While poor Threepio is getting some major work done I figured a good intermediate post would be to review some of the epoxy putties I've tested out in the last month.
The first one is "Kwik Plastik". It's very strong hand has a good bond. and is was one of the best as far as sculptability is concerned BUT the major problem is that this stuff doesn't harden like the others I tried. It cures with a semi flexible quality that won't really cut it for doing repairs to the mask. This would probably be great for patching and/or reinforcing ABS or polystryene plastic that will have more flex. So I'll give this some more testing when I Start working on the shorts.
The next, and my top choice is "AquaMend".It cures rock hard and has a good amount of working time before it starts to kick off. Overall this was my favorite. It sands easily and has a great bond.
"Loctite Repair Putty" was the cheapest of the batch and has almost the exact same cured properties as the AquaMend but a MUCH shorter working time. I actually got some really good use out of this but it required a slight bit of planning to makes sure I could work fast enough to not let it go to waste. If you have a good plan, this stuff is great. You can fill, patch rebuild, then be ready to sand in less than 20 minutes. It's VERY VERY strong, sands great and is drillable. I'll show some photos in an upcoming post that will demonstrate that.
All of these are easy to work with before they start to kick off. A really good trick to shaping and sculpting is to just barely wet your finger with water. It allows you to sculpt without the putty sticking to your skin and give a really smooth finish. I also used this trick with my sculpting tools with good results.
One that is not here that I will try soon is "Milliput". I haven't been able to find it around Tampa but a craft store in Orlando sells it so I'll pick some up next time I'm over that way. . It's supposed to have similar qualities and I'll give it a test as soon as I have a chance.
Soon... I'll review all the changes I've been making to the mask. These epoxies helped so much and saved me from using fiberglass body fillers, which are really messy and not easy to sculpt.
The first one is "Kwik Plastik". It's very strong hand has a good bond. and is was one of the best as far as sculptability is concerned BUT the major problem is that this stuff doesn't harden like the others I tried. It cures with a semi flexible quality that won't really cut it for doing repairs to the mask. This would probably be great for patching and/or reinforcing ABS or polystryene plastic that will have more flex. So I'll give this some more testing when I Start working on the shorts.
The next, and my top choice is "AquaMend".It cures rock hard and has a good amount of working time before it starts to kick off. Overall this was my favorite. It sands easily and has a great bond.
"Loctite Repair Putty" was the cheapest of the batch and has almost the exact same cured properties as the AquaMend but a MUCH shorter working time. I actually got some really good use out of this but it required a slight bit of planning to makes sure I could work fast enough to not let it go to waste. If you have a good plan, this stuff is great. You can fill, patch rebuild, then be ready to sand in less than 20 minutes. It's VERY VERY strong, sands great and is drillable. I'll show some photos in an upcoming post that will demonstrate that.
All of these are easy to work with before they start to kick off. A really good trick to shaping and sculpting is to just barely wet your finger with water. It allows you to sculpt without the putty sticking to your skin and give a really smooth finish. I also used this trick with my sculpting tools with good results.
One that is not here that I will try soon is "Milliput". I haven't been able to find it around Tampa but a craft store in Orlando sells it so I'll pick some up next time I'm over that way. . It's supposed to have similar qualities and I'll give it a test as soon as I have a chance.
Soon... I'll review all the changes I've been making to the mask. These epoxies helped so much and saved me from using fiberglass body fillers, which are really messy and not easy to sculpt.
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