I bought some Mr. Surfacer 500 to use as a seam/gap filler but the bottle has no instructions in English. I'm a total nube with this and have a few questions...
1) The stuff doesn't smell water based so I suppose it is lacquer based...what can I use for clean up?

2) What is the usual applicator...brush, toothpick, etc.?

3) Can it be mixed with putty or should it be used as is?

(BTW I'm currently working on Trumpeter's KV2 Big Turret and have some seams to fill, so any help would be greatly appreciated).

Many thanx...
Dom

Dom,

I've applied it with both, brush and toothpick, I've also used .5mm pencil lead.

Being to cheap to by Mr. Surfacer Thinner, I use regular laquer thinner.

Have never considered mixing with putty since I tend to use them on different size problems.

I don't usually use lacquer based products. What exactly (brand name) thinner should I use? Sorry for being a total pain/noob...

Dom

Hi Dominic. I use Mr. Surfacer all the time and to answer your questions ...
1) It is lacquer based. I use aceton free nail polish remover (AFNPR) to clean up the model and the brush used for application. I use a small brush and place thickly over the seam. If any immediate tidying can be made, I use a cotton top dipped in AFNPR. When dry I sand it. Make sure you clean the brush before it cures!

2) see above, plus anything else you can think off ie; toothpicks.

3) If you have a bigger seam, Id use a 2-part putty or a wet tube putty. I usually use magic sculpt for very large seams/gaps and humbrol for smaller surface seams.

Hopefully this helps some

Many thanx to you Mark & Frank...this answers my questions!

Dom

I get my laquer thinner from my other favorite LHS:
Home Depot.

Their laquer thinner goes less than U$10 per quart, vs. hobby products that go fo U$8 per pint or U$4 per oz.

I apply Mr. Surfacer with those little nylon kids brushes that are like 50 for a dollar. I can cut them to whatever size I need for the application, then clean them or throw them out depending on my mood. You can thin it with generic lacquer thinner from Home Depot.

90% or more isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol works for me for cleaning up the excess and smoothing out Mr. Surfacer. I let the MS dry for a couple of minutes, then use a Q-tip or cheapo paint brush dampened in rubbing alcohol to smooth it out. You can clean the brush in the alcohol, also.

In theory, Mr Surfacer is a primer surface texture product. It has been co-opted as a liquid putty seam filling product.

But never fear, Gunze /CSI folks make a thinned putty product called , predictably, Mr. Dissolved Putty that is supposed to be fantastic.

CRM in the states still has a few bottles left after I grabbed two the other day. I have not made it home to try it out, but check out the post over on Missing-links general discussion group. It seems to be quite a fine product.

Other than that, I can't add much to what folks have already said about how to use the Mr. Surfacer other than that I have not had much luck trying to shape/work it before it is completely cured, using either nail polish remover or 90%rubbing alc.

Mike

I have a follow up question. I so far have tried using Mr Surfacer as a filler. (Most of my success though has been on texturing). However, it looks good when I apply but after it dries, the seams reappear. Like it shrinks into the seam.

Do you all normally have to use several applications or am I not applying heavy enough or ...

Suggestions appreciated.

John

Mr Surfacer 500 does shrink when dry (think of it like the drywall spackle used to repair walls, etc). If you're using it as a seam filler, you're going to need multiple thin coats building up inside the seam. At least it sands nicely when dry (completely dry that is). Largest I'll use it for is gaps on 1/35 figures around limbs, head/neck and hands. Anything more and I use the aforementioned Mr Dissolved Putty. Love that stuff.

Yes John,when it's cured Mr Surfacer shrinks. Don't worry anyway, You have just to add another coat of it on your fillings. Several thin coats are better than a heavy one because they are easier to smooth. Morover too many putty could damage the plastic

cheers

Matt and Mauro,

Thanks for the answer. Kept hearing people rave about it, but was wondering why my use had been less than great. Thanks for helping me realize that I am not 'completely' crazy.

John