Cheap Epoxy Metal Repair/ Filler, and Initial Painting Model Cannon

by John

So, firstly the cheap epoxy repair/filler. I paid $AUD9.95 for 100g on Ebay.

I note that the price has increased since my purchase, but still a lot less expensive than JB Weld.

I had dropped a tool onto my cheap compressor, and snapped off the muck metal outlet fitting. I tried cutting off the broken bit, re-tapping it, and blocking off the broken bit, but the muck metal part kept on crumbling away.

The broken fitting, after trimming it back with an angle grinder. Fitting a 1/4″BSP plug was unsuccessful.

So, I filled the broken fitting with the Chinese epoxy.

The broken muck metal casting filled with the cheap epoxy.

It took many hours to set hard, and I left it for 24 hours before firing up the compressor. I stood well back, out of the firing line, and powered up at 100 psi. All good. So I left it for a few hours, still all good. So then I did some riveting on my model cannon….

Initial riveting efforts satisfactory. Not perfect but not bad for a beginner.
First I riveted the sides of the carriage, then the bulkheads, then finally the base.
And then I used a pressure can to paint etch primer onto the sub-chassis, and the carriage. Hides a multitude of errors. My spray booth is a cardboard carton. Also melds steel, aluminium and bronze.
The etch primer shows the features which need further finishing, filling, filing, and provides a good foundation for the top coats.

The Chinese epoxy metal repair-filler is inexpensive and works well. Just a pity that it comes from a country whose government ignores international laws, and is territorially aggressive (Tibet, Taiwan, Tajikistan, South China Sea). And has probably lied about the origins of the Covid pandemic.