Seam Lines

[sheppsea]

Hi All,

Overall I feel my modelling skills are improving - my painting is better, gluing is tidier, weathering is more realistic etc. Unfortunately the only area where I feel I am making no headway is removing seam lines/join lines after gluing two parts together; I sometimes get lucky and successfully remove but normally they seem to remain no matter what I try. Worse still all of the sanding eventually has an impact on the shape of the model (all be it minor but I know its there!). So I have swallowed my pride (as I feel this is a basic skill I should have mastered by now) and am asking whether anyone have any tips or tricks on how to do this properly, or any suggestions on where I am going wrong

I have tried sanding back on its own as well as using super glue, Perfect Plastic Putty, Mr Surfacer 500 and sprue goo. I have tried sanding all of them back after it has dried and also where possible removing the excess with water or Mr Levelling Thinner, I have tried pushing the filler used into the seem to make sure it fills it and just laying it on, but every time it doesn't seem to have an impact and the seam remains. It genuinely feels like while removing the excess I removing everything in the seem too

Google and You Tube aren't suggesting anything I haven't tried, so it seems to me that I am doing something wrong. I have has most success with Sprue Goo overall

Has anyone got any suggestions?

[kruno59]

Hi mate,

What I found was it's vital the 2 parts touch each other - if they don't u will see a fine white line after gluing and sanding.

If it's a stubborn line then I get a scalpel and scrape the seam - also sometimes it look like you have a line but when u put a marker pen over the seam it doesn't show up - hope this helps - others who know a lot more than me will be able to chip in here - good luck

[sheppsea]

Hi mate,

What I found was it's vital the 2 parts touch each other - if they don't u will see a fine white line after gluing and sanding.

If it's a stubborn line then I get a scalpel and scrape the seam - also sometimes it look like you have a line but when u put a marker pen over the seam it doesn't show up - hope this helps - others who know a lot more than me will be able to chip in here - good luck

Thanks mate

I'll check to make sure they are definitely touching, it hadn't crossed my mind that they might not be

I will try a scalpel too, it is under another lot of sprue goo at the moment so if the seem is still there after sanding that off I will try a scalpel

I already knew the marker pen technique, and although it wasn't showing under the pen, it did when I put primer down

[kruno59]

If you get that fine white line then that's because the parts aren't touching totally - also, once the first glue line is dry I go over it again if I think it needs it.

Re the scalpel, use one with a curved tip - I fine that works better for me

[sheppsea]

Thanks

[digger303]

on a curved surface if you use the soft sanding sticks such as the Ultimate variety if can dig the soft fillers out as the foam follows the line of least resistance.

[sheppsea]

In this case it isn't on a curved surface, but will certainly keep this in mind - my daughter hasn't had a nap today so hopefully I'll be able to get to the bench in a couple of hours

The more I think about it, the more I think it may be that the two parts are touching properly at there are only a couple of points on the fuselage where its affected

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some of the Mr Surfacer products (500 or 1000) can help fill small voids in your putty and seams
You can paint it on after an initial sanding of a putty filler
I try and put Tamiya tape on either side of a seam so I don’t get filler everywhere and need more cleanup that might take away surface detail. You can sand with the tape on as protection.
Hope some of that helps

[sheppsea]

Thanks a lot - I have tried Mr Surfacer and used it in the way you suggest, unfortunately this is the one I have had least luck with! This is one of the reason I think there must be a fundamental thing I am doing wrong

[digger303]

I have sometimes put sprue glue along a wide seam and as you put the parts together the unwanted squeezes out. Then be patient while it dry's and then scrape off as you would removing a seam....not always appropriate due to fine detail that you don't want to remove, but useful none the less. Ca glue with either micro balls mixed in or dentist pink repair powder ( cheaper ) is useful for larger gaps. Although start to sand the majority off before it gets to 100 % hard as it is tough stuff.

[sheppsea]

Thanks Digger, I hadn't tried mixing super glue with powder before so will give it a go next time

[sheppsea]

So, finally tried a couple of more things, first I ran some more TET down the seem and re-clamped it as tight as I could to make sure it was all joined, then put some more Sprue Goo on top, which didn't work, then tried some super glue with powder, which didn't work again

I then tried scraping a little plastic off the surface in one section and noticed some quite big gaps again so clearly I hadn't joined them together properly in the first place, and my subsequent attempt to repaire it hadn't worked, I have now scraped along the entire seem, filled it with the extra thick super glue and sanded it back again and am now hopeful that this has done the trick, but won't know until I prime either tomorrow or Friday when I prime

I genuinely can't beleive that I didn't get the whole seem fitting properly, but hopefully I have learnt something now - if it doesn't work this time I will be at my wits end!

[digger303]

So, finally tried a couple of more things, first I ran some more TET down the seem and re-clamped it as tight as I could to make sure it was all joined, then put some more Sprue Goo on top, which didn't work, then tried some super glue with powder, which didn't work again

I then tried scraping a little plastic off the surface in one section and noticed some quite big gaps again so clearly I hadn't joined them together properly in the first place, and my subsequent attempt to repaire it hadn't worked, I have now scraped along the entire seem, filled it with the extra thick super glue and sanded it back again and am now hopeful that this has done the trick, but won't know until I prime either tomorrow or Friday when I prime

I genuinely can't beleive that I didn't get the whole seem fitting properly, but hopefully I have learnt something now - if it doesn't work this time I will be at my wits end!

Try putting spru glue or ca on the flat part of the glue join before putting them together then push the parts together. The glue will squeeze out and fill all voids. Does require the minimum to be used otherwise a huge mess. You must wait until the sprue glue is dry or it will pull out, the consistency must be right as well. You want it to be soft as it doesn't dry in a minute , but stiff enough so it doesn't run.

[sheppsea]

Right, I am still have issues removing the seams - it is genuinely driving me made and really extends the time on the build. I am convinced that the fuselage is fully joined, and the seam is very thin as far as I can tell

I am trying to use Mr Surfacer again and have ordered the 1000 and 1200 grades (I already have the 500 but the seam is so thin I was to try the thinner products). Can I just check this is how people generally go about using these?

1. Apply Mr Surfacer along the seam
2. Wait for it to fully cure
3. Sand back
4. Check seem with paint/marker pen (I use marker pen as it is far less hassle)
5. Repeat again as needed

Not sure if people generally prefer sanding or removing with Levelling Thinner?