Griphos

I have my kit! Building schedule is next up after finishing the Skipjack.

The rubber sleeves on my spindle sander are quite dense, and are certainly true enough for this sort of operation, and the sanding tubes are themselves fairly thick. You don’t need to crank down on them. Just a slight tightening holds the tube in place, and the tubes are quite stiff and do not deform. The may be expensive. I don’t know. I’ve yet to have to buy replacements. A rubber sanding stick has cleaned them well and they still serve. A light touch sanding and the oscillation keep them from wearing much. Without the oscillation, they might wear more quickly. Here's something like what I had in mind. Not cheap, as it turns out. https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/81251803?cid=ppc-google-New+-+Machinery+-+PLA_sTtF8HGSz___291757062200_t_S&mkwid=sTtF8HGSz|dt&pcrid=291757062200&rd=k&product_id=81251803&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy_-fh-yT4wIVTb7ACh3-RAv5EAQYECABEgK62PD_BwE

Might try a spindle sander shaft arrangement, perhaps with a threaded rod. You can still support the free end, but a nut and washer between the support and the rubber sleeve would tighten a spindle sander tube onto the rubber. You’d need to buy a few spindle sander tubes and a rubber sleeve of an appropriate size and a threaded rod of the same diameter as the spindle shaft. You could set up the free end support similar to the bed adjustment to true the sleeve to the bed.

Coming up on 30 years in about a week and a half. Hard to believe. Time flies.

I’ve been refreshing all day, but it always says out of stock.

I’m used to soaking a plank in hot water and then bending on a jig with nails to hold the shape. Does bending with a hot iron improve on that? Thanks for the help.

I like the vise idea. So, basically, I just move the wood over the iron, bending slowly.

So you’re the one! I had that sander in my cart as well. I guess you completed the checkout right before I tried. I shouldn’t have looked one last time to see if there was anything else I wanted!

I have the Aeropiccola, but I have never really known how to use it. Do I use a form, or just apply the iron and bend by hand? I’ve never seen any thread about how to use heated plank benders.

Wow. Someone must have bought almost everything while I was adding a few things to my cart. As I went to checkout, all items were removed as out of stock. I only added four things, and there were several of them when I added them.

She’s answered that question numerous times over the course of this thread.

Hard is what matters, and stable (doesn't crumble or dust). One nice thing about using a primer is that both primer and paint will telegraph the imperfections well. Even small scratches you don't see will show up when primed/painted. A sanding sealer tends to hide imperfections (partly due to the sheen). So, it might be a good idea to prime it just to spot the problem areas and sand them smooth. You want the smoothest surface possible before painting. For both clear coats and paint, time spent prepping the surface pays dividends.

I'm not familiar with that brand. A quick google and it appears to remain flexible (doesn't shrink or crack), so it may have some acrylic or other flex agent in it already. It does say you can nail into it, so I suppose it hardens somewhat (although I doubt that it will hold a nail for any length of time). At any rate, it also says you can paint directly on it. And it supposedly takes varnish as well. I suspect you have a fairly thin layer of it over most of the surface. I'd still try the sample pieces first, since we don't really know what sort of material the filler is, or its chemical makeup, and see how it responds to the various treatments.

You may have been advised to use poly, or some sealer, in order to “harden” and seal the filler, since there does appear to be more filler than wood that is exposed. That’s not bad advice, depending on what filler you used. Some fillers harden well. Some stay more grainy and it is possible to scratch or dent them more easily than the wood. Shellac can provide a hardened surface to the filler to apply paint to. It was used to create the hard shell on M&M candy originally, which is why they would not “melt in your hand” (I have no idea if it is still what is used). It’s totally natural and fully edible. The person probably suggested poly because it may soak into the filler to some degree (since it is an oil) and harden, providing a better or more durable surface to paint and handle. Shellac will provide a surface shell as well, but won’t soak in. And a single thin coat won’t build much of a shell. Enough for paint to adhere well, however. And multiple layers of paint will be both flexible and protective. I’ve not used MS paints, and don’t know who makes them, so can’t advise about them. I’m sure others here have. Sorry if all all of this is confusing. Totally understandable. Finishing is a complex matter, and although there are basic fundamentals, there’s no easy one-step fits all situations process. But at our scale with our materials, it tends to usually work out just fine rather than not. The key factor in your situation is the filler. I think most of us have been giving advice under the assumption that you are wanting to seal natural wood. Some fillers are made to be painted and can be painted directly with good results. In a sense, such fillers perform both a sealing and priming role already. What filler did you use? Is it a hard surface? Does handling it create any dust or leave residue on your hands? You’ll want to make sure it’s clean before any finish. So a light sanding with 320 or 400 grit paper will present a fresh, clean surface for the finish to adhere well. I don’t know that you should use mineral spirits to clean, since that may react with the filler and perhaps soften it. I'd still suggest making a few samples of glued planks or some solid sheet and apply your filler on top and let it fully harden and dry. Then apply shellac to one, and paint; prime another and paint, and just paint the third. You’ll see what gives the best result in your situation that way. The likelihood is that all three will be very similar. As for building multiple thin coats of the model paint, you shouldn’t need to sand between coats, particularly if you thin the paint so it flows well, or it comes that way, like Vallejo and Polly Scale paints. If you are airbrushing, and have thinned the paint enough to flow well through the airbrush, then no sanding will be necessary. Acrylic paint dries fast, particularly through an airbrush, and that brand may need retarder added so that it airbrushes well. Some brands don’t. I’d just use brushes to paint the hull myself.

Shellac is an ideal sanding sealer. Hard to mess up. Polyurethane and polyurethane varnish are the same thing. You can can paint over properly applied poly just fine. Modern, good acrylics adhere very well to clean surfaces. As a sanding sealer, you want to thin the poly by half at least and put on a very thin coat. You wipe it on and then wipe off the excess right away. It will penetrate the wood and not leave any real surface film. You do want to let it fully cure. A thin penetrating coat will cure in most climate conditions within 48 hours, but this is not guaranteed. Fully cured, poly provides a hard durable seal. I’m not sure why that is needed, though. Why are you wanting to “seal” the wood with a clear coat before painting? Did you read that you should somewhere? As you say, you can just sand and paint. Wipe the sanded surface with mineral spirits. A tack cloth will not get all the dust. Again, the paint itself can be used as a primer/sealer. I don’t seal surfaces I paint, and don’t usually use primers. A thin first coat does the job. Always build paint in thin coats. Don’t try to make it opaque in one go. Multiple thin coats of a good acrylic, like Vallejo or Polly Scale, will leave a beautiful and very durable finish. If you want to seal first, shellac is best. Most hardware stores sell a “sanding sealer” that is shellac. Most sell Bullseye here in the States, which is a decent pre-made shellac. I always use blonde or super blonde flakes and make the cut I want myself with denatured alcohol. But I usually use shellac as a clear finish for natural wood, not as a sealer. Blonde if I don’t want to darken the wood tone, and darker flakes if I do. But several coats of shellac will leave a high sheen. That’s where a wipe on poly can be nice. Poly can be obtained with additives that dull the sheen to a satin finish, which works well for decks, etc. I’d just sand and wipe with mineral spirits and start applying thin coats of paint. But I suggest that you make a sample of some planks glued together and test your paint and technique with that first. Don’t start painting the hull until you can paint a sample in a way that looks very good to you. What paint are you going to use? That’s the more important question not all paint is equal.