Staining PVA glue between the planks?

[modeller_masa]

Hello,

I have an issue with staining a hull. 

 

This is my current project. It looks OK... but when I zoom the camera lens in...

 

Zoom in...

 

Zoom in...

I can see lots of white cracks between the planks like this. 

 

To cover the white cracks, I did everything I knew. I made DIY wood filler with extra strips and dewaxed shellac and filled any visible cracks, including cracks between keel and hull. I wiped the hull with wet tissue to remove any excess PVA glue. In addition, I stained the hull with oil gel stain.

 

I tried to figure out what those white crack were and I guess that they are PVA glue between the planks. I would say that I can't remove them efficiently. If I use too strong chemicals such as alcohol, the entire planks may be detached. If I cut out each PVA crack and stain them again, it costs too much time... 

 

Should I have used less PVA glue when I attached the second planks? I don't want to make the same mistake again.

 

///

 

Perhaps I will make a colored PVA glue next time...

https://www.firstpalette.com/craft-recipe/colored-white-glue.html

Edited April 14, 2022 by modeller_masa

[Jaager]

First,

I doubt that anyone but you will even notice.

White PVA usually dries water clear.

Titebond II dries amber.

Titebond III dries a brown color.

 

PVA is water based, so adding dry aniline dye could in theory darken the polymerized glue.  I tried it and found that there is not enough water in stock PVA to dissolve much of the dye.   Mixol make a liquid concentrate that may work.

Once PVA has polymerized, it is a plastic.  Nothing water based will stick to it.  You may be able to cover the parts that concern you if you buy a Walnut shade or if one does not exist mix several colors of artist's oil base paint.  Thin it with an organic solvent enough  to need several thin coats.  Impasto will want sanding and doing that will probably remove all of what you apply.  There are very fine touch up brushes.

 

On a side note, I am hard pressed to think of any species of wood that would have been used to plank a hull - that actually had a dark Walnut color to it.   Being decorator instead of strict historical offers you more degrees of freedom for your presentation.

[modeller_masa]

Thanks for the professional advice, Jaager. I have some oil - solvent-based paints such as enamel. I didn't know it works on PVA glue.

 

By the way, does the dark walnut color of the hull imply that the model ship is on a voyage? I would say that a model ship on a stand is in dry dock, too.  

 

 

In addition, I tested the colored PVA glue. The adhesiveness became extremely low. Do not try this at home. 

[modeller_masa]

 

 

I think my real question was "how to caulk the planks of the hull".

 

 

In this case, I wanted to remove the caulking line by staining it in the same color. It seems like a higher cost and more time. 😱

I will try the black planking caulking next time.