High Plains Modelers Pages

July 1, 2013

Making Filler With Sprue And Cement

     Often I can be found at my bench experimenting with this technique or that. Usually this is motivated by a desire to avoid spending money on brand-name products. Why empty your wallet if you can use ingredients from your own stash of modeling tools? It's the classic recipe of utilizing leftovers.
     This morning I decided to try a trick I'd read on the internet. Some hobbyists use a filler made of leftover sprues and an old jar of welding cement. The sprues dissolve into the liquid, making a gooey putty. With care, this can be applied to seams, allowed to dry, and sanded as with any other filler. Check out the pics below which illustrate this straightforward process.

--Chris

The ingredients. Any old sprue will do. ;)

I mixed two leftover bottles of cement. The Testors bottle, with its wider  opening, was well suited for use as a container. You can even use the brush in the cap to apply the product later.

On the stirring stick, you can see evidence of the liquified sprue after only a few  minutes of soaking.