Garden Railway Forum

I have been trying quite a few different types of filler for finishing the surface of 3D prints. Everything from body filler to balsa filler.

I have found the following:

Balsa filler : Light but a bit grainy to apply, sands very easily, if not too easily and can pull out again.
Body filler : A bit sticky to apply and doesn't spread all that well, gives a good finish, but smelly and hard to sand.
Humbrol filler : Really sticky and difficult to apply. Not too bad to sand, good for filling large gaps, but not ideal for large flat surfaces. Also goes off very quickly in the tube.
Papering the model : Gives a good smooth surface, care needed to cut and apply and difficult on corners. Also can leave a fluffy finish.
AK Modelling Putty : Thin, gives superb finish over large and curved areas, easy to apply and sand. Best one yet but as it's thin not ideal for large gap holes. Ideal for striations from a 3D printer.

I hope this helps someone but it's just my personal findings.

I posted a similar question just a few months ago and followed up on a suggestion from Rik and bought 'Perfect Plastic Putty'.
My findings are that it does what it says on the tube! .... A smooth, one-part, fine paste which is easy to apply with a spatula. Designed for use on fine grained gaps and deep cavities. It is fast drying, low odour (I can't smell it) and takes paint easily. Can be cleaned up with water.
From personal experience I know it adheres to plastic and printed surfaces well, it stays where you put it and doesn't shrink or crack.

Really useful, thank you...

I have not had much luck with model fillers.. Either it was solid when bought (cheap) or used a tiny bit, and the rest went off in the tube..

Had not come across AK modelling filler.. I will have to look out for that one.

Phil.P

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 11:01 am I posted a similar question just a few months ago and followed up on a suggestion from Rik and bought 'Perfect Plastic Putty'.
My findings are that it does what it says on the tube! .... A smooth, one-part, fine paste which is easy to apply with a spatula. Designed for use on fine grained gaps and deep cavities. It is fast drying, low odour (I can't smell it) and takes paint easily. Can be cleaned up with water.
From personal experience I know it adheres to plastic and printed surfaces well, it stays where you put it and doesn't shrink or crack.

The other good one is Mr Hobby Putty, both very good, but my preference so far for striations is AK putty. Each filler has a different and very useful purpose, though it's all a personal preference.

Interesting subject Steve, thanks.
I used to use Squadron White until it changed, as we've said before. I then tried Perfect Plastic Putty because that was getting good review on the plastic kits forums, but I didn't much like it.
More recently I've been using Vallejo Plastic Putty, which I like a lot. It goes on easily and dries fast.

On a related subject, I seem to be using Vallejo paints these days as well. They have a huge range of colours which admittedly tend be based aroung military models, but they do at least have names that mean something (and they have RAL numbers where appropriate,) unlike the Games Workshop stuff, which is also more expensive.

philipy wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:05 pm Interesting subject Steve, thanks.
I used to use Squadron White until it changed, as we've said before. I then tried Perfect Plastic Putty because that was getting good review on the plastic kits forums, but I didn't much like it.
More recently I've been using Vallejo Plastic Putty, which I like a lot. It goes on easily and dries fast.

On a related subject, I seem to be using Vallejo paints these days as well. They have a huge range of colours which admittedly tend be based aroung military models, but they do at least have names that mean something (and they have RAL numbers where appropriate,) unlike the Games Workshop stuff, which is also more expensive.

I also use Vallejo paints, again, quite a collection. I use them for airbrushing as you rarely need to thin them down, but find they go on very very thin and take a lot of coats. Maybe a need a different airbrush for larger areas? Now, is it just me or does airbrushing Vallejo paints take AGES to dry? Not tried their plastic putty but it does sound similar to the AK one.

I also use Vallejo paints, again, quite a collection. I use them for airbrushing as you rarely need to thin them down, but find they go on very very thin and take a lot of coats. Maybe a need a different airbrush for larger areas? Now, is it just me or does airbrushing Vallejo paints take AGES to dry? Not tried their plastic putty but it does sound similar to the AK one.

I also use Vallejo paints. I don't find they are slow too dry. I often apply multiple coats a few minutes apart. That way they cover well and don't run.

I particularly like the 60ml bottles which are standard colours rather than military colours. They seem to work well with a handheld brush, as well as an airbrush, and are more economical to buy. There are lots of things on uTube about mixing specific colours - which widens the colour range.

I like automotive filler primer. I've found "Spray putty" tends to be a slightly thicker filler primer, and for the same money it's better for smoothing printed parts.
If you're any good with a spray can, it's fast, easy to apply and a can will do 2-3 average-sized loco kits.
I like to either hang each part on hooks, or blu-tac them to a piece of wood.

Usually takes 2-3 coats.
It flashes off and touch dries in minutes, so by the time I've coated the last part in a kit, I can just reapply to the first parts I did 5 minutes before. Dries in an hour or two, easy to sand. Shrinks a bit, though.