Help painting hull lines

[DispleasedOwl]

Hello everyone!

 

I am asking another favour. I am painting the hull and i am how do i paint the lines on it. Do you have a special techniche/homemade machine that will at least mark the lines straight? I am looking at this post right here:

 

 

And i am wondering how does he know at what height to start and end the line.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Bob Cleek]

I realize this is probably more than most would ever want to know about painting stripes on models, but it's a subject that doesn't seem to have been addressed here lately and I type faster than a lot of people talk, so here it is.

 

Aside from the waterline on the X-Y axis, there aren't many straight lines on a seagoing vessel. That said, waterlines can be marked simply by mounting the hull on a flat surface in the "floating" attitude (sometimes there is considerable rake in the keel, particularly in small sailing vessels.) Then take a block of wood of suitable height with a pencil laid on top of it and just run the block around the hull using the pencil laying on the block to mark the waterline. Note that waterlines are not always of constant width. The eye sees the stripe as of a uniform thickness, but, as the stripe is generally on an inclined surface, its width on the hull has to account for that. When you line off a boot stripe with your block and pencil, you'll note that where the hull curves, the top and bottom edges of the stripe will not be parallel. For example, a boot stripe at the tuck of the stern can widen significantly. Another perspective issue is the shape of the hull overall. If a viewer is standing amidships and looking at the boot stripe, the boot stripe at the bow, and perhaps at the stern, will be farther from the viewer's eye than the stripe amidships because the bow, and perhaps the stern, narrow as the hull approaches its ends. For this reason, boot stripes often look better if they are laid out to gradually widen slightly as they approach the bow. This avoids the optical illusion that the boot stripe is narrowing as it runs towards the bow. These adjustments must be done "by eye" when masking the stripes.

 

As for painting, use a "fine line" masking tape to lay out the lines and paint between the masked areas. Don't use regular house painter's masking tape. The paint will likely run under the paint and make a mess. 3M's Fine Line Tape is a good brand. I believe Tamaya model paints also makes a fine line masking tape. Others have used automotive striping tape, but I've found it's often too thick and out of scale and color selections are limited. A bit of practice is advised before committing to tape and paint the model's hull. The learning curve is short and not steep, but you don't want to mess up the paint job on the model by making that your first try!

 

Fine line tape can be purchased at art supply stores: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40067079/  Buy the 1/4" wide tape and then use regular masking tape on top of that to mask a wider area, if need be.  The stuff is not cheap! Thinner is cheaper. About $30.00 a roll! A roll will probably last a lifetime of modeling, though. (Tamaya tape is less expensive, but I don't have any personal experience with it. I've read good reviews of it. Perhaps others can comment. 3M Fine Line is the industry standard for automotive and aircraft painters.) 

 

Be sure to store all masking tape, and especially fine line tape, in zip-lock plastic bags, which retard their drying out and significantly extend their shelf-life to practically forever.  Also, never ever lay a roll of any type of masking tape down on its side on your bench top. Always replace it in its zip-lock bag. Laying a roll of tape on its side will cause it to pick up dust and dirt on the side of the tape, which ruins it because the dust and dirt adhering to the edge of the tape will make it impossible to yield a razor sharp line and will permit  paint to seep beneath the edge of the tape.

 

There are other techniques for painting stripes, including using special pin-striping brushes freehand with One Shot sign paint, etc., etc., but the use of fine line tape is the only fool-proof method I know. Even among the pros, it's a rare "fist" who can do it well freehand with a brush.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Bob Cleek

[allanyed]

Bob,

Thanks for the tip on fine line tape!!!  I have always used painters masking tape but paint the edges with a clear varnish or poly to seal the edges before painting.  This prevents any bleeding of the paint under the tape, but I will definitely give your suggestion a try in the very near future.

 

Owl,  Consider a pencil holding adjustable height gage as well.   If you are looking to add just a stripe, not the bottom from the water line down, I have had great success for many years using pinstripe tape available on line or from auto supply stores.   It adheres very well to a clean surface (cars are out there in all kinds of weather with this stuff staying put).   When I apply the final four or five topcoats of a clear UV protective matte or eggshell finish to the hull, it further protects the pin striping from degrading or peeling off.   

 

The below photo shows a part of the water line that was set up with painter's masking tape and a pin stripe from the local auto supply store.

 

Allan

[wefalck]

To make matters a bit more complicated: in the old days waterlines often were not laid out along the line that you would have, when the hull rests in the water; rather they were slightly raised at the bow and stern. This was done for three reasons, it gives the hull a more 'dynamic' look,  it also visually cancels out any 'hogging' of the hull due to older age, and finally it counteracts the visual impression that the waterline is bent downwards at the ends, when comparing it to the upsweep of wales and the sheer-line.

 

The craftsmen of old (the sign-makers and coach-painters in particular) used very long-haired brushes to draw lines. Some modern car- and motorcycle painters still use this technique of 'lining', which requires a lot of practice.

 

There are also specialist tools for this, which basically consist of wheel onto which paint is dispensed from a reservoir. The tools are popular among model railway and steam-engine builders, where lining occurs frequently.

 

A further option are waterslide transfers again from the realm of model railway enthusiasts. They do straight lines in various widths and colours. For white lines one may cut these also from 'decal' sheets with a white background - or paint the transparent ones in the desired colour and cut them to width afterwards.

[Bob Cleek]

To add one more tool to the box, I should mention that a draftsman's ruling pen can also often be quite handy if the line can be struck along a straight edge or drafting curve. These pens permit width of line adjustments within their limits and are made in various configurations, including "curve pens" which will follow the drafting curve's edge while swiveling to keep the two points normal to the edge and so avoid variations in the width of the drawn line. There are also "railroad pens"  which will draw two lines parallel to each other, either straight or against a drafting curve. Paint can be used with them as well as the more common inks. Drafting pens have lots of applications in modeling, limited only by the user's creativity.

 

Ruling pens are often included in classic drafting tool sets and are frequently available at reasonable prices on eBay.

 

Top to bottom: a ruling pen for straight lines, a straight line "railroad" pen for straight lines (in this case more often used for drawing margins around drawings, etc., and a "curve pen," the head of which can be permitted to swivel to follow a drafting curve, or, with the nut tightened at the end of the handle, be used as a straight line ruling pen.

 

 

 

Importantly, ruling pens are not simply dipped into the ink or paint bottle. The ink or paint should not be on the outside of the pen, but rather a drop of the drawing medium must be applied (with the eye dropper in the cap of the classic India ink bottle, or a brush) only to a point between the two blades such that it it fills, by capillary action, about a quarter inch of the space between the two points. 

 

See: https://www.jeeamirza.com/blog/2020/5/27/quick-guide-how-to-use-a-ruling-pen

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Bob Cleek

[wefalck]

Just to add to Bob's comments: I have been using Vallejo et al. acrylic paints pre-diluted for airbrushing in such pens. As they come in bottles with pipettes, they are easy to adminster to the pens. Both, a curse and a blessing is the fact that acrylics dry very fast. So frequent cleaning of the pen is required, but that is easy.

 

The typical draughting sets usually also include such pen-inserts for the various compasses, which could also be useful for making your own decals in this way.

 

Earlier this year I also was able to buy cheaply one of those old-time gadgets with which one can generate broken lines - the pen is lifted and lowered by a toothed wheel as you run it along your ruler. Thought it might come handy for exactly that purpose or for generating rivet lines using a tailor-made toothed wheel and acrylic gel ... in fact the pens might come useful for generating welding seams as well, though I had not need yet to try this out.