filling in holes

[Tyler v]

i bought a g scale 55 ton 3 truck shay and i wanted to transform it into the west side shay 15.. But to do that i would have to take out parts and would leave holes in the boiler.  what is the best way to fill in a hole with out repainting that whole area. thankyou

[Doneldon]

Holes are easy to fill (use a little Squadron Putty or even some auto Bondo) but I've never heard of a way to do it without painting the area.  You could never match the color or sheen level with your paint and the filled hole will show no matter how carefully you sand unless you sand it flush with the surrounding area, and that will dictate a paint job. 

                                                                          -- D

[NarrowMinded]

I sometimes just plug them with
something that looks like a rivot head or bolt head. Works for me but I am no rivot counter.

NM