My first real mod, Mighty Putty

[Sgood1971]

I have made a few battery box mods, but this one is of my own doing.

It is not close to being finished cosmetically yet, but it's functional and I am getting right at 3 days per charge on battery. I use approx. 2.5 - 3ml of juice per day, so 7.5 - 9ml on a charge which is nice.

So in honor of the two people who inspired me to mod, Natura and Sci. I present the Natura-l Sci-ence Project. (aka The Mighty Puffer)

First off, the specs.
Battery is from a Kenwood Walkie Talkie. It's 3.7v 2000MaH. The connector is 510 and the switch is the horn style from Madvapes. The body is made of Mighty Putty.

The parts. Mighty Putty, 510 connector, horn switch, Kenwood battery, and the battery tray from the walkie talkie.

Attaching the lock nut to the battery tray with putty for proper alignment. (I soldered the wires to the back side of the battery tray.)

Fleshing out the basic shape and getting wires routed under the putty.

Verifying button placement.

Basic shape.

Thickness

Hand fit, small for stealth.

Top view of connector after I started sanding.

I still have a good bit of hand sanding to do and will be giving it several coats of glossy black and some clear coat when I have the surface perfect. Thinking I may use Bondo as last layer before paint for extra smoothness.

This thing vapes like a train and the battery lasts forever and the really great part is I can drop it in the charging stand without removing battery. Also we use the same type Walkie Talkie at work so I have like 15 charging stations throughout the workplace and two at home.

Any suggestions on how to prep for paint would be awesome.

 

[MastiffMike]

For paint prep here's what I've done with putty:
Sand, sand, sand! Seriously, it sands very quickly but still takes a couple of different grits. I usually use 250-400 (or my dremel) to get it close, than go to 600 to remove any deeper sanding marks. Finally I use 1000 (IMO 2000 is overkill but YMMV), paint, light final sanding (again with 1000) and then a couple coats of paint (followed by clear coat if desired).

For me, the benefit of sanding after the first coat is that the putty versus paint color really makes any problem areas stand out to ensure I've got it all smooth.

Another thing I've found, is that the black textured spray paint I have is a very close match to a standard plastic battery box. The texture is fairly subtle but can be handy as it'll hide any minor imperfection.

Nice work! Keep us posted as you finish it up!

 

[Parky50]

Looking good so far !!!

As far as the paint goes... I would use a good sand-able primer and finish off with some 1000 grt paper before paint. Maybe a good clear coat to protect it form the occasional juice spill/flood.

 

[Parky50]

lol.... ya beat me to it Mike

 

[laborer75]

LMAO!!! I love it!!! Makes me wanna try one.

 

[ejoker]

yup, sand, sand and then sand. and then clean, clean, clean. i've not worked with putty but suggest denatured alcohol with a di water rinse.
using epoxy paint will get you a more durable finish and adhesion.

 

[Huffheinz]

Looking good! I really like the form fit the putty offers. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[Sci]

Looking good! What is your boss going to say about that funny looking W.T. sticking out of the charger?
Seriously, great job!

 

[tattooer601]

I know epoxy putty works great.....never forget our friend BONDO......I.E. body filler.....

 

[The SchwanTZ]

WELLDONE!!!! - fantastic mod, great idea! Can't wait to see the finished product!
I love that you can whack it in the charger - brilliant!!!

 

[Sgood1971]

I would have finished pictures, but my painting skills are on par with my juggling flaming chainsaw skills and I have to sand the runs out of the paint and try again.

 

[Sci]

I would have finished pictures, but my painting skills are on par with my juggling flaming chainsaw skills and I have to sand the runs out of the paint and try again.

Where's the finished product? Pictures, pictures, pictures... Seriously, how's it coming?

 

[chev327fox]

I would have finished pictures, but my painting skills are on par with my juggling flaming chainsaw skills and I have to sand the runs out of the paint and try again.

Honestly I don't know how mighty putty reacts to just paint but I know that bondo needs a coat of PRIMER before you paint it or you can see the bondo make a different "off" color of the ppaint so just to be safe I would prim it first then paint it.

 

[Sgood1971]

Here is the picture of my fail paint job. I did in fact prime it but I just suck at painting. I didn't do a clear coat so it's also peeling some after several days. I have since sanded it back down and I'm going to have an airbrush guy I know seal it, prime it, paint it, and clear coat it.

The runs I can blame on over-eagerness. It looks worse in the pic than it really is, but it's still pretty bad. The thing lasts forever though and I have been using it more than anything else I have.

 

[misterD]

its not like a Dreams job but it looks gorgeous if compared to my JB or my madmaggy...

 

[Sci]

Looking good! It's come a long way from the 1st pics I saw(pre-build).
You know, it seems to me that, not to long ago, someone in this thread said that they did networks, not electronics...
Great job!

 

[nicotime]

Not bad sgood....but just for grins...turn it to the right 90 degrees and step back for a look.

 

[boxhead]

this really looks good Sgood1971! me and this 3 tube pac of mighty mendit putty have been lookin at each other for close to 8 months now ( it has been winning the staring contest...) and you might have got me motavated...if i was not driving so much a day...

what was the time frame for pre sanded shaping and button to atty placement? i got a sanyo camera batt and dropin charger that is helping the MMputty win...

 

[Scubabatdan]

Not bad sgood....but just for grins...turn it to the right 90 degrees and step back for a look.

90 degrees which way? One way it will look "happy" the other sorta "sad" LOL

Only you nico....
Dan

 

[Sgood1971]

Not bad sgood....but just for grins...turn it to the right 90 degrees and step back for a look.

Don't know if I can put my lips on it again... 8-o

what was the time frame for pre sanded shaping and button to atty placement? i got a sanyo camera batt and dropin charger that is helping the MMputty win...

I did it in phases, first the button until it set, then the battery connector with an old dead atty in place to be sure I didn't get any gunk in the threads and also to help with alignment.

The time frame between mixing the putty and it becoming too stiff to work with is about 15 - 20 min.

Ty for the comments everyone. I know a guy who airbrushes and who happens to need some computer work done so I hope to sand my fail paint off and have it done up right.