Home Racing World

When using Durhams water putty on tracks to fill holes and screw holes. What is the consistency i should be looking for,I did some last night with what was left in the can. Got some more today. Was thinking not to soupie dont want the water to react with the MDF. Tim

Hey Tim,
I've had good luck with durham's as a result of having some bad luck with my routing skills. I mixed mine to the consistency similar to that of creamy peanut butter. There were a few spots ( especially around corners) where I thought it would chip away but so far, it has not. There is pic or two on my build thread. I always let it dry overnight. I put a piece of thin plastic Saran Wrap around the "spacer" I used to keep the shape of the slot thinking that it would keep the slot walls from chipping when I removed the spacer. Seemed to work but not sure it as necessary. Hope that helps.
Joe

As a long time woodworker and track builder, I will endorse the above fully. And yes, a liner of some sort is necessary to maintain shape. I use plastic auto body putty spreaders, both to apply and to slip into the slot to maintain the slot shape smooth. I use them to sand the slot, too. Just wrap some 150 grit garnet sandpaper around it and run it back and forth in the slot. Perfect every time. Ya gotta love good old Durham's Rock Hard.

thanks for the info, i am using it for the nail holes and screw heads on the track. I also had some errors in routing for that i used bondo and over routed my mistakes, all good now. Will have some pics soon this is my second track so i am going to put a little more thought into the track surface. Color and enhancing with air brush to weather it some what. Happy Thanksgiving.....

I usually use bondo but this should be gould for Durham or other fillers too. To prevent a feathered edge of filler in a slot that might separate or get caught by slot car guide passing by, I cut short (1/8"- 1/4" or so) perpendicular slots into the body of the wood at each end of the fill. I then fill the whole thing as suggested above including my little slots. When cured and sanded these "roots" make for a bond that is as strong or stronger than the wood that was removed in the first place.

The method that our most experienced track builder uses is to cut strips of wood to fit the slots. The strips are glued in place and Durhams is used after that. I expect that Durhams is like plaster, which does not dry out, it sets like concrete so there is little excess water to soak into the MDF.

To fill in screw holes I just used dry wall or spackling paste, Fill the hole half way wait about 30 minutes and fill a little proud. Easy sanding in no time.