Bob Cleek

Most of the stuff I know was learned from making mistakes!    

Yes, you can spray, or brush, enamel or acrylic paint over dried shellac. Apply the shellac first and let dry, then sand lightly to remove any imperfections. If you sand through the shellac coat, apply another coat of shellac. Sanding the dried shellac will remove any "fuzz" from softwood, (e.g. basswood) and yield a smooth surface for painting.

Well, your in luck with a whaleboat, since they were pretty much only two colors, black and white. Sometimes the inboard was painted gray, but that's just black and white mixed together. (Some carried a brightly colored sheer strake for long-range identification from the mother ship, as well.) 
 
Any of the modeling paints would be fine. Seal the wood with clear ("white") shellac and then paint. Some use a sanding basecoat and then a finish top coat. The sanding base coat will permit a very fine finish which is required for the proper scale appearance. 
 
Review the painting section of the forum. It's full of good information on the subject.
 

Most of the stuff I know was learned from making mistakes!    

Most of the stuff I know was learned from making mistakes!    

Most of the stuff I know was learned from making mistakes!    

Yes, you can spray, or brush, enamel or acrylic paint over dried shellac. Apply the shellac first and let dry, then sand lightly to remove any imperfections. If you sand through the shellac coat, apply another coat of shellac. Sanding the dried shellac will remove any "fuzz" from softwood, (e.g. basswood) and yield a smooth surface for painting.

I’m not sure what special properties Model Shipways paints have that would make them particularly good for models.  Paints have three principal ingredients;   The pigment, the resin, and the vehicle. Paints may also have small additives to control selected properties such as surface tension, gloss etc.
 
The pigment is the color: generally a ground mineral powder.  The more finely ground the powder, the better the paint.
 
Pigments are suspended in the resin.  The resin is the liquid that undergoes a chemical reaction that causes the paint to harden around the suspended pigment.  There are two common resins; alkyd, often called oil or enamel, and acrylic.  There are other specialty paints that use other resins- Epoxy, Urethane, etc, that are not commonly used to paint models.
 
The vehicle, thins the uncured paint to allow it to be brushed or sprayed.  It usually does not take part in the chemical reaction of the resin as it quickly evaporates.  When paint is tacky, the vehicle has evaporated and the resin is curing.  Different resins are thinned with different compatible vehicles.
 
Paint is therefore not that complicated, marketing programs notwithstanding.  You want to buy a high quality paint with finely ground pigments that uses a resin that you are comfortable with.  Oil based paints are smelly and slow curing but I find them easier to apply with a brush.  Acrylics have less oder and cure faster.
 
Roger

This Bob Cleek guy knows stuff.

Yes, you can spray, or brush, enamel or acrylic paint over dried shellac. Apply the shellac first and let dry, then sand lightly to remove any imperfections. If you sand through the shellac coat, apply another coat of shellac. Sanding the dried shellac will remove any "fuzz" from softwood, (e.g. basswood) and yield a smooth surface for painting.

The Model Shipways dory kit instructions may be useful: MS1470 Dory instructions.pdf (modelexpo-online.com)
 
Here's a very good build log of the Model Shipway's kit: A True Novice Build of the Lowell Grand Banks Dory.docx (modelexpo-online.com)
 
Even if you do locate a copy of the old Midwest plans, these Model Shipways plans and build log will be helpful supplements. If you do locate a copy of the old Midwest plans, I expect they will be rather sketchy if they are like other Midwest plans I've seen. This is not a criticism of the kit, mind you, but rather a function of the times.  Instructions have improved greatly over the years, though even now some could use improvement.

You can take the measure of a man by looking at his tools. This fellow is quite a modeler. Very nice shop!

Well, your in luck with a whaleboat, since they were pretty much only two colors, black and white. Sometimes the inboard was painted gray, but that's just black and white mixed together. (Some carried a brightly colored sheer strake for long-range identification from the mother ship, as well.) 
 
Any of the modeling paints would be fine. Seal the wood with clear ("white") shellac and then paint. Some use a sanding basecoat and then a finish top coat. The sanding base coat will permit a very fine finish which is required for the proper scale appearance. 
 
Review the painting section of the forum. It's full of good information on the subject.
 

You can take the measure of a man by looking at his tools. This fellow is quite a modeler. Very nice shop!

You can take the measure of a man by looking at his tools. This fellow is quite a modeler. Very nice shop!

You can take the measure of a man by looking at his tools. This fellow is quite a modeler. Very nice shop!

Lucky you! My stash of Floquil has dwindled to nothing at this point. I loved everything about Floquil, including the aroma, except for the Dio-sol thinner. It was pretty costly and I ran out of it before I ran out of the paint I had on hand. I never had any problem using it. I still think it's the best modeling paint ever. I mix my own from tubed artists' oils these days, but I still miss Floquil. I see where some are trying to sell old stock on eBay for as much as sixty bucks a bottle!  What made Floquil so good was the incredible fineness of their ground pigments.
 
For those who never had the opportunity to work with Floquil see: Floquil Paint | Paul Budzik
 
I've heard that Tru-Color paint, a relatively new brand, claims to be the replacement for Floquil, in terms of accurate colors, at least. I've yet to try it. It's not widely distributed in hobby shops... then again, nothing is widely distributed in brick and mortar hobby shops anymore. See: Tru-Color Paint | When You Need Tru-Color (trucolorpaint.com)
 
 

Lucky you! My stash of Floquil has dwindled to nothing at this point. I loved everything about Floquil, including the aroma, except for the Dio-sol thinner. It was pretty costly and I ran out of it before I ran out of the paint I had on hand. I never had any problem using it. I still think it's the best modeling paint ever. I mix my own from tubed artists' oils these days, but I still miss Floquil. I see where some are trying to sell old stock on eBay for as much as sixty bucks a bottle!  What made Floquil so good was the incredible fineness of their ground pigments.
 
For those who never had the opportunity to work with Floquil see: Floquil Paint | Paul Budzik
 
I've heard that Tru-Color paint, a relatively new brand, claims to be the replacement for Floquil, in terms of accurate colors, at least. I've yet to try it. It's not widely distributed in hobby shops... then again, nothing is widely distributed in brick and mortar hobby shops anymore. See: Tru-Color Paint | When You Need Tru-Color (trucolorpaint.com)
 
 

The moral of the story with acrylic coatings is "Ya gotta dance with the girl ya brought ." All acrylic coatings are capable of producing a good scale finish with an airbrush. Some claim to be useable in an airbrush right out of the bottle. Depending on many variables, including the size of the airbrush needle, "your mileage may vary." I'd risk saying that at some point or another, any brand of acrylic coating is going to need some conditioning, even something as simple as thinning it a bit if it's thickened in the bottle over time. As explained, some thin with water, some with alcohol, and some with both. There are a lot of YouTube videos addressing conditioning various brands of acrylic modeling coatings and they are a good place to start researching the brand(s) of paint you intend to use. When you find a brand that you prefer, for whatever reason, stick with it and your experience working with that brand of acrylic coating will grow as you become accustomed to it. There comes a point where you just have to experiment and develop the experience to use the brand you choose. 

Well, your in luck with a whaleboat, since they were pretty much only two colors, black and white. Sometimes the inboard was painted gray, but that's just black and white mixed together. (Some carried a brightly colored sheer strake for long-range identification from the mother ship, as well.) 
 
Any of the modeling paints would be fine. Seal the wood with clear ("white") shellac and then paint. Some use a sanding basecoat and then a finish top coat. The sanding base coat will permit a very fine finish which is required for the proper scale appearance. 
 
Review the painting section of the forum. It's full of good information on the subject.
 

Beautiful job! Clever solution!

Beautiful job! Clever solution!

Beautiful job! Clever solution!

The moral of the story with acrylic coatings is "Ya gotta dance with the girl ya brought ." All acrylic coatings are capable of producing a good scale finish with an airbrush. Some claim to be useable in an airbrush right out of the bottle. Depending on many variables, including the size of the airbrush needle, "your mileage may vary." I'd risk saying that at some point or another, any brand of acrylic coating is going to need some conditioning, even something as simple as thinning it a bit if it's thickened in the bottle over time. As explained, some thin with water, some with alcohol, and some with both. There are a lot of YouTube videos addressing conditioning various brands of acrylic modeling coatings and they are a good place to start researching the brand(s) of paint you intend to use. When you find a brand that you prefer, for whatever reason, stick with it and your experience working with that brand of acrylic coating will grow as you become accustomed to it. There comes a point where you just have to experiment and develop the experience to use the brand you choose. 

Well, your in luck with a whaleboat, since they were pretty much only two colors, black and white. Sometimes the inboard was painted gray, but that's just black and white mixed together. (Some carried a brightly colored sheer strake for long-range identification from the mother ship, as well.) 
 
Any of the modeling paints would be fine. Seal the wood with clear ("white") shellac and then paint. Some use a sanding basecoat and then a finish top coat. The sanding base coat will permit a very fine finish which is required for the proper scale appearance. 
 
Review the painting section of the forum. It's full of good information on the subject.