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Damn putty seems to have expanded.

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Bones:

After sealing my MDF cab with three coats of sealer and sanding the finish between each coat, I was then left with a smooth clean perfect surface that felt like glass and an eager anticipation to splash on some undercoat followed by orange colour

Bumblebounces:


What kind of "putty" are you using?  My experience with most filler products has been that if they are going to do something, they are going to shrink, not expand.  And if they do shrink, it's usually during the initial curing process which you said should have been done long ago. 

Hmmmmm.  What are you sealing with?  The only thing I can think of is that the filler is reacting to the sealer product.  I share in your frustration of what to do now.  It seems likely that if you work towards fixing it, this will just happen again.  Sorry, I don't have any ideas for you, but please lets us know what you do and if it fixes the problem.

Bumble


Bones:


--- Quote from: Bumblebounces on October 05, 2005, 09:14:31 pm ---The only thing I can think of is that the filler is reacting to the sealer product.
--- End quote ---
Now there is a thought.... I am using a waterbased putty and perhaps it did absorb some moisture from the sealer. Seems strange it didn't swell with the first coats of sealer I applied some weeks ago but this seems like a reasonable explanation.....

Minwah:

This exact problem happened to me too.  As Bumble says I was expecting it to shrink if anything...but some of my filled holes (I also spent a long time sanding back to perfectly smooth) raised up in some cases probably as much as 2mm.

I've rubbed all mine back to smooth, and have covered all areas possible with black vinyl.  For the sides I'm just going to apply artwork over the top...not sure if I should paint it or not (something tells me I should, but I can't really be bothered).

In hindsight I would probably recommend using car body filler - it dries really quick and is not water based, plus is makes a really good smooth finish when sanded.  I used 'P38' body filler for my control panels where I've filled in around my trackball mounting plate etc. and it worked really well.

Edit: Just thought I'd add that since I've sanded the problem filler back down 'smooth', it seems to be fine.  I have no idea what caused the problem in the first place.  My cabinet was in a cold damp garage when I filled it so I put it down to absorbing moisture from the air...

Bones:


--- Quote from: Minwah on October 06, 2005, 06:55:26 am ---Edit: Just thought I'd add that since I've sanded the problem filler back down 'smooth', it seems to be fine.  I have no idea what caused the problem in the first place.  My cabinet was in a cold damp garage when I filled it so I put it down to absorbing moisture from the air...

--- End quote ---
This is what I wanted to hear. Reassurance! My cabinet is also exposed somewhat living in an open garage.... Very interesting.



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