Filling and Sanding

[steve149c]

Neil,

Don't we all when we begin. Ok, two main items here, and I will try my best for you,

Filling;

Squadron green is great for large gaps, but requires a fair few hours to dry as it will "Dry Back", ie if you make it flat to start with, as it dries it will leave a slight dip. Second and my favourite - Mr Surfacer, it comes in 500, 1000 and 1500. It is a liquid putty, 500 will fill larger scratches, dents etc. 1500 is almost paint and can be used as a primer. Advantage is you can build up layers and then sand them off.

Sanding;

I personally use Flory Model sanding and polishing sticks, which start course and work all the way down to polishing. I use two of their products here viewtopic.php?f=290&t=50385" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to remove the seam line on a canopy. The sticks are great, as they are sponge backed, so they work with you and tend not to flatten the area in question.

I have a few filling and sanding how I did it on my builds

My SU-30MK I had to change the nose cockpit, see here viewtopic.php?f=291&t=55430" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; half way down first page how I dealt with it. Also further on in the build on aligning the engines

My F/A-18 Also has some usage viewtopic.php?f=291&t=50821" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I hope that this helps and any questions you have, please feel free to ask!

Cheers

Steve

[PaulN]

Hi Niel
Ah the dark arts of filling and sanding
Best tip I was given many years ago was to use as little filler as possible ie try to make the kit fit as well as possible which I know cant always be done but on a lot of occaisions can..I have just made the Italeri C130 and used no filler at all on the engines after filing they fitted perfectly and when glued with liquid cement and pushed on the excess cement/plastic that squeezed out was rubbed down when dry to leave no join at all...thats one way.
There are many fillers on the market my personal preference is Squadron white stuff..or green stuff (White is finer) but use sparingly it will melt plastic !! an easy way to stop excess filler getting on the plastic is to tape either side of the join you working on to stop the filler going everywhere leave it there when rubbing down as it will also help protect the plastic from the wet and dry paper.There are other fillers such as Milliput which is a 2 part one but I cant get on with it but expect other people on here will swear by it. Its all personal .Something I use for larger areas to be filled and also on resin is to add a bit of super glue when putting the filler on..drys quick and hard and sticks to resin .Another way is to use super glue and baking powder...it goes off like glass but dont leave more than an hour or 2 before rubbuing down...gets too hard !!!
Sanding ....again there are a lot of tools out there but my preference (that word again) is to use 240 grade wet and dry paper readily available from Halfords and most hardware shops, then after Im happy with the join I use Micro Mesh polishing cloths these are used just the same way as wet and dry paper ie wet and they range from 3200 grade down to 12000 they will make the surface like new and are really good for polishing out canopy seams.Again most good models shops have these.
I know others will have ideas as well its just a case of what you can get to work for you and what you are happy with
I hope this helps you a little
Cheers
Paul