gsdpic Posted September 29, 2021 Share #31 Posted September 29, 2021 Wow, she's looking great with that finish! It's funny, I was just looking at your build log last night and was going to comment on it and say that I can't wait to see it with some varnish on it. Just then we had some brief power outages due to thunderstorms in the area so I did not have a chance to make that comment. Then I came back today and saw that my wish to see it with varnish was granted. I was going to suggest looking into the molotow liquid chrome. I've heard good things about it but never used it. The only other option I can think of is the "bare metal foil" chrome but I assume that is pretty similar to the chrome tape that you are wishing to replace. Quote - Gary Current Build: Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel Completed Builds: Blue Jacket America 1/48th Annapolis Wherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share #32 Posted October 1, 2021 Thanks so much Gary and for those giving this project a thumbs up! I have strayed somewhat on the build order in the kits instructions and did two coats of varnish primer on Scooter mainly to protect the alcohol dye stained coamings and king plank from handling and to give me an idea of what the final finish will look like, so far so good. I have some experience with full size boat varnishing and stumbled upon Total Boat products this summer and decided to try their Varnish Primer and Lust Varnish the primer is great for initial filling of the woods pores and grain and doesn't require sanding between coats if subsequent coats are done in under 24 hours. I have decided to do the boot stripe and red anti-fouling next and then finish the topsides with 4 to 6 coats of varnish that should totally fill the grain and leave a very slick finish. A graphic artist friend has used the Molotow liquid chrome pens and made the suggestion to give it a try I ordered their refill bottle to use through my airbrush but it has yet to arrive if it gives the desired finish I am thinking of using thin brass sheet to fabricate the metal pieces and spraying them as well...I too built the CLC Annapolis Wherry a year and a half ago and enjoyed it very much...I am thinking of building the full size version when I semi-retire at the end of this year. gsdpic and Duanelaker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted October 21, 2021 Author Share #33 Posted October 21, 2021 The past few weeks have not allowed much time for the model. I have been able to spend a few hours masking, priming and painting the anti-fouling and boot stripe. I purchased some Tamiya plastic film with masking tape attached to its edge Wonderful stuff! prompted me to purchase their masking tape in three different widths and with its use, for the first time ever, had no paint or varnish bleed beneath the tape. I had some issues with the bottom planking that became painfully evident after I primed the hull for the anti-fouling. I had beveled the planks for a tight fit and in some locations my sanding was a bit too aggressive and some gaps needed to be filled. I fill with West System epoxy mixed with their Micro-balloon's it is very easy to sand super smooth when cured. Sorry no pictures of the process I somehow deleted them after downloading to my computer. So here she is after bottom paint and three more coats of varnish the wood grain is just about full...I think another three will get me where I want the varnish to be. But first the rub strip (finally got the liquid chrome) spray rails and the interior. To be continued... gsdpic, Duanelaker, ESF and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted December 7, 2021 Author Share #34 Posted December 7, 2021 Sorry its been a while ... After installing the rub strip and spray rails I decided to do one to three coats of varnish to fill all the wood grain. BTW I did coat the rub strip with the liquid chrome and it looked great but it is delicate and most of it rubbed off during installation... re-coating it and spraying a protective coating will be a final step. I also wanted to try air brushing the varnish which worked out pretty well but left some varnish voids in the lines between deck planking and and the styrene "caulking". They showed up after two spray coats had dried I am not sure why but suspect the air brush blew the varnish out of the small gaps rather than filling them. Anyway I sanded the deck and hull and re-sprayed two more coats. Better, but still there, if you look closely the photos below show the issue I am having but not very well I'm afraid lighting them is tricky! I want to fix this as the dips in the finish are much more noticeable in person but I am not really sure where to go from here. I am thinking about using a syringe and filling just the dips with a "bead" of varnish allowing the varnish to fully cure, re-sanding and then re-spraying a final coat or two???...any suggestions would be much appreciated! To be continued... gsdpic, Ryland Craze and Duanelaker 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWD Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share #35 Posted January 7, 2022 I finally got the "varnish issue" solved by filling the "dips" between the wood planking strips with beads of varnish as contemplated previously. At first I waited 48 hours thinking the varnish had cured I sanded just a little until I could feel the sandpaper starting to drag uh oh stopped and gave it another day sanded just a tiny bit ... again and again this process took over two weeks so it could be sanded completely with out smearing the beads and having to start over. Last weekend I sprayed one coat with an HVLP sprayer. whew I feel like I have turned a corner... a couple more light sanding's and varnish coats and I can finally move on. I have varnished trim on full sized boats that took less time...I think it's the scale you just notice every little thing more. To be continued... ESF, Duanelaker and gsdpic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESF Posted March 4, 2022 Share #36 Posted March 4, 2022 Thanks for sharing a challenging build. Lots of valuable lessons (and great results) for those of us going down the same path. I purchased the Scooter kit a few days ago, just before seeing your build log. I thought all the mahogany fitting and shaping would be daunting but it looks like you have met it head on. I wish you good sailing to a successful finish. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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