We have all had to deal with this, a line formed in the plastic by putting two halves together. No matter how good the quality of a kit is this is a simple reality. In this article I will go over a somewhat quick and easy method to get rid of these pesky seams lines.
For this you will need the following:
- Thin or very thin super glue, with a brush applicator is possible.
- Razor knife and/or mold line remover.
- Files
- Sandpaper
- Vice (optional)
1. First you will want to put the item in the vice of you have one. When you tighten it down make sure there is just enough pressure to hold the piece together but not warp or distort it.
2. Then depending on how bad the seam is you may want to sand or file it down smooth initially. You can also use the razor knife/mold line remover to scrape a long to remove it as well. What I typically do it scrape it down then lightly sand it with 1800 grit sandpaper.
3. Make sure the area is clean and apply the glue along the seam line. If you do not have a vice simply hold the pieces together with your fingers, make sure to keep them away from the glue. This is where a brush applicator is nice. If you don’t have one then gently apply the glue to the seam as to not have it run everywhere.
4. Once the Glue is dried (typically about a minute as long as it was put on thin, take your razor knife or mold line remover and scrape off the glue, leaving the seam filled. I will typically scrape the surface smooth, then sand it with 1800 and then 3600 got sand paper.
5. You can use your thumb nail to test to see if the seam is still present. If it is repeat steps 3 and 4 again until the seam is smooth. It may still be visible due to the line the glue makes, but once you apply the paint, if done properly, you should not be able to tell.
Some warnings. While smoothing the surface, if it’s curved, make sure to not create a flat spot, You can do this by moving side to side while scraping, same with sanding. Make sure you keep the edge of the razor knife pointed away from you while working on the project. Watch out while using very thin super glue, it is as fluid as water and will run everywhere.
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