Mr Surfacer

[Go Flight]

If anyone cares and FWIW, I just started using the 500 and 1000 and found (by accident) that it cleans up very nicely with acetone.

[Jagdson]

It sounds like Mister is great stuff, the kind of stuff I could really use on all my projects... as long as it's mixed properly and used according to the product number/end purpose parameters.

Whee.

I need to spit in Tamiya paints to keep them workable, for Ghid's sake. Are there any Mister Products that can just be used?

[Mr. Badwrench]

Unless I'm airbrushing, I just use Mr. Surfacer straight out of the jar. If I am airbrushing, (and only with 1200), I mix it 1:1 with lacquer thinner. It doesn't have to be precise, I've tried as far as 3:5 and 5:3 either way. The thicker you mix it, the more likely it will clog, and the thinner the mix, the lower the air pressure you'll need, but that goes for any paint.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I've been playing with this stuff out of the bottle now for a few weeks, and I haven't observed it filling in any small imperfections at all. It just conforms to the surface, including any imperfections, and leaves them visable. I see no point in thinning it for airbrushing, since the stuff can be had in a rattle can. In all honesty, I see no diffrence between this product, and regular primer, like Tamyia.

[Blappy]

OK it sux. Everyone send me their useless ineffective Mr.Surfacer and I will properly dispose of it for them.

[TER-OR]

I've been playing with this stuff out of the bottle now for a few weeks, and I haven't observed it filling in any small imperfections at all. It just conforms to the surface, including any imperfections, and leaves them visable. I see no point in thinning it for airbrushing, since the stuff can be had in a rattle can. In all honesty, I see no diffrence between this product, and regular primer, like Tamyia.

You need to buff the surface after spraying. Not sand it all down to the surface, but buff it. Use the hand-brushed product to fill seams or scratches. The spray-on is quite thin coat, and will work well if you use a very fine wet-buffing pad to smooth the surface. Don't expect miracles without a bit of work.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I've been playing with this stuff out of the bottle now for a few weeks, and I haven't observed it filling in any small imperfections at all. It just conforms to the surface, including any imperfections, and leaves them visable. I see no point in thinning it for airbrushing, since the stuff can be had in a rattle can. In all honesty, I see no diffrence between this product, and regular primer, like Tamyia.

You need to buff the surface after spraying. Not sand it all down to the surface, but buff it. Use the hand-brushed product to fill seams or scratches. The spray-on is quite thin coat, and will work well if you use a very fine wet-buffing pad to smooth the surface. Don't expect miracles without a bit of work.

The hand brushed stuff is what I've been trying. The Mr. Surfacer 500 acts more like thin putty, and it shrinks as it cures, leaving the imperfection still visable. the 1000 stuff is so thin it seems like grey primer, and it conforms to the surface, imperfections and all. I end up having to use coat after coat, with lots of wet sanding to get any results.

[macfrank]

The hand brushed stuff is what I've been trying. The Mr. Surfacer 500 acts more like thin putty, and it shrinks as it cures, leaving the imperfection still visable. the 1000 stuff is so thin it seems like grey primer, and it conforms to the surface, imperfections and all. I end up having to use coat after coat, with lots of wet sanding to get any results.

Surface prep is really important; one thin coat of primer to find the surface imperfections, fix those and then add another coat.

If you want to use it to fill in holes with Mr. Surfacer, mix it with a little baby powder or micro balloons (I haven't tried corn starch). It'll form a putty that won't shrink as much. Remove the excess with denatured alcohol or acetone.

Also, make sure you're really stirring up Mr. Surfacer before you decant it. The particles will form a layer at the bottom that can take some vigorous stirring before they go back into suspension.

Frank

[Jagdson]

Also, keep in mind that really big blemishes should get actual putty, or gap-filling superglue, beforehand. By "really big" I mean anything wider or deeper than a bad X-acto scratch, and even some of those are questionable.

[TER-OR]

I use Mr. Surfacer to fill some pretty big gaps - or complete the fill started with epoxy putty sometimes. As I mentioned, you will need to build it up a bit.

[bjackw]

Ok. I'm sold on giving Mr. Surfacer 1200 a go. The only question is: where can I buy it? None of my local (Atlanta, GA) hobby shops seem to carry it. What are the online options?

[Go Flight]

While it may be a slightly expensive way to see the technique - Floyd Werner has an excellent Mr. surfacer demo filling sink holes in his Master Class Videos DVD = http://www.masterclassmodels.com/disk1.html
Yeah he's building a WW2 plane, but the techniques are universal.

[macfrank]

Mr. Surfacer is actually a car paint primer; David Meriman thinks that an equivalent is Lucite 131S primer (or its equivalent). If you need a lot, this is by far the cheapest route.

If you don't want to go to a car paint/refinishing store, you can get it from Squadron, or Megahobby.

Frank

[bjackw]

Thanks for the info. I ordered all 3 versions (500, 1000, 1200) from Squadron. I'll also pick up some of the Lucite and do a comparision test...

[Blappy]

And if you find a Blue coloured material that LOOKS like Mr.Surface don't be fooled, That's......




















Mr Smurfacer

A smaller and not as effective substance designed for Fungi.

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Mr. Surfacer is actually a car paint primer; David Meriman thinks that an equivalent is Lucite 131S primer (or its equivalent). If you need a lot, this is by far the cheapest route.

If you don't want to go to a car paint/refinishing store, you can get it from Squadron, or Megahobby.

Frank

Could this Lucite be had at Autozone or its equivalent? I've been hearing you all rave about it. I figured it might be worth a go.

Kenny

[TER-OR]

AKA Sand and Fill
It's pretty similar to the Surfacer 500.

[woozle]

Nice Thing about Mr. Surfacer is that it doesn't fill/cover details while it doesn't smooth-over scratches. I use it as well as Aves for big fills and Squadron for small fills.

[macfrank]

Could this Lucite be had at Autozone or its equivalent? I've been hearing you all rave about it. I figured it might be worth a go.

Kenny

Kenny, the only place I've found it online is here

$99... I think I'll stick with Mr. Surfacer bottles until I need a gallon of the stuff.

[Blappy]

Could this Lucite be had at Autozone or its equivalent? I've been hearing you all rave about it. I figured it might be worth a go.

Kenny

Kenny, the only place I've found it online is here

$99... I think I'll stick with Mr. Surfacer bottles until I need a gallon of the stuff.

OOoh! Good price. I need to get one of these. I blow (no pun intended!) through primer like crazy.

[zysurge]

Kenny, the only place I've found it online is here

$99... I think I'll stick with Mr. Surfacer bottles until I need a gallon of the stuff.

I bought a quart of Fill-n-Sand 131S on e*ay fro less than $30. If you don't need a full gallon, it's an economical alternative.

Eric

[bjackw]

eBay! That's a great find. After several days of searching with no luck locally, I also just ordered a quart via eBay.

[Lt. Z0mBe]

Thanks, frank et.al!

I shall order some up. Perhaps just a quart for me though.

Kenny

[Alex Dumas]

Guys, how much time do you let it cure before sanding? ...assuming curing time is the same for both the 500 and 1000 Surfacers.

And what grid of paper do you use for the first strokes at the 500?

Thanks!
Alex

[macfrank]

Guys, how much time do you let it cure before sanding? ...assuming curing time is the same for both the 500 and 1000 Surfacers.

And what grid of paper do you use for the first strokes at the 500?

Thanks!
Alex

You can sand it after a few (2-4) hours, but it'll be pretty soft. If you wait 24 or so, it'll cure to a very hard finish.

But why sand? A dab of denatured alcohol (or acetone, if the material underneath is resin) will remove the excess without sanding.

[Mr. Badwrench]

I've found that you can sand it more quickly than that, within an hour works ok. Macfrank is correct, it won't be fully cured yet, but it is hard enough to sand on without making a mess pretty quickly. As to what grit to use, that depends on how much you need to take off. I'll often start off with a medium sanding stick, (about 600 grit), but sometimes I'll go straight to a fine stick, (about 1000 or 1200 grit), and move up from there.

[Blappy]

And what grid of paper do you use for the first strokes at the 500?

Thanks!
Alex

I usualy start with 3200 MicroMesh on the 500 and work up to 4000 or 6000 if its the final polish before paint. For 1000 you can usually go right to 4000 MicroMesh then 6000. If you have a big piece of dust in the paint then that area needs to be started at 3200. Oh and ALWAYS wetsand.

[Marco Scheloske]

800, followed by 1000. That`s it.

[Alex Dumas]

But why sand? A dab of denatured alcohol (or acetone, if the material underneath is resin) will remove the excess without sanding.

Do you remove the excess right after applicaton are do you wait a while?

And thanks for your inputs guys!

Alex

[macfrank]

Do you remove the excess right after applicaton are do you wait a while?

I let it dry, then remove the excess with denatured alcohol on a Q-tip or microbrush. It helps to dab some of the alcohol on first, wait a few seconds for it to soften the Mr. Surfacer, then remove the excess. If you remove too much Mr. Surfacer, reapply.

If you wait until the Mr. Surfacer fully cures, you'll have to let the alcohol sit on it longer.

If it's a resin model, Acetone works just as well, if not better. Straight Acetone will attack and soften most styrenes, which is why I mention using Acetone on resin.

Frank