http://www.amazon.com/CanDo-Theraputty-Exercise-Material-6-Piece/dp/B001763OS6/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1458340096&sr=1-2

Its basically the same (if not identical) as other modelling-specific putties put into smaller tins.