Painting the hull of the Chaperon

[leclaire]

Question for you painting experts out there

 

I have finished the hull of my Chaperon river steamboat and am getting ready to paint it white in accordance with the common practice of the era in which it was built. I want to make sure that the planks and joints show rather than go for a smooth look like plastic. The MSW instructions suggest using Krylon spray paint as the area to cover is quite large and would be a real pain to do with a brush.

 

Should i consider some sort of primer or wood conditioner before applying the paint? i doubt the folks who built these steamers back in those days "conditioned" the wood in any manner but may have applied a primer base. Obviously i am looking to produce something as close as possible to the real thing, i.e., a little rough.

 

Also, it would be great to somehow "weather" the paint a bit too but have no clue as to how that could be done.

 

All suggestions welcome.

 

Bob

 

 

[leclaire]

Well, after not hearing from anyone with any suggestions to my questions I decided to forge ahead and see what happens.

 

Lo and behold, one coat of Krylon flat white spray paint on the sanded hull gave me a perfect weathered look. Kind of a washed out whitewash so to speak. Better to be lucky than good sometimes I guess. Anyway, I got the look I wanted and that is all that counts as many here MSW have pointed out before.

 

Bob

[texxn5]

Luck always trumps skill....glad you got the result you wanted and that you're happy - Capn' happy crew happy!....sorry you didn't get an answer, probably the weekend traffic being low..

John

[chance]

Hi, When you spray painted the parts with the lettering, where you still able to see the outlines of the word CHAPERON? How many coats did you use. ?

 

Thanks

 

  

[leclaire]

Chance,

 

I only spray painted the hull planking.

 

The walls with the CHAPERON lettering were painted with a brush using Tamiya acrylic Flat White. Two coats with a light sanding in between and the outlines were still visible enough to allow easy painting of the letters. When I say "easy" I mean in terms of seeing the outlines. Doing the actual letter painting was altogether another matter. The old fingers aren't as flexible and steady as they used to be. 

 

Bob 

[chance]

Thanks.  I would like to spray because of the eveness and the fine mist.  I was just concerned about the name still showing.  I have used krylon for many years on my models except where there is specific colors.  I except to start the model in a month and will take photos. Thanks again. . 

[Cathead]

For weathering, try using basic artists' pastels to gently rub on a coat of grey or light brown, which will dull any "shine" from the paint and bring out some wood texture. Has worked great for me for many years.