corporate Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I finally want to try Mr Surfacer, often recommended by many people as a great product. I tried Hiroboy first, but they are out of stock. Yesterday I called into the Plymouth branch of Antics, and the first assistant I spoke to hadn't even heard of Gunze Sangyo or the "Mr" range of paint products... I go there very occasionally for a browse but I have to say they are usually very disappointing, and their prices aren't much cop either... Can anyone recommend a source for Mr Surfacer? Is the Tamiya aerosol similar product as good, or at least worth trying? Thanks, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamond9 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 If I remember rightly. MDC are suppliers in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 I've had it from Hannants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Hannants show Mr Surfacer 1000 white in stock - while MDC have the 1200 grade in grey. Either the 1000 or finer 1200 grade will be fine for priming. The 500 grade tends to be more of a fine filler in my experience. Ive used the stuff for years and I swear by it. Its fantastic. Tamiya make a primer too thats similar, though not quite as good in my opinion. If you are thinking of going to SMW in Telford and want to stock up on Mr Surfacer - head to the MDC stand early on saturday - as it tends to go!! My top tip - make sure you warm the can in a jug of hot water first - it sprays so much better when warm. Cheers Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Hannants show Mr Surfacer 1000 white in stock - while MDC have the 1200 grade in grey. Either the 1000 or finer 1200 grade will be fine for priming. The 500 grade tends to be more of a fine filler in my experience. Ive used the stuff for years and I swear by it. Its fantastic. Tamiya make a primer too thats similar, though not quite as good in my opinion. If you are thinking of going to SMW in Telford and want to stock up on Mr Surfacer - head to the MDC stand early on saturday - as it tends to go!! My top tip - make sure you warm the can in a jug of hot water first - it sprays so much better when warm. Cheers Jonners Jonners and others, many thanks. I nearly bought some of the Tamiya product yesterday at Antics, but will now go for the real deal. I'm not going to SMW so it'll have to be mail order. The hot water tip is excellent! Will remember that. Regards, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean1968 Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Try here, http://www.modelsrgo.co.uk/ I get stuff from them, good service and realistic prices (from the UK which is a bonus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 Try here, http://www.modelsrgo.co.uk/ I get stuff from them, good service and realistic prices (from the UK which is a bonus). Sean, thanks, but ploughing through their site found lots of GS paints - with only the 40ml jars of 3 types of Mr Surfacer, not the aerosol 180ml that I seek. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Try here: Sprue Mart . Those guys have all Mr Surfacers in stock. Personally, I prefer 1000 for priming (thinned with lacquer thinner to almost watery state) as it produces a very dense, near glossy surface. Even though 1200 is the finer grain, it dries to a matter finish and takes a little more polishing of you want a really well prepared surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 Try here: Sprue Mart . Those guys have all Mr Surfacers in stock. Personally, I prefer 1000 for priming (thinned with lacquer thinner to almost watery state) as it produces a very dense, near glossy surface. Even though 1200 is the finer grain, it dries to a matter finish and takes a little more polishing of you want a really well prepared surface. Jeffrey, thanks. Like MDC, Sprue Mart doesn't have the Mr Surfacer aerosols listed, just the little 40ml jars. I had been hoping to try the aerosol, since this would give me a high quality primer/surfacer without the need to run slightly lumpy stuff through an airbrush. I've never had problems with airbrushing the similarly slightly glutinous Alclad II primer, just thought an aerosol might sort of cut out the middleman... I'm surprised how tiny those jars of Mr Surfacer are! Surely they can't last very long? My experience with screw-top jars is that they are not very airtight, and stuff goes off if stored in them. But thanks for this additional supplier info, much appreciated - as is your info/tip about using Mr Surfacer 1000. Regards, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I'm buying from Hong Kong from this eBay business seller with free shipping to UK: http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/icanucan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 A jar of Mr Surfacer lasts quite long. It's pretty condensed stuff so I mix a roughly 1:10 mix of surfacer and thinner. That way it's far from lumpy when going through the airbrush, you don't get cob-webbing and it lays down very smoothly. Yes, you need to do several coats to get decent coverage, but in my opinion that's far more controllable than one big blast. I'd estimate a mileage of 5-8 1:48 scale aircraft per jar, if not more. The jars have an inner lid cap, separate from the screw cap, which helps with drying out. However, if it gets too thick in the jar I just add a bit of Mr Color Thinner, stir well and it's as good as new. But generally, I do understand your caution as it's not cheap in the UK. I have family in Japan so every time I go there (or someone comes visiting) I re-stock my supply as it's about half the price in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 I've used cellulose thinners to thin the 1000 and it's sprayed great, is the lacquer thinner the same stuff ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 I've used cellulose thinners to thin the 1000 and it's sprayed great, is the lacquer thinner the same stuff ? TTBOMK "laquer thinner" is American for cellulose thinners. Glad to hear this confirmation of Jeffrey's advice - I'm about to order some Mr Surfacer-Primer 1000, probably from that HK supplier on Ebay since it's quite a bit cheaper - UK dealers seem to want £3-4 for posting one of these tiny bottles, which i consider excessive. I'd always assumed Mr Surfacer was acrylic, surprised to learn it's thinned with cellulose: having moved to Vallejo acrylics (generally Model Air, airbrushes very well indeed) I'd prefer to avoid noxious solvents, but Alclad II primer and, it seems, Mr Surfacer need it, so... Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 1:10 seems too thin to my taste, I mix it with Halford's cellulose thinner approximately 1:1. I don't thin 500 at all, but I don't spay it - only apply with a brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Perhaps 1:10 was a bit over the top, maybe it's more like 1:7 or so. It's not exactly scientific - I use metal paint mix cups, dip a coffee stirrer into the Surfacer jar, transfer that load into the mix cup and then fill it up with the thinner while stirring, until I've got "grey water". 1:1 though seems too thick though, I'm surprised you get a good surface finish and no cob-webbing...? The high postage is I think a result of health and safety laws that prevent flammable liquids from being delivered by the postal service. They have to be sent by couriers like UPS or FedEx... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Update: I got some Mr Surfacer 1000 from MDC (very prompt service) and tried it yesterday. this is the stuff in a jar, not an aerosol - I could have got the latter from hannants, who had it in stock, but I was persuaded by comments to thin it myself and apply through the airbrush. I thought I'd try progressively thinning it, before going to the high dilutions suggested of 1:7 (i.e. using cellulose thinners) or 1:10. So I tried one of Mr Surfacer to two of cellulose - and it sprayed very well, consistent, didn't clog, gave decent coverage that wasn't at all too heavy. This stuff goes on very nicely and is as easy to airbrush through my Iwata HP-CS as Alclad II primer, that is, very good indeed. It dries quickly too, and though it's not especially hard or semi-glossy as Jonners suggested (different technique?) it covers very well, is smooth, and with a very little rubbing down will form a good base for paint. Thanks for all the suggestions about suppliers and techniques. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcn Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I'd say that as a primer the Alclad grey primer is very similar and doesn't require any pre-thinning prior to use. For that reason I tend to use Mr Sufacer for minor seam filling, still good stuff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 May I recommend using GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty for seam filling? I found that it works far better than Mr. Surfacer for the purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 May I recommend using GSI Mr.Dissolved Putty for seam filling? I found that it works far better than Mr. Surfacer for the purpose. Good suggestion, might try that. My favourite for this so far has proved to be Vallejo acrylic filler in a tube, just the right consistency, very fine nozzle, easy to apply, cleans up easily, dries quickly, seems strong and glues things together too. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Kunac-Tabinor Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 Update: I got some Mr Surfacer 1000 from MDC (very prompt service) and tried it yesterday. this is the stuff in a jar, not an aerosol - I could have got the latter from hannants, who had it in stock, but I was persuaded by comments to thin it myself and apply through the airbrush. I thought I'd try progressively thinning it, before going to the high dilutions suggested of 1:7 (i.e. using cellulose thinners) or 1:10. So I tried one of Mr Surfacer to two of cellulose - and it sprayed very well, consistent, didn't clog, gave decent coverage that wasn't at all too heavy. This stuff goes on very nicely and is as easy to airbrush through my Iwata HP-CS as Alclad II primer, that is, very good indeed. It dries quickly too, and though it's not especially hard or semi-glossy as Jonners suggested (different technique?) it covers very well, is smooth, and with a very little rubbing down will form a good base for paint. Thanks for all the suggestions about suppliers and techniques. Tony Hi Tony - Ive only ever used it from the spray can - so I guess that might explain the difference in hardness and lustre? I'll second Mr Dissolved Putty too - excellent filler for seams. Jonners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporate Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Hi Tony - Ive only ever used it from the spray can - so I guess that might explain the difference in hardness and lustre? I'll second Mr Dissolved Putty too - excellent filler for seams. Jonners OK Jonners, I intend to try the aerosol Mr Surfacer 1000 as well, especially since it's white - the qualities you describe sound useful. I've just applied more of the jar stuff, same 1:2 dilution as earlier, still going on very nicely. If anything it's a little softer than Alclad when dry, but still a very nice finish. I'm now interested to try the 500 Mr Surfacer actually, see how well it fills minor imperfections. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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