Okay, so there are about a million different types of epoxy, or glue at Lowes, and about as many filling putty’s. I’ve looked and people keep referring to their putty, or epoxy, but no one ever actually mentions what brand, or type they use??? Any help would be great! Also, what do people use for the fake welds??? Thanks, guys!!!
I like gorilla glue for the epoxy. For the fake welds, I’m using Apoxie Sculpt.
I didnt know Gorilla Glue made an epoxy. Thought it was mainly wood glue. If you are looking for a good two part epoxy, I would stick to the Loctite brand. I have had great results with their plastic epoxy.
Lowes carries several brands of epoxy putty. Your best bet is probably the plumber’s putty. It is designed to stick to PVC and metal pipes. Just cut a thin slice of the stuff off, about 1/4" will do, knead it to mix the two parts, and then roll it into a thin bead. Then firmly press the bead around where you want the weld to go, and you should have a decent looking weld that’s a bit lumpy. Just make sure you look at your reference photos to decide how you want it to look beforehand, because you don’t get much time to work with it once it’s on. You can pull it off if you screw it up badly so long as you haven’t let it cure too long, but you’ll have to start with a new bead.
For quick repairs/filling I use this brand from Home Depot.
It has a pretty quick set time so if you plan on doing welds with it you have to do small sections at a time.
For everything else I use Ave’s Apoxy Sculpt (natural color), which gives you about 3 hrs to manipulate. It can be ordered directly from Aves.
I recommend buying a 4 lb. kit, it has a long shelf life and you’ll find other uses for it.
They do indeed. It’s good stuff IMO. It’s held up when I’ve ■■■■■■ up on tapping a hole and had to redrill
Anyone every try good ol Billy Mays Mighty putty ? I have some of that ■■■■ lying around but am afraid to try it for the fake welds. Someone gave me the stuff for Christmas but I am reluctant to give it a go (worried about it cracking over time).
Likely end up using Apoxy sculpt or plumbers putty
What about filling putty? Will that Plumber’s putty stuff work? Do I use wall spackle, or what?
I always use Bondo Glazing and Spot putty to fill in imperfections. The stuff dries pretty quick, and you can sand it and get a nice smooth finish.
Now, if you are talking about a ginormous hole, then, no, it won’t do the trick. For something like that, I would fill in the hole by cutting an equal size piece of wood (or plastic, depending on what you are building with), and then seal that hole with Gorilla Glue (or Super Glue, again, depending on what you are building with.) THEN use the Bondo.
I also agree with Vincenzo’s plumber’s putty selection. That stuff bonds plastic together quite nicely, or can give you a nice weld look.
What is your pack made of?
Epoxy putty is expensive. So for general smoothing of the pack, it’s not suitable.
If your pack is made of wood, I reccomend Zar wood putty. I know they sell it at True Value. They may sell it at Ace. They don’t sell it at Home Depot or Lowes though. It spreads like peanut butter, and sand easily. A lot of wood putties are like a thick paste and go on rough and don’t like to stick, but Zar is really easy to work with.
If your pack is plastic, well, I dunno why you’d be smoothing it.
Others may reccomend Bondo. I don’t reccomend it because it is hard to work with. You have to mix two parts precisely, it has fumes, it hardens within like 30 seconds, and you don’t want to get it on your skin. It sticks well, but since you have to work with it so fast you don’t really get time to lay it down carefully. And since it hardens quick you’ll probably mess up a few spatulas in the process of applying it. But if you’re using metal or plastic, it may be your best choice.
The plumber’s you linked is what I use for small repairs on plastic and metal parts. The Apoxie is something I heard about before that I’ve meant to try. I think the guy who built that Portal gun replica mentioned using that stuff. It’s certainly a lot cheaper in bulk than the Plumber’s epoxy. And the price and short cure time is the reason I don’t reccomend trying to use the plumber’s stuff to fix dents in a large prop. Sounds like that Apoxie stuff might not have that problem though.
The Bondo I suggested was the pre-mixed spot-filler kind. Believe me, I know not to recommend the real, automotive Bondo. That stuff is awful. Never use it. (Unless, of course, you’re a mechanic.)
Yes yes! this stuff comes in a tube.
I picked some up last month, do you know how long it lasts after opening before it starts to dry out or cure inside the tube?
Whenever I do work on my boat with waterproof marine adhesive, it cures in the tube about a month after opening.
I believe that I had a tube dry out maybe 6-8 months on me, due to non-use. But, it may have been because I stored it in the garage, plus I live in Texas, where it is humid almost the entire year.
That would suck if it only lasted 30 days…it wouldn’t be worth it, in my opinion…
I am getting one of Alkaline’s Fiberglass shells, and while I am not anticipating any problems I would like to know what I would use if I bumped it into something, or anything like that. I also have Throwing Chicken’s Gun kit and there are a two tiny spots that I could fill. Nothing major at all. Just wondering what brands I should be looking for. Thanks for the help, guys!!!
wow… u just read my mind. I have the same question. :sigh: Wondering what type of Bondo or whatever else is good for the fiberglass prep work. Any help would be appreiciated