Mr Surfacer?

[Jim52]

I went to buy a jar of Mr Surfacer last week and thought that it
was unusual that all the on-line stores were out of it. Has it been pulled
for some reason? My first thought was that they had the same problem
with the labels that Tamiya had a while back. Any info?

Jim

[lcarroll]

Jim,
   Being from the "sticks" and not often able to shop for supplies in person I tend to miss a lot of products.  I've seen the odd container of "Mister" products and often see them referenced. I have Tamiya Surface Primer but assume the product you refer to is thicker and more of a gap filler? Also, what was the Tamiya Label problem you refer to? (laquer content?)
     Sorry, no info, just another question to add to yours.
Cheers,
Lance

[uncletony]

Dunno, but try Amazon. several shops there seem to have it in stock.

@Lance -- mr. surfacer comes in several grades and is what it sounds like -- thick to very thick surface prep to fix minor gaps and surface imperfections. It's good stuff -- it feathers very nicely and it sticks. I usually apply it with a toothpick although you can spray it and brush it as well. It skins over in seconds so it takes a little practice laying it down neatly...

[Des]

I use Mr Surfacer on a regular basis, I have the 500 and 1000 both excellent products, you have to use lacquer thinners though to do any clean up of brushes etc. The only issue I know of is the labelling on the products are not in English, so maybe this is causing problems with some countries, All I do is google the product and get the English version of the instructions, it is still readily available here in Australia.

Des.

[lcarroll]

Tony,
    Thanks, I'll grab some next time I see it as it is mentioned often in Build Threads and the more tools and supplies the better!
Cheers,
Lance

[Jim52]

Thanks, Guys! I'm pretty sure that Tamiya's problem was that the labels
weren't in English and I suspect that it's the same with the Mr Surfacer.
It just seemed a little odd that all the main on-line stores are all out at once.
I ended up ordering from Lucky Models and while I wait, I'll try a couple
of other methods of doing the job. There's always many ways to the
same destination! 

Jim

[Chris Johnson]

Mr. Surfacer definitely has it's place and I always used it when I needed a thin coat of putty for some imperfection, until I tried liquid paper/whiteout/correction fluid. I find it dries faster, does an excellent job and is available virtually anywhere. Get the stuff with the foam applicator for smooth applications.

Cheers,

Chris

[Jim52]

Chris,
        I've used whiteout for a number of years too. I love it for those recessed
knockout marks that are in really hard to sand places. Just puddle in the mark
and give it some drying time and you're good to go. It does tend to shrink so a
second dab might be in order.

Jim

[Jim52]

Just a short update on this. I had, as stated above, ordered Mr Surfacer from Lucky Models last
month. As of yesterday, I had received no shipping info from them. I open a dispute with PayPal
and very much to their credit, they refunded my money within 24hrs. Thumbs up on that! It still
leaves the question as to what's up with the supply of Mr Surfacer? It seems as if even some of
the Hong Kong stores aren't selling it due to availability.

Jim

[Des]

I just checked ebay and saw this, looks like it is still available.

Des.

[Jim52]

Thanks, Des! I have found it on Ebay here but most sellers are asking for about
$2-3 more for it. A couple have pulled their ads because it was "No longer Available".
I would rather not develope my technique with it and then find out that I can't get a hold
of it anymore.

Jim

[uncletony]

It seems that this phenomenon is nothing new, and is probably a distribution issue rather than a case of the product disappearing:

plane talk thread from 2010

And if you search on "whatever happened to Mr Surfacer" you will find similar threads dating back much farther.

[uncletony]

BTW, there is a lot of very good information on how to use Mr Surfacer in this starship modeler thread, started in 2005 and continuing to the present

Several contributors point out that the stuff is probably nothing other than Lucite 131S Automobile primer or an equivalent (seems right to me, I've finished a few cars in my time), and you can buy that stuff by the quart for $30 or so from a body shop supply store.

[WarrenD]

I couldn't find it on the HobbyLink-Japan site (my old pusher for this stuff), but I did see that it was available on Amazon.

HTH, FWIW, YMMV,

Warren

[Jim52]

Thanks, Guys! I think I'll give the automotive type a try. For the price of a
couple of bottles of Mr Surfacer, I can get a quart of it and some thinner.

Jim