Making Putty For Models

March 3, 2011

Styrene is a popular material to use for scratch building because it is versatile and inexpensive. However, you don’t want to throw all your offcuts away. There’s a product called MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) which is a plastic solvent welder, used to weld parts together using capillary action (another brand is Testors Welder). MEK works with polystyrene (not foam), and is slower drying than polyweld. You can pour some MEK in a glass bottle and then to make a putty paste by dissolve some scraps of styrene to make a putty (paste) to fill holes, imperfections, joints and other areas that could require filling before you start painting.
WARNING: MEK is known to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing), so skin protection and good ventilation is absolutely essential.

Humbrol and Revell make liquid polystyrene cements.

Testors also make both liquid and a gel type solvent based styrene cements. The liquid versions come in a small bottle with a long stainless steel needle like stem for easy control and to prevent evaporation.

If you are working in wood you can do a similar thing by mixing sawdust and wood shavings with PVA wood glue. This putty mixture can then be used for planks, wood siding, or for filling gaps or fixing imperfections.

More tips and ideas in the Model Train Club.