using cement as filler

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rob_van_riel
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using cement as filler

Post by rob_van_riel »

I sort of stumbled over this neat little trick.

Small gaps between parts can be filled almost perfectly using nothing more than slow solvent based cement (liquid poly, in my specific case). The gap has to be narrow enough for the cement to creep into and form a film through surface tension alone, or in some corner where a small puddle can form. In those cases, simply brush on an overdose of cement, and keep your fingers out of the way for half an hour or so.
The cement will fill the gap, and start dissolving the plastic around the edges. The dissolved plastic will then migrate into wherever there's cement to guide it. This takes time, so the trick only works with slow cements. Eventually, the cement evaporates, leaving a thin film of plastic where the gap used to be.

Major advantage of this trick is there is little or no sanding involved. This makes it very suited to filling gaps in awkward places. Very conveniently, those are the very places where you're most likely to find the geometry needed to keep a sufficiently large amount of cement in place :-D
Put a model under the tap, and give it a quick wipedown. All those hard to reach places where some water still clings in a corner or across a gap are where this will work, and in many cases, also the places where sanding would be problematic.

Don't even think of trying this anywhere that has fine detail or fragile parts; those too will flow, and in this case, vanish or deform. Don't say I didn't warn you..
Also, don't attempt this under time pressure. Plastic that has been flooded with solvent like this needs time to recover. Although the model can most likely be safely handled after about half an hour, you should not work the treated areas further until hours, or even day have passed. To rush this is to risk meddling with half dissolved gloop, and unless you're a much better gloop sculptor than me, that doesn't make for high quality models.
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Crashpilot
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Re: using cement as filler

Post by Crashpilot »

....before I discovered liquid poly, I always wondered, when people told me about this trick!
The cement just has to be liquid enough, then it works! Humb. liq. poly works fine with me
Waiting for the day, when wars for territory will be something to be read about in history books only.

Playing Tetris taught me: If I clean up too much, my kits disappear.....8-(

Markus, alias Crashpilot, or Crash, or CP, as you wish
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: using cement as filler

Post by rob_van_riel »

Crashpilot wrote:....before I discovered liquid poly, I always wondered, when people told me about this trick!
Hehe, parallel discovery in full swing :grin: . I'd never heard about this from others until now, I just noticed the behaviour.
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