I’ve bought some after hearing about it, but I know it’s not like regular paint and am unsure how to use it. I wanted to use it on a Tamiya Pershing model, which has lots of welded joint seams.
As a primer it can be reduced with lacquer thinner or Mr. Leveling Thinner and then airbrushed. Use ordinary lacquer thinner to clean up as an economizing measure. Mr. Leveling Thinner will work, too, though.
I use Mr. Surfacer 500 applied by brush as a light duty filler. It will shrink, but once allowed to dry hard over night, it sands and polishes as smooth as styrene. It does get harder the longer it dries, so if you wait more than about 24 hours, you may have to use a bit more effort to tool it smooth.
As a filler, I apply with a nylon bristle brush. I wet the brush first in lacquer thinner, then dip the tip into the Mr. Surfacer. I brush it on and if needed, use the same brush damped with lacquer thinner to clean up the edges and feather them to the surface. I clean the brush with the same lacquer thinner.
Apply additional coats as soon as the first coat “flashes over.” Mr. Surfacer can be built up fairly thickly rather quickly. However, be careful if using it as a primer for the same reason: it’s easy to build it up too thick and mute details. It does dry “tight,” though, so if applied normally, it won’t hide details.
Mr. Leveling Thinner works equally as well (or better), but is considerably more expensive than lacquer thinner. I reserve that for airbrushing. (It also works really well with other lacquer paints and Tamiya paints.)
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I mostly use it as a filler.
It’s great for filling annoying seams, sink holes, ejector pin marks and any areas that can be difficult to get putty type fillers into. I usually just use a tooth pick to apply it.
Leave overnight and then sand back. It can also be cleaned up with Gunze thinner. Another trick is to leave it to dry for a few hours, then wipe off the excess with a cotton bud damped with thinner. That can be very useful on wingroots or areas with raised details (rivets, bolts etc) that you don’t want to accidently sand off!
Have yet to use it as a primer but I hear you get good results.
Hope it helps.
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I too use it as a filler in the 500 variety, the really nice thing about if for seams is that you can fill them and then use a cotton bud soaked in 99% IPA to remove the excess so all that’s left is the stuff in the seam and it requires not sanding! For other applications do as the others above prescribed.
I’ve also switched to the 1500 variety as my primer of choice. Out of an airbrush at 15 psi thinner about 50/50 with lacquer thinner it goes on super smooth
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Thanks but what is IPA?
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol
I used some to fill in seams on my Tamiya Pershing model.
Success! Mr, Surfacer was able to get into those curvy areas and I could use Q-tips and lacquer thinner to clean up excess without sanding. Best tip I ever had!
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I love it for small seems, the ability to fill seams without sanding intricate detail is a really nice!
Oh i thought it was beer-lol- just kidding
Joe
Mr Surfacer has so many uses. I also use Mr Surfacer 500 as a filler using the same technique described by @SdAufKla. It is my go-to solution for small seams.
Mr. Surfacer 1500 in a rattle can is my favorite primer. It has a smooth finish, sticks hard to resin, styrene and metal, and dries quickly. It doesn’t hide detail.
If you are doing 3D printed kits or parts, Mr. Surfacer 1000 rattle can is the magic solution to striations or print lines. I spray the offending parts and it takes care of all but the worst striations. It is sandable, you can sand any areas still showing the print lines and prime it again.
I originally bought a jar of Mr. Surfacer for adding texture to cast parts. Just stipple it on with an old stiff brush.
Great stuff!