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Anyone ever use or hear of using this as a technique to get a smoother finish / fill cracks...?

I'm assuming that it's just plain PVA (white) glue.

I've tried the Greater Google, but haven't come up with anything yet.

Figured I'd go to those more experienced

Thanks!

It might work but there are a bunch of problems that i can think of. First off you need to apply it evenly or you might create streaks or other way non flat area. (Thinning the glue might work?)

Another think is surface tension. This will get you into trouble on edges of the GS areas and you will wash out the edges.

Also i fear that the different elasticity between GS and the cured glue might lead to the hardened glue flaking of on too much pressure and taking paint.(Although this is just an assumption and also depents on how brittle the type/brand of glue cures and how thick the glue layer is.)

There is already liquid GS that might work for what you want. (Never used it so i can't say how good it will work.)

The best and easiest way is probably to get the GS smooth to begin with. It isn't that hard to do if you wet your tools and work carefully. It takes a bit until you get it right but in the end it is probably the better and more save way of doing it.

As btldoomhammer says. My experience has been that it is far easier to get the Green stuff smooth to begin with than to try rework it afterwords.

Likewise, I just try to get the initial sculpting nice and smooth. If I do have little imperfections to fill, whether or not it's my own sculpting, I use Vallejo's Plastic Putty, which is similar to Citadel's LGS. As btldoomhammer suggests, it's hard to get PVA to lay down in nice, even coats without thinning it to the point that it becomes difficult to control. It also shrinks as it dries, which makes things even more difficult. The only time I use it in finishing is if it can soak into the substrate (like "plasticizing" the surface of spackle for finish sanding and subsequent painting).

If you have rough greenstuff and you don't want to remove it, then sand it back to remove any really bad stuff and apply a thin layer of fresh greenstuff over the top and smooth it off.

One way to get a smoother finish is to apply the greenstuff over the area and let it cure a bit . When it's not so soft you can trim off any excess and roll it flat like you would with a rolling pin and dough.
I find the end of the hobbyknife handle (the non-sharp end) good for this. Keep the surface of the greenstuff damp and gently roll the handle over the area to be smoothed, rolling the handle between your fingertips (remove the blade first!).
For smaller areas use a smaller tool like the shank of a twist drill.

You could also use watered down pva/craft glue like you mentioned but be careful not to put too much on at once. The disadvantage of using glue is that you can't sculpt it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As oadie put, the pva shrinks as it dries but this is a good thing as it reduces the clean up required if you weren't that careful in applying it.

And if your GS has reached a good hardness(wait at least 1 or 2 days) you can actually sand it to get it smooth. You just need a sandpaper with a really fine grit. (Mine says it has a grit of 400 - whatever that means ) The rougher the grid the highter the risk of leaving marks or ripping parts of the GS. On larger surfaces you might get away with first useing a file to remove larger imperfections and then go over it again with your fine sandpaper.
This will dull the surface a little and it won't look shiny smooth anymore but once painted this is no problem.

I have smoothed several surfaces and filled in mold gaps with extra thin plastic glue and shavings..as to smoothing putty ..I use a roll of emery paper..1000 grit ..(ultra fine) still leaves plenty of tooth for paint but really does smooth out the piece ..

Another vote for sanding. You can probably pick up fine grit sand paper at any auto paint supplier. I found some sanding sticks that work really well too for smaller areas. They're about 1/8th of an inch wide by 6 inches long and have two dfferent grits on either side. I found them in the model car / train isle at a local store.

I will have pick up some sanding stuff for the next time I work with the GS. I tried keeping it as smooth as I could...but I just suck at it, for now (practice needed).

I also need some new GS, as mine is....um...ancient and bordering on Undeath...