Questions about milliput.

[Koriel]

I've read here and there that people mix in some milliput with greenstuff to shorten the time needed for the putty to cure and that the mix is easier to sand smooth.

 

Thus my questions are the following:

 

How does milliput compare to greenstuff (texture, consistency etc)?

 

What kind of milliput do you use?

From what I've read, the standard grey and the fine white are the most common.

 

If anybody with experiance working with milliput care to share their thoughts, I'd be most gratefull.

[helterskelter]

I've used milliput before, it's alot softer to work with than green stuff, so I find it alot easier to make it do what I want. And cheaper so you get loads more for your money and it cures solid as a rock. Basically I won't use green stuff again as long as I have milliput

[lhg033]

I've tried but never got on with milliput for scultping - should really give it another go as it's more down to lack of practice I'm sure. definitely dries a lot harder than GS. I've used it to repair a bolt mechanism for a cupboard door and a variety of filler tasks around the house more than on models and yes, it sands down nicely.

 

Expanding on your comment about mixing, from what I gather milliput it a lot better for doing hard edges such as armour whereas greenstuff Is good for more rounded/organic finishes. from what I've read, mixing them can allows you to get sharper edges as well though I've never tried it myself

[Gurth]

I used to use Milliput when that was all you ever heard about and pretty much the only epoxy putty you could reasonably get your hands on anyway (we’re talking about the early ’90s or so here) but I never liked it much. The only one that I find sort of usable is the superfine white variety, all the others I always had trouble mixing properly and generally found too tough (before they hardened) to easily work with. I then discovered Sylmasta A+B, Magic Sculp, and more, and would take any of them over Milliput any day.

[Daevyll]

I've read here and there that people mix in some milliput with greenstuff to shorten the time needed for the putty to cure and that the mix is easier to sand smooth.

 

Thus my questions are the following:

 

How does milliput compare to greenstuff (texture, consistency etc)?

 

What kind of milliput do you use?

From what I've read, the standard grey and the fine white are the most common.

 

If anybody with experiance working with milliput care to share their thoughts, I'd be most gratefull.

 

- milliput is softer to work with than GS. If you want a rough idea of the difference , take a piece of plasticine (you know the kids' stuff) that has been lying around for a while. When you just start kneading it, that is about how GS feels. When it's warm and you've kneaded it for 10 mins or so, that's how Milliput feels. It also cures differently, Milliput being more 'porous' and easy to sand down into a shape.

- I use the standard grey. It works just fine.

- I use both GS and Milliput; as stated above, they have different feels and as such are useful in different situations. The 'toughness' of GS means for instance that it is more easily used for small detail that needs to be sculpted just right (such as an extra boob for a Daemonette), because a stray touch wont warp it. On the other hand larger parts can be made fine in milliput, since you can sand it down afterwards such as a basic torso shape.

 

Hope that helps

[Subtle Discord]

GreenStuff produces a plastic-like final cured product that is a bit soft with a bit of bend if it's thin. When you're working it soft retains that plastic-like consistency and will repel water. It's that plastic consistency that makes it clog up sand paper and a pain to shape after its cured. It has a tendency to shred and rip if you don't use good quality files. You can add a larger amount of the Blue compound to the GreenStuff mix to increase the hardness a bit, but it will also cure faster which can be a problem if you're needing time to sculpt.

 

Milliput is more like a clay that is softer to work with, but once it cures it's like stone or fired clay. It is rather brittle on its own, and small details, while they can be extremely sharp and precise, will also be prone to breaking/chipping. An added feature of Milliput is that it can be thinned with plain old water (it works very much like clay in general) and can be turned into a paste if it is desired.

 

Cure times will stay about the same, but if you put a 25W (no more, no less) incandescent bulb in the lid of a coffee can you can make a great curing oven that will cut cure times in half. I've got plans to do a tools article about it and a few other home made things that are for the hobby; good reminder, thanks. Mixing the two products does work fine and in this case you get the best of both worlds; a putty and is plastic-like and easy to work with, that will cure very hard (but not brittle) and will work (drill, cut, sand, file) very well.

 

As a related side note, the company that makes Greenstuff also makes a newer product called BrownStuff that is MUCH harder when cured than GreenStuff. It's very similar to Milliput but not quite as brittle. I still like to add a bit of normal GreenStuff when I use it to stretch it and avoid any brittleness.

[Zsoulless]

Subtle Discord, pretty much hit it on the head..(("green stuff" is a nick name and its far cheaper if you buy it as Kneadatite.)) brown stuff isn't new it's been around for Years, its just not as commonly used. It cures harder and holds a much finer edge..

 

I cant stand working with milliput myself.. Its a texture thing

[Koriel]

Many thanks for all the replies. I'll get some milliput and brown stuff from my hobby store tomorrow and see what works best for me :)

[Forté]

Milliput on it's own is horrible to sculpt with. And wear gloves when mixing if you can as it gets everywhere. Great for building up bases though and a lot cheaper and cures harder than kneadatite.

 

I've tried a 50/50 mix and found it a little firm for sculpting but held detail very well so maybe a 70 GS/ 30 M mix may get the best of both. Have heard good things about Brownstuff and Procreate.

[SW1]

I find 1:1 gs and milliput to be great for filling big gaps where I need some structural strength like where I mated a plastic IG exicutioner gun to a metal oop SM Pred turret:

 

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee214/SW1-SWC/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps9dffd5ba.jpg

[Koriel]

Another great tip :tu:

[Teetengee]

I always use procreate, but I basically only do organic style modelling putty projects as of so far. You just have to be careful to not pull on it too much as it stretches very easily.

[Koriel]

Hmm, anybody know a good site where you can buy brown stuff?

[Gurth]

Must … try … hard … to … avoid … easy … jokes …

[Subtle Discord]

I got my last batch of Green and Brown Stuff from Cool Mini or Not. They've got a good broad selection of miscellaneous hobby related products.

[Forté]

Which country you in?

[Koriel]

Sweden

[Forté]

Sweden

Not too sure then really. Sorry. It is still called Kneadatite Brown though ;)

 

http://www.polymericsystems.com/epoxies-adhesives/epoxy-putty-tapes/kneadatite-brown-neutral.htm

[JeffTibbetts]

I can't believe I missed this topic... Too busy with work. I've been experimenting with mixing the two a lot and have been really happy with the results. A lot of the issues with Milliput have been covered here already, but the 50/50 mix of White and GS has been doing it for me, totally. I think you get the best of both worlds with that mix, and it makes for an absolutely divine all-purpose sculpting medium. Especially for larger surfaces. I really don't sand much, as I try to get it smooth when it's still workable. Take a look at my earlier Knight WIP shots (link in my sig or go to TibbsForge.com) to see what I've been doing with it. The soft armor on her hips is a 50/50, and that piece I did file down a bit.

Some things that haven't been mentioned and maybe should be: Milliput will get ALL OVER EVERYTHING when you mix it up. Your fingers, the table, whatever. If you use water to try and get it off your fingers, get ready to use a lot as a little will just thin it into a paste. The stuff is widely used by plumbers and in fish aquariums because it resists water (and is apparently quite safe for the critters) and can actually be worked right in the water. Anyway, it gets all over and I don't know of any really good way to get it off. That being said, you can use a moistened tool or cotton swab/Q-Tip/cotton bud to smooth it out if you're doing something flat. It has been mentioned, but you can thin it all the way down to a 'wash' for surface leveling to take a rough texture out of something. There are other putties that do it better, but this stuff is fairly cheap. Also, it will crack if you try to stretch it too far. It's not like GS that way. So be a bit careful if you're going to flatten a ball of it as it will fall apart around the edges. Same with snakes or tubes of it. There's a pretty short 'sweet spot' where it's hardened up enough to avoid the worst of this, but mixing it with GS all but eliminates the problem anyway. 

 

Have fun and play around with the ratios. I've read on a forum somewhere that you can make up a lot of it at once and freeze them in little balls. The cold stops the chemical reaction which hardens them. Then you can pop them out whenever you like and avoid the sort of long process of mixing two putties, then mixing THEM together. For me, getting it all over my fingers keeps me from cranking it out until I have a few things I want to do. I should really start a tupperware container of the premixed balls in my freezer. 

[SW1]

Don't think the freezer idea will work that well. To keep gs fresh you can place the tape in a freezer without mixing it. But mixing it will start the process and even if it doesn't fully cure it won't be as pliant by the time it's been unfrozen.

[Forté]

I've read in a few places that it can be frozen too. Even when mixed.

[SW1]

Think it needs to be tested out then. :)

[Subtle Discord]

Epoxy putty products like kneadatite and the polyurethane plastics used to cast 'resin' models work by endothermic reaction to bond the molecules into chains and become hard; that is, the energy from heat causes the reaction to take place. More heat, faster reaction (cure). Less heat, slower reaction.

 

Kneadatite products cure so slowly that I am unsure if they produce a significant amount of heat themselves that would aid in curing. By contrast, quick setting resins harden so fast and they produce so much heat that they can/will speed their own curing. There are even warnings about casting objects too large; they can literally produce enough heat to become a fire hazard.

 

Cooling will slow this reaction, maybe even to the point of almost not curing while frozen, but it will not completely stop the process. I agree that it might be interesting to see just how slow it could become.

[Teetengee]

so liquid nitro baths are the answer here?

[Subtle Discord]

Project: GreenStuff Stasis?

 

Seems to make more sense to mix the appropriate amount for the job than to try and make it keep after it's mixed. Or better yet, just get some Hose-&-Tentacle Makers like the ones at GSI. Ever since I got mine I never have waste sculpting medium, I just roll the leftover into hoses for a later use. Problem solved.