Ideas on staining an finishing

[jlm]

This is one of my first posts other than introductory ones. I am working on a Pride of Baltimore II build, and I am looking for advice on the staining of the deck and deck furniture. Much of both has varied colors plank to plank I hope this picture posts coherenty.  Would you stain each plank with a different stain in no particular pattern, then glue it down and then wipe-on poly?  The deck doesn’t come across as vividly, but the individual planks vary greatly in color and hue  I can only think the planks must be individually stained prior to gluing in  

[Bob Cleek]

"Real life" deck planking is not stained. Small boat decks are sometimes oiled, but, for larger vessels, decks are left unfinished. They are scrubbed clean regularly and in olden times they were "holy-stonned," meaning that they were "sanded" with square stone blocks, to remove accumulations of tar which dripped from the rigging when applied and even when it liquified in the heat of the tropics. Decks were laid of a single species of wood and so should not have appeared much different in color from one to the other. (Of course, if repairs were made and portions of decking replaced, it may vary slightly in appearance.) On a model, at scale, a deck should be a single color. A model's deck can, of course, be stained if the modeler wishes to use a species of wood that is of a lighter color than the real deck they are portraying. 

 

The cabin top in the posted photo appears to have an edge of a species different than the planks in the middle of the surrounding edge frame. They could, also, be of the same species, in this case quite possible teak, which has some variation in color, depending upon the subspecies of teak used. The difference in color seen in the cabin top in the picture appears to be the result of sloppy maintenance more than anything else. The top is varnished and it appears the varnish was applied without the teak being properly stripped and bleached before re-varnishing, leaving some weathered differently than others.

 

Properly, the "bright" (unpainted) wood, whether it be bare or varnished, should be of the same color. Where different colored wood is used for accents (as perhaps with the edge framing of the cabin top here,) that would require staining separately, either by careful masking, or staining separately before assembly. Other's mileage may vary, but I really see no reason to apply "wipe on poly" on bright wood on a model and I suppose that's a story for another night. (It's fine for bringing up the grain and figuring, but it's a rare wood species that benefits having it's grain or figuring accented at modeling scales, particularly if one has paid the big bucks for fine wood because of its even coloring.) 

 

Below: An (apparently) unfinished deck. The slight variations in color are the result of planks coming from different trees or parts of trees. At "scale viewing distance," this color variation would not be visible. The deck would appear a single color. Note how at "scale viewing distance," i.e. the far forward area of the deck, the color of the wood is seen as uniform and the black seam stopping is barely visible.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Bob Cleek