Make your own Zimmerit with Tamiya Gray Putty & Testor's Liquid Cement

[Armor_Buff]

Note to moderator, if this needs moved to another section please feel free to do so.

Wanted to share one my favorite methods for making Zimmerit with Tamiya Gray Putty & Testor’s Liquid Cement as requested by @TopSmith

What I like about this method is it allows near scale thickness for zimmerit on the model.

Best of all, it’s actually very straightforward and fun with the right tools and materials!

Many folks will have their own various methods that work for them and I respect that. However, the focus of this thread is Tamiya Gray Putty & Testor’s Liquid Cement Zimmerit

The following items are needed:

1. Testor’s Liquid Cement,
2. Tamiya Basic Gray Putty,
3. empty clean paint bottle
4. Tamiya’s zimmerit tools
5. masking tape
6. palette.

Bottom of an old Tamiya paint bottle is idea for the palette.

Molak Stucco Putty is a superb product can be used instead of Tamiya Basic Gray.

While other solvents will thin putty there’s a suitable working time that Testor’s provides I find preferable to other Liquid Cements. Tamiya Extra Thin tends to go where it isn’t wanted in this application due capillary action so I avoid TET for the putty solvent.

For demonstration I’ll use an old Tamiya Late Tiger 1 kit from 1989. Instructions indicate where zimmerit should be placed. However, detailed research may not agree fully with Tamiya’s suggestions.

I like to clip and clean the parts that will get a zimmerit coating.

For convenience they are assembled as shown.

We’ll have four subassemblies to coat on various faces.

[TopSmith]

This is going to be like watching Leonardo da Vinci at work.

[Armor_Buff]

Greg, thank you for the kind vote of confidence. Hopefully this “how to” reaches the ballpark and will be useful.

---

Mixing Our Zimmerit Compound

Let’s go by weight as that is more precise than me saying mix to the consistency of buttermilk.

Kitchen scales, tear weight w/bottle in place.

Add 5 grams by weight of Testor’s Liquid Cement to clean empty resealable glass bottle. Roughly 5 to 6 CC’s of TLC’s by pipette volume as I spilled a few drops.

Add 5 grams by weight of Tamiya Basic Gray Putty.

Reseal jar with lid and shake until throughly mixed. We want the compound to look like the following.

It’s a little thinner than Mr Surfacer 1500 out of the bottle. Next we’ll do a test application on scrap sheet styrene.

[SSGToms]

Following with interest and enthusiasm.

[iguanac]

While waiting for the rest of your demonstration, could you tell us why didn’t you use Mr Surfacer, as it looks similar in density, and it is already made. Any bad results?
Thanks!

[Armor_Buff]

@iguanac Marko, there’s may ways to do all of these things. Mr Surfacer should work nicely but I haven’t followed that path. My reservations to using Mr Surfacer for zimmerit are a combination established preferences and uncertainty.

1. Is Mr Surfacer a nitrocellouse based product? It’s a great product with many uses for sure but being nitrocellouse based is critical for one key zimmerit technique that will be shown later.

2. Tamiya Basic Gray & Molak Stucco Putty both are nitrocellouse based and can be easily reactived with Testor’s Liquid Cement.

Reactivation is a key technique for fixing a mess like this where that store bought zimmerit doesn’t work correctly for your model.

By developing ones mix skill one can match and patch the aftermarket products. The hole is patched and the zimmerit allowed to cure over night.

The grid is added next day. After an application of Testor’s Liquid Cement square by square the Tamiya tools can be used to match pattern or nearly so. The top surface of previously cured zimmerit can reactived and zimmerit pattern applied.

Patched glacis zimmerit using Molak Stucco Putty & Testor’s Liquid Cement.

This can trick can be applied to fix a lot of annoying issues with a zimmerit pattern.

3. My wife can smell faint traces of Mr Color Leveling Thinner on the opposite side of the house. If I use the product I have to have it in the spray booth away from the workbench.

4. My zimmerit “education” goes back to mixing Squadron’s god-awful Green putty with lacquer paint thinner in a mason jar in the 1980’s to make zimmerit with an old razor saw blade.

[iguanac]

I have some experience regarding wife’s smelling abilities to detect the presence of thinners.

[Armor_Buff]

Given the Floquil/Model Master paint bottles are easy to tip over, I like to make sure they are secure. Nothing wrecks a hobby session faster spilling a bottle of liquid cement etc…

I like to apply the zimmerit compound with a small flat 6 mm or 1/4 inch wide brush. It’s OK to over paint, 1 or 2 coats will usually cover the surface. Given the surface about a minute to flash while cleaning the application brush with Testor’s Liquid Cement.

I find it best to work in small areas of about 3 cm or about an inch.

With the plastic card stock coated, hold the zimmerit tool at a 45 degree angle.

Pull zimmerit tool across the tacky putty as shown. After pulling about ~4 mm or 5/32 of an inch, jog the tool up or down slightly and repeat. With thin card stock having it flat on the workbench or braced helps.

Result

Play around on the card stock experimenting with the pull and jog.

The putty mix pulled away in the marked area but since Testor’s Liquid Cement was used as the solvent the zimmerit tool was able to score the pattern into the soft plastic.

Practice on styrene card really helps as it’s harder to work with than the model generally speaking. When one has confidence on card stock it’s time to move to the model.

Next Zimmerit & the Tamiya Late Tiger 1.

[RandyT]

Wade nice tutorial. I am saving this and will follow it.

Thanks for sharing.

[Armor_Buff]

Thank you, Randy!

---

Up early and slow cooking this morning, so wanted to add…

…hopefully it will taste better than Zimmerit!

Highbrow Disclaimer
War time photographs are the correct authority on details. I strongly encourage those interested in that level of detail to do the appropriate research instead taking my statements as facts.

Lowbrow Disclaimer
Basically, petting Kali-Katt, fast cars, party girls, making bank , eating tastey vittles and building models are my favorite hobbies. We can argue about the order but notice, research isn’t in that list!

Anyway, if I recall correctly, generally for a Tiger 1, the hull zimmerit rows are slightly shorter in width than the turret zimmerit rows. We’ll use ~4 mm (5/32 inch freedom units) for hull and ~5 mm for turret (13/64 inch freedom units)

Loved the original series of Star Trek, thanks to Scotty, so going forward it’s all metric system baby!

Using a roughly appropriate piece of scrap, marked a strip of wide painters tape and cut as shown. The tape should be slightly longer than the box top of the Tiger 1 hull.

Next for the Tamiya Tiger 1, decide if one wants the fenders on the model or not.

Plug fender attachment holes and Zimmerit the whole side if skipping the fenders or in areas the fenders will be removed etc. I want the fenders so will mask off based on Tamiya’s fine guidelines.

The zimmerit rows are perpendicular to the hull top, NOT the fender guidelines. Line the fender guideline tape mask up to match the top strip of tape. This gives an end point on each side for the two and helps as a visual guide to keep it mostly in alignment.

Paint ~ 2 or 3 coats of the zimmerit compound into area to receive zimmerit. I like to let it briefly flash off solvent for ~ minute(s) between coats. It should will be fairly smooth but a perfect surface isn’t needed or wanted. All of the platic being zimmeritted should be coated.

Bottom edge of the tool pressed against the guide tape, slide tool ~4 mm based on guide mark on tape. Works best for me at ~45 degree angle with tool. Make ~4 rows, check back of tool, clean with Testor’s Liquid Cement if needed.

If the zimmerit compound sets up and can’t be worked, dampen it with Testor’s Liquid Cement and reactive it.

If too much excess acculates on back edge of tool, that can cause pull outs.

There’s a slight pull out in the middle. I find this acceptable as it adds a little unique character. However, when that pull out occured, the back side was immediately cleaned. Otherwise, can risk a potential mess that has to be recoated and redone.

The holes in the zimmerit pattern are where the stock kit track cable mounts.

I plan to use the kit part so left the mounting holes. If doing PE bracks the holes should be filled and zimmeritted over. A xerox copy of a template can be used to mark where the PE goes but that’s beyond the scope of this discussion at this stage. However, briefly…

Xerox template and mark…

Reactived zimmerit wirh Testor’s Liquid Cement allows ebedded PE parts (with super glue).

Brackets are secured so that home made cable (as shown here) or Eureka can be used.

That’s all for now as it’s back to the kitchen…

[Tank_1812]

@Armor_Buff

That’s all for now as it’s back to the kitchen…

Yum, what time should I come over?

[Armor_Buff]

Head on over Ryan, highly seasoned end piece or middle cut?

[Tank_1812]

I am on the way and yes.

[Armor_Buff]

Side Bar

Once long ago there was a running joke “Spray Zimmerit”. Shake a rattle can/bug bomb, spray and magically zimmerit pattern would appear!

---

So anyway, when a certain relative showed up today unexpectedly, Wade’s World decided to explore Spray Zimmerit, Myth Buster’s style.

Yes, one can spray zimmerit coating. It just has to have texture added separately!

It definitely isn’t worth the hassle.

Spraying the coating mix requires an additional 50% Testor’s Liquid Cement, 45 psi constant, pulling the needle back half an inch and locking down if needle & nozzle are ~ .3 mm. Multiple coats have to be gradually built up etc.

[Armor_Buff]

Masked off areas on rear that shouldn’t have zimmerit.

Applied a couple of coats of Zimmerit compound and allowed to dry overnight. The rear was coated, remaining side and nose of the lower hull.

Trumpeter and many others make zimmerit rollers and stamps. They can be useful. Note the different width of the rollers. One is ideal for hull and the other for the Tiger turret’s wider pattern.

Wet the cured zimmerit with Testor’s Liquid Cement. Wait briefly ~ one minute to reactive and make surface of zimmerit workable again. I ssed the roller just to demo it for the thread. I dislike the rollers as I seldom get one to roll smoothly without binding.

Switched back to the Tamiya zimmerit tools for the remainder of project.

Hit a low spot. Had to add more zimmerit compound so this area could be textured. It’s rare but occasionally happens when using the razor saw blade style tools.

A41 & A43 attach but for a snug look the zimmerit compound was applied and textured before the parts are added.

The zimmerit can be made soft with Testor’s Liquid Cement so that A41 & A43 can go into place for a tight precision fit with the zimmerit.

Note part fits snugly with zimmerit.

Masking helps make adding zimmerit to glacis plate easier.

Zimmeritted hull completed.

[SSGToms]

That’s a truly beautiful job Wade. You have certainly mastered this process.