Durham's Water Putty

[kloving]

Hello Everyone,

In my new life's work (dreaming of how to build dollhouses) I have been useing a powdered water putty. The reason I started useing this product is because

1. I have used it before

2. it is in a powder and I can mix small amounts.

The way I have used it so far is:

Texture for walls

wood filler for my wood floors

colored grout for my imitation marble floors

I found it can be colored by adding a small amount of paint to the mixture. The natural color is cream. It sets up in about in about a 1/4 hour. I use small plastic cups that I throw away after after use.

I know others use different products for wall texture and wood filler. My question is there a better product? What are the advantages of another product? Can another product be colored and used as grout? Has anyone else used Durham's water putty and what were the results?

Kevin

[Cricket]

Kevin, I don't know that any product is really any better than another. It's what works best for you, and you've certainly found good uses for this stuff.

[havanaholly]

Well, you KNOW my preference! But Jeni's also right. Spackling compound isn't for everybody...

[sharon]

Well, you KNOW my preference! But Jeni's also right. Spackling compound isn't for everybody...

Havanaholly

After your posts about how you use spackling compound I bought a small container to use, I agree that it can really fix up small gaps,ect. to give a more polished finish. That is one of the reasons I enjoy this forum, getting ideas from other members.

BTW, what is powered water putty? Where do you buy it?

[kloving]

Sharon, Here is a link to a page on there web site (you may have to copy and paste it because I don't know exactly how you post a link).

http://www.waterputty.com/view.htm

This stuff has lotts of uses--The site says it can be used in a mold to make molded objects. I plan on useing it like concrete to make patio stones with tiny sea shells embeded in the stones.

Kevin

[Wolfie]

Kevin, I LOVE Durhams! But I've never considered using it for dollhouses. I use it to affix hooks inside the arms and legs of large dolls - for this is works fine - mix it real thick and apply insert hooks, and you can string them when they are dry. I will have to try it on the dollhouses.......

Wolfie

[havanaholly]

Sounds like Plaster of Paris with an adhesive.

[Wolfie]

I tell you Holly, rock hard doen'ts begin to describe it. I have been using it for year and it holds the dolls together very well. Most of the time I don't bother stringing the dolls because I like them in more realistic poses - so I just use "rock hard" in all the joints as thick as I can get it - just piling it in and let it set for a couple of days? You can't pry those parts apart unless you drop and break them......

[kloving]

Sounds like Plaster of Paris with an adhesive.

Naw, this stuff is American--LOL I don't know about it's adhesive quality. I use a brush to "stepple' it on and then use a 3 inch putty knife to go over the top of it after it has set up a little. It makes a texture like what we in the building trades called "knock down" Looks something like stucko. The thicker you mix it the heavyer the texture will be.

Sharon, I get mine at a lumber yard here called McCoy's. It is something that should be easy to find in almost ant hardware store.

The graet thing about it is you can sand it and shape it. I have used it to "build" a corner back on a wall (real house) that was damanged in a spot. Sounds like this is what Gina is talking about. I have also used BONDO (not on dh YET). Let me tell you if it is a paint grade surface BONDO works like a dream, but you can not stain it.

As for the plaster from Paris, I have never used the stuff. I think that was used with wire lath in old houses to make a smoth surface.

The thing with Durham's is you can mix a themble or a pail of the stuff depending on what you need and the rest don't set up after you open the can.

The reason I brought it up was to find out if useing it was a no no in dollhouse construction.

I live in fear of useing some poroduct that should'nt be used on dollhouses and "anybody" with a brain knows better--LOL I am so new, I just want to check for screams of NOOOOOOOO before I proceed to far.

Thank You all for your advise and knowledge

Kevin

[sharon]

Kevin

Thanks for the information about the product and where to buy it. I will check my local hardware store for this material.

[Wolfie]

I get mine at ACE hardware - they have it in two sections, the plumbing section and the stucco type section...... It's fabulous! I'm looking at it with new eyes this morning! I have a need for something harder than stucco...... Warning, don't let it get down your drains......

[Wolfie]

I get mine at ACE hardware - they have it in two sections, the plumbing section and the stucco type section...... It's fabulous! I'm looking at it with new eyes this morning! I have a need for something harder than stucco...... Warning, don't let it get down your drains......

[kloving]

Amen Gina, Don't put this stuff down a drain it will set up and you will never get it out. Best to mix it in a plastic cup and throw away the cup and what ever is left when you finish.

If anyone is doing something with this stuff that was not mentioned in this thread, please let us know. I have never used it to mold anything but it looks like it would work. I am sure it wold make a great concrete subutite for sidewalks and walk stones.

Thanks again for the input. I shall continue to use it in any application I can think of (and YOU can think of and tell me--LOL)

Kevin

[Peggi]

Kevin, you've got me wondering if this would work with the brick/stone stencils mentioned in another thread. Sure would help making bricks/stones/blocks a lot cheaper.

[kloving]

Kevin, you've got me wondering if this would work with the brick/stone stencils mentioned in another thread. Sure would help making bricks/stones/blocks a lot cheaper.

I am sure it would Peggi. When I use it I allways have some levt in the plastic cup. After it setts up you can pop it fight out of the bottom of the cup and have a perfect round flat stone (well it is a mirror imange of the cup's bottom. That is what gave me the idea to make paving stones with it. I might even try some 1 inch by 1 inch tile. I think I could paint some pollyuathane over it and have it exactly like glazed tile.

If I were going to use it in a mold I think I would spray the mold with Pam cooking spray first so it would be easy to break loose after it setts up. Th side up will be rough so the finished side would be the side down aganist something smooth. You could even make a imprint in the bricks with some little wooden letters (inverted) It would give you a exact mirror immage of the mold.

As I said it is cream color (ivory) in it's natural state. I ahve colored it with a little paint but it takes longe to set up when you have paint in it. food coloring might work. The web site recmends "dry colors", I guess that would be like Rit die or something like that. I have only used paint so far but this stuff is adapitable to anything I have used up to now.

Please get back to me and tell me if it works.

Kevin

[Peggi]

It will be a while, I've not ordered the stencils yet. But what I'm thinking of is laying the stencil down, put this over it and before it sets up remove the stencil and leave spaces between the bricks. Like magic brick works. but it definitely sounds like a product that could have many uses. Thanks for telling us about it.

BTW--i didn't get to pull the GPS gag on the SIL, ran out of time. But thanks for the directions, there is always next year!

[havanaholly]

Peggi, the only problem I could see using this stuff is that you'd want to wash the stencil off outside, since you don't want any of it going down your drains & clogging them (it sounds like this stuff sets up in water, like to repair submerged surfaces).