Using putty filler has always caused a lot of frustration for me. The darn stuff just gets everywhere and before you know it, it is either dry or has melted the plastic meaning that you have to leave it well alone before sanding.

So it was with great interest that I recently read about a technique to ensure that putty is applied neatly, in just the right place, with virtually no mess!

I have tried it out now and it works fantastically. I do not know why I did not think of it. It is so simple and a commonly used technique before spray painting, so why not before putty filling?

The idea is to mask off the areas that you do not want to get putty on. For example if you need to fill in a wing root (where the wing joins the fuselage of an aeroplane) you mask off around the join that needs filling. Then you would spread the putty along the exposed wing root join using a wooden coffee stirrer or a pallette knife.

The next instruction was to smooth the putty by using a cotton bud dipped in acetone-based nail polish remover and use it to wipe over the putty-filled area to remove the excess and smooth it over.

I suppose it did the job but I found that the putty tended to cling to the cotton bud fibres excessively and so you really only got one or two strokes before you had to leave it alone. Therefore I am going to try out using a Colourshaper next time (such as the one pictured) dipped in acetone to provide lubrication.

Whichever method you chose, the affect is that when it comes to sanding (after a suitable drying period) there is much less sanding to do and much less likelihood that you will over-sand the surrounding area.

One last important part of the process: remove the masking tape before the putty dries!

I'll let you know soon enough how I get on with the Colourshaper.