[dreamer]

What little experience I have with vinyl kits has included the frustrations of trying to tweak details in a medium that resists smooth carving. Is there a better way to smooth out re-carved areas than just files and sandpaper? Right now, I'm working a spot that is diffult to reach with sandpaper.

I was hoping maybe a very mild solvent that melts the vinyl only on the very surface as applied, or maybe someone has a technique with heating fine probes just enough to smooth out a surface? Anyone try anything like that with any success?

Or...do rotary tool buffing tips come in very small sizes? That might leave too many strands of a buffing head imbedded in the vinyl, but I imagine that's a little easier to clean up or hide.

Teeth. That's what I'm recarving, teeth in a gaping mouth. The gums are just ragged enough from that and just hard enough to reach inside the mouth that using putty and sanpaper is going to be a real chore. Do-able, just tedious - and I'd like better results.

 

[ndeconte]

Hey Dreamer,

When working with vinyl, if I can't sand it out, I'll grab the ol' Dremal tool and carve out the section......from there, I'll mix up some 2 part epoxy (Magic Sculp/ Aves) and re-sculpt the details back in.

Hope this helps,

 

[dreamer]

Thanks, ndeconte! That's probably what I'll have to do on a different vinyl kit - geez, I do love the way this meium holds details, but thrying to fix a detail in the stuff can be aggravating! On this one, the teeth turned out good and it's just a rough surface at the gums and a little at the roof of the mouth . At worst, if I can't smooth it with putty, I can give it an extra thick coat of paint at those spots to cover it up - there's no engraved details to lose there. They don't show much, just hard to reach.