What is Mr Surfacer?

[TeaWeasel]

I've seen Mr Surfacer referenced so many times on here and in magazines but I don't actually get the purpose of it. I currently use Vallejo putty for my filling needs, what exactly does Mr Surfacer do that the other brands don't? 

 

Given it's relatively cheap I thought I'd pick some up, but there are several different types based on coarseness as well as a white version, which would be best for me?

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

It's a solvent based primer with filler essentially. 

 

500 - good for minor gap filling. Gap filling is your own personal preference, but I use a wide variety of fillers depending on what I want to do. Vallejo for work around fine detail I don't want to ruin with sanding/wing root gaps for example. Mr Surfacer 500 for things like nicks from scribing/sprue gate divots from ham fistedness/anything where I want to sand afterwards. Can be sprayed as a primer but why though? Large gaps I use Milliput/plasticard.  

 

1000 -> 1500 - Primer. Solid and durable when cured, fills tiny scratches and can be sanded if you need to go back and fix something. Thin with Mr Levelling Thinner at about 50/50 and refine ratio from there however your comfortable, sprays like a dream.   

 

I can't comment on brush painting the stuff though.  

Edited May 17, 2022 by Evil_Toast_RSA

[Pete F]

It has many uses from a primer to a filler but I mostly use it to fill seams. I learnt this technique from this tutorial Converting Seams Into Panel Lines With Mr. Surfacer

Searching this site via Google (e.g. Mr Surfacer Britmodeller) will turn up many posts on the subject.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Pete F

[Ray_W]

34 minutes ago, TeaWeasel said:

but there are several different types based on coarseness as well as a white version, which would be best for me?

 

As you mention, there are a number of products that GSI-Creos (Gunze) place under the Mr Surfacer name. My preferred is Black Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 that I use as a primer undercoat. I like it for its silky smooth, thin and tough finish and I find a good basis for other techniques in colour coats that suit a black undercoat. I too thin with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, although I do find that a higher percentage of thinner is usually needed than the 50:50 when I shoot it through my Iwata HP-CS 0.35 needle 15-18 psi. 

 

Note it is a lacquer finish. So has a very strong solvent smell and requires good ventilation and an appropriate face mask. I am not sure but it may have compatibility issues with Vallejo filler. 

 

It is not a bulk putty or filler as such. More for fine improvements. It is worth giving more information on your expected application and then we can hone in on its potential use.

 

 

[TeaWeasel]

33 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

 

As you mention, there are a number of products that GSI-Creos (Gunze) place under the Mr Surfacer name. My preferred is Black Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 that I use as a primer undercoat. I like it for its silky smooth, thin and tough finish and I find a good basis for other techniques in colour coats that suit a black undercoat. I too thin with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, although I do find that a higher percentage of thinner is usually needed than the 50:50 when I shoot it through my Iwata HP-CS 0.35 needle 15-18 psi. 

 

Note it is a lacquer finish. So has a very strong solvent smell and requires good ventilation and an appropriate face mask. I am not sure but it may have compatibility issues with Vallejo filler. 

 

It is not a bulk putty or filler as such. More for fine improvements. It is worth giving more information on your expected application and then we can hone in on its potential use.

 

 

 

This is what I'm not familiar with, it's a primer as well? So you have to treat the whole model with it? 

[Ray_W]

8 minutes ago, TeaWeasel said:

This is what I'm not familiar with, it's a primer as well? So you have to treat the whole model with it? 

 

 

The thinned 1000, 1200 and 1500 are excellent primers. In terms of what you treat is up to you. I use the Black 1500 thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner as an undercoat in almost all cases. I may shoot some grey or white of the same type in areas where I want to check seams before going black. Or, where the white might provide a better base and easier coverage for example under what will a yellow top coat.

 

Here is my Tamiya 1/48 Phantom primed in Black 1500. You will see that those areas that will be finished as bare metal surfaces (around the tail) have been left in grey plastic and yet to be coated. I use a gloss base (Gunze GX-002 Ueno Black) for surfaces to be metallised. I think high gloss finishes are better with a gloss finish primer. In terms of other finishes though, Mr Finishing Surfacer, with that lovely silky satin look, provides an excellent base for your colour coats.

 

 

And an Airfix Spitfire Mk XIV

 

I'll use the thicker Mr Surfacer 500 as a hairline filler and have used it on a surface that had some micro porosity that I filled and sanded. It feathers nicely. Mind you, these days I usually prefer CA and CA/talc mixes or Milliput for fine line filling jobs. The Gunze Surfacers do have a multiple of uses, like replacing raised panel lines, just up to your imagination.  When it comes to basic priming, Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 is my preferred.

 

Ray

[speedy]

I’m new to this having tried it some 10 years ago and thought it was crap. But it was me not the product. Moving on I purchased 500 + 1000 2 weeks ago to use on my Hunter build. I’ve painted 500 on top of my go to filler (Plasto). Experimenting with what I’ve got, actually it’s my wife’s Nail product with Acetone (that’s the key)to removing the excess. Now a more focused approach is that this stuff isn’t bad but is not a replacement for the filler of your choice, it’s to compliment it. But as mentioned above I’ve used it on wing/tailplane to fuselage joints and it’s worked really well. 

Edited May 18, 2022 by speedy

[dogsbody]

I used Mr. Surfacer 1000 as a seam/divot filler on my 1/72 Airfix Hurricane.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Lewis95]

They can be used as primers and fillers. 

 

I've used as a primer a few times but made the mistake of spraying indoors once. Despite an open window and my face mask, the room was unusable and the whole of upstairs stank of it for hours afterwards (the room smelt for several days). 

 

As a filler, I've had mixed results. Most good but a few where the seam has crept back in due to shrinkage. However, this is my fault for not building up layers. It can provide an excellent seam filler. 

 

On my successes, I've sanded it back to a gloss finish to blend it into the surface and had great results. On my failures, I either didn't do the sand to gloss (recent technique) or didn't actually use the product properly or appropriately. 

 

It can also be wicked off using Mr Colour Levelling Thinner, a bit like PPP.

[armored76]

On 5/24/2022 at 2:43 AM, Lewis95 said:

As a filler, I've had mixed results. Most good but a few where the seam has crept back in due to shrinkage. However, this is my fault for not building up layers. It can provide an excellent seam filler. 

Can you please spend a few more words on this? I was surprised no one mentioned this before. I bought a bottle of 1000 myself several years ago, tried it a few times and the shrinkage made me box it and forget about it. I applied it pretty thick as you would with other fillers in the hope of being able to sand away the excess after curing. However, the seams "magically" reappeared after curing.

[Lewis95]

On 29/06/2022 at 06:37, armored76 said:

Can you please spend a few more words on this? I was surprised no one mentioned this before. I bought a bottle of 1000 myself several years ago, tried it a few times and the shrinkage made me box it and forget about it. I applied it pretty thick as you would with other fillers in the hope of being able to sand away the excess after curing. However, the seams "magically" reappeared after curing.

Apologies, only just logged back in to BM.

 

With Mr Surfacer, it needs to be built up in thin layers over gaps. Start with the thicker stuff and just gently build it up. Not much else too it. Fill, sand, fill, sand etc