what is best way of filling thin linear gaps such as 0.5mm ?

[Merlin]

Hi,

Filling in thin gaps such as 0.5mm.

 

With the convenience of not having to be mixed.

 

I would like a filler that bonds SUPERBLY to plastic and has same hardness when cured for easy sanding, must feather superbly no flaking off edges which cause further issues, but initially can be moved about and off areas its not wanted without it harming the plastic.

Something that is easy to apply, isnt drying out within seconds of leaving the tube or container, doesnt shrink. Sets hard quickly after the application time hes elapsed. and doesnt wash out with water and accepts acrylica and enamels.

 

Humbrol filler is going off and becomes reluctant to bond to plastic after a very short while, several seconds or so. Feels like trying to use soil as a filler.

Mr White Putty harms any plastic so no chance of moving it off areas its not wanted on, and its stringy., comes back up on the tool being used.

 

Milliput can be formed into very thin sausages and smoothed down with water so no sticking to tool. Just the nuisance of having to mix up equal portions.

 

Milliput from a tube, would be great but cant exist.

 

Deluxe Perfect Plastic putty wont smooth down with tool tends to stick to tool and water cant be used to inhibit tool attraction. Also it washes out of joint with water.

 

what else is there , it must not attack plastic upon contact but allow placement, as Milliput does.

 

Cheers

 

Merlin

[Graham Boak]

I like Mr. Dissolved Putty.  Mr Surfacer 500 is too thin but gets better with time as you work you way down the pot where the thicker stuff is left.

[pigsty]

0.5mm seems narrow but as gaps go it's quite wide.  Why not use plastic instead of filler?  Even if it doesn't fit perfectly, you can greatly reduce the task in one easy move, and then just fill in the much smaller gaps that remain.  Yogurt pots and the lids of coffee cups are a handy source of very thin polystyrene, too.

[Steve Noble]

I think you're looking for something that doesn't exist. I can't think of any filler that fulfils all your criteria. Me, I use a few different types according to need. It's the only way to get the job done satisfactorily...

[bmwh548]

Styrene filler? It doesn't dry instantly, but it ticks a few of the boxes.

[dnl42]

Agree with using plastic to fill a 0.5mm gap, especially if there's a structural requirement. When I have anything that large, I always go to plastic strip or sheet, depending on the shape.

 

For example, along a relatively smooth "wide" gap between parts, I'll find the thickest strip the almost fits into the gap, lay the strip atop/in the gap, apply Tamiya Thin along the strip, and then push the strip further into the gap. The Tamiya Thin melts the strip enough to allow it to deform and better fill the gap. Once it dries, usually overnight, you can file or sand the strip as if it were the kit's plastic.

 

Another possibility for a thinner, non-structural gap is Vallejo Plastic Putty in a 20ml tube. It has a thin applicator tip that allows you to apply it in a thin line. You can then smooth if over with a finger or cotton bud dipped in water.

[rayprit]

superglue, and bicarbonate soda

 

 

[Rob G]

I'd pass on the bicarb and use micro balloons instead. The repairs I made using cyano/bicarb to an old Hasegawa Lightning a couple of years ago are leaking brown sludge now...

[dragonlanceHR]

Superglue + Talc powder.

 

Vedran

[JosephLalor]

0.5mm's equivalent to 20 thou so plastic card for me.

[Artie]

Get an old pot of liquid glue, with about half the content...add small pieces of sprue into the pot, and leave it for a few days. The plastic sprue will dissolve into a kind of "liquid" plastic. You can use that "paste" to fill those gaps. When cured, you can sand, file, engrave, etc...the same way that the rest of the kit.

Best regards

[Anthony Kesterton]

I have been using stretched sprue (thin enough to fit into the gap) then used liquid glue to stick that down into the gap.  And I use the sprue from the kit, so the plastic is exactly the same as the surrounding material. You can build this up to fill the gap, or reduce the gap size to use other fillers.