Acryli-Goop
Making a non-solvent filler gel
On this Alien egg, Milliput was used around the base, but after a coat of primer there was a hard edge where the Milliput met the model. A coat of acryli-goop helped to blend the Milliput into the model.
Introduction
This article describes how to make a non-solvent gel that is useful for minor gap filling and surface texturing.
Making Acryi-Goop
Acryli-goop is based on acrylic varnish. I always use gloss, but can see no reason why matt/flat or semi-gloss would not work equally well. Some varnishes are thicker than others and it helps to start out with a thicker variety intended for brush painting if available.
Pour a small amount of the varnish into a suitable container. A small bottle or jar lid is ideal. Add icing sugar (confectioners' sugar in the US) to this a pinch at a time mixing it in. This will thicken the varnish until it becomes a gel. If you want a smooth gel then this is all that it needed and you are ready to go. However, if you want to texture a surface then at this stage add a powder that will not dissolve. Flour works well for fine texturing, fine sand for a rougher finish. You may need to experiment to get the finish you require.
There was a bad horizontal seam line on this Alien egg and after filling and sanding all the surface texture was removed. Acryli-goop containing flour was painted up the sides and feathered out towards the top to give the surface a roughness that would be emphasised later with dry-brushing.
Using Acryli-Goop
Acryli-goop is useful in similar situations to poly-goop but as it does not contain solvents is safer to use and will not affect the underlying surface or dissolve plastic.
If you have a rough surface that needs to be made smoother then paint on Acryli-goop without any texturing in it. If you have a smooth surface that needs to have texture added, then paint on acryli-goop with flour or some other powder in it. Provided you have not made the gel too thick then it should even out to produce a smooth finish with no brush marks. If you are not happy with the finish it can always be washed off providing the varnish has not set. Being acrylic it should not react with the underlying surface.
Acryli-goop can also be used for minor gap-filling in which case using a matt varnish as the base is probably best. Simply paint it on the seam and sand away the excess when dry. Acryli-goop can also be used for making weld beads but it needs to be made quite thick which might be difficult,
~~ Last updated July 13, 2009 by Peter Hall. ~~