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Author Topic: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?  (Read 817 times)

Offline Mako

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Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« on: November 29, 2017, 08:22:52 AM »
Just curious to see if there are any putties (preferably cheap ones), that will stick to styrene or other plastic sheeting?

Thinking about using the plastic, and/or possibly wood, as a structural underlay for the finished product's skeleton.

I want to do a little texturing, and perhaps shaping, so could use something like that - e.g. wood board detailing, and some curved boards as well.  Real wood seems like too much of a pain to work with, as do individual strips of styrene, so thought I'd try texturing a putty, or other material by hand, instead.

I suspect Greenstuff, or other putties might work, but since I'm working on a larger model, something a bit more economical would be nice. 

Thought about trying some of the drywall putties, but doubt it'll stick to the plastic, and would prefer that it doesn't crack, break, or peel off over time.

Hmmm, perhaps auto-body putties might just work.  It's got to be cheaper than Greenstuff, Brownstuff, etc.., right?

Thoughts?

Another way to go, I guess, would be to sculpt the items out of air-hardening clay, or similar materials.

Would like to be able to make a silicone mold of the finished products, if they turn out nice.

Thoughts?


Offline Connectamabob

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2017, 08:40:41 PM »
I use Aves Apoxie Sculpt (that's not a typo: they deliberately misspelled "epoxy" for branding purposes) for this kind of stuff. Adheres to styrene very well, and is very carvable/toolable when hard. I prefer it to Green Stuff for pretty much any application that doesn't require GS's hard rubber flexibility. Cost is much better by volume than GS too, but still on the expensive side. That said, a large kit of it will last you for years and many projects, so IMO it's a good investment.

Auto body putty (Bondo and the like) is polyester resin based, and uses some caustic stuff in it. It will bond extremely well to styrene, as it basically solvent fuses too it. This can also cause it to warp styrene though, so mix it to cure fast, if you use it. I've played around with it for a few projects, and IMO it's alright for building cores and shells, but its goopy stickiness makes it hard to control. You can rough out forms and carve them to shape, but it's almost impossible to wet shape it. Or at least, the hardware store grades are like that; the stuff actually used by pro auto repair places may be better, but is expensive, and has to be sourced online. Basically, consider it more like an alternative to plaster than as a sculpting putty.

Polymer clay will adhere to styrene well, as the same plasticizers that allow it to heat-cure will also solvent fuse it to styrene in its uncured state. Downside is the temps required to cure it exceed the glass temp of styrene. It can still be done, just needs to be done carefully. Bake it slow and low, and support the structure by burying/packing it in a dish full of baking soda. You can also selectively spot cure the surface to aid in handling by feathering over the area you want to cure with a butane pen torch. Obviously this is much better suited to a "sculpt the whole thing" approach rather than a "just texture" approach. This will require the most faff, but can be very cheap if you've got one of the craft/hobby chains that put out frequent coupons nearby. You can get a huge brick of original Sculpy for just a few bucks. Polymer clay runs the gamut when it comes to durability these days, with AFAIK original Sculpy being at the bottom and Bees Putty being at the top, so you get what you pay for.

It's hard to be more discerning without knowing more about the project. How big is it? What kinds of shapes?
« Last Edit: November 29, 2017, 08:50:54 PM by Connectamabob »
History viewed from the inside is always a dark, digestive mess, far different from the easily recognizable cow viewed from afar by historians.

Offline Mick_in_Switzerland

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2017, 09:13:08 PM »
Milliput is significantly cheaper than green stuff.  On Amazon U.K.  You can get very good deals on five or more packs.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/5-x-Millput-Yellow-grey/dp/B011BOA4Y0/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1511989916&sr=8-5&keywords=milliput

Offline nic-e

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2017, 09:47:51 PM »
Milliput sticks to everything. My islands for pirates Ot spanish main are milliput on plasticard.

greenstuff will work.

Brown/grey/black stuff and your oher standard plumbing fillerswill will work.

plaster and rendering/polyfilla will stick, but may chip off if the plastic is allowed to flex when dry.

I'd watch out for what putties you use, some of the stronger ones designed for industrial use could give off chemicals/solvents that may warp your plastic base. (maybe?)
never trust a horse, they make a commitment to shoes that no animal should make.

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Offline Mako

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2017, 10:27:40 PM »
Thanks for all the replies and info.  I really appreciate it.

Thinking about making some small boats and sloops for 15mm/18mm, as well as 25mm/28mm pirates.

Thought a styrene underlay might be a good idea to get the general shape of the sloops, since the bulkheads of the hull's sidewalls should be fairly thin (could make them a bit thicker, I guess, if needed.

Might need to reconsider, and just make them from scratch out of the clay, or other materials instead, especially if the coatings need to be cured in an oven.


Offline Mick_in_Switzerland

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2017, 05:56:31 AM »
Milliput is a two part epoxy putty, so very similar to Green Stuff.
It contains a lot of filler material (chalk - I think), so it is much cheaper than other Epoxy putties.

Offline Hammers

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2017, 07:36:18 AM »
Milliput is a two part epoxy putty, so very similar to Green Stuff.
It contains a lot of filler material (chalk - I think), so it is much cheaper than other Epoxy putties.


I find that Miliput is more brittle than GS. I second Aves Apoxie Sculpt. It's good stuff. I use it when I want the scultping to carry finer details and sharper edges.

Offline Mako

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Re: Putty-Like Material that Sticks to Styrene Sheeting?
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2017, 10:59:30 PM »
Thanks for all the replies and info.

Think I may have found the solution.

Going to give Super Sculpey a try.  I've read about others using it, and forgot about it, but just ran across another article again.

Apparently, there's a new, "Firm" formulation, which may be just the ticket for my needs, and looks like it runs about the same price as a normal batch. 

All can be backed in the oven until quite hard, at low temps, and once dried, it can be sanded, drilled, etc., so hopefully it will work well.

 

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