How much should I sand the hull??? what do you do??? what looks best to you?

[Schooners]

I know there is not a difinitive answer here, but do I need to be careful not to over sand the hull? 

 

Perhaps I need to do a little more than I have done, but I kind of like the look of the planks being a little uneven in their height.  I think it looks more realistic when you can see the individual planks.  But I also don't want the hull to look unfinished.  Does anyone have a rule of thumb?  Or is it just, "go with what you think looks good."  My fear is later when the ship is done I will regret sanding too much or too little.  Am I over thinking this?

The photo above was taken with the light at an oblique angle to accentuate the unevenness of the planks.

[tlevine]

My rule of thumb is this:  if I feel any irregularity, I keep sanding.    

[mtaylor]

I do the same thing Toni does, but close my eyes or look away so it's all feel.

[Oldsalt1950]

How much sanding will depend a lot on what the final finish on the hull will be. Will it be painted or are you leaving it natural wood with a clear finish? Single plank, or double planked? The object is to get the hull smooth to the touch not necessarily all the planks even in height. If you are using an electrical palm sander to sand the hull let the tool do the job rather than applying pressure to it. Start with 240 grade paper and gradually move to about 400-600 grit. Use a tack cloth or lightly moistened paper towel between sanding's. 

[Bill Morrison]

I make templates for each frame using the plans. Then, I fit them to each section as I sand until I have the right shape and finish. It's that simple.

 

Bill

[Dave_E]

After looking at your build log… what I see is your first planking that you stained so your second planking would not show any white through any plank spaces, correct? My angle on the first planking is to get it as smooth as possible to include the use of wood filler as required to get a baby butt smooth finish. If the first planking has flaws, your second planking will have the same flaws. Make sense?

 

There are many tutorials about planking to learn from. Look at my Lady Nelson build log and see my use of wood filler and sanding prior to the start of my second planking. Looking good! 👍😀

[Dave_E]

After looking at your last build log post, it looks like your second planking. Is that correct? If it is, sanding is still in order, and filler… but only if you are painting over it. If no paint, then sand it down to get the best appearance and call it good. 👍

[Dr PR]

The only rule I know is:

 

Sand enough, but not too much!

 

What is "enough?" That's for you to decide.

 

What is "too much?" If you sand through the planking and make holes, that is too much!

[Schooners]

Good discussion, thanks guys.  I will sand enough to get a nice smooth finish.  I understand about not sanding too much becasue I did sand through my deck planking in a couple of places and it was real difficult to repair--and can still be seen if you know where to look.

 

I will not be painting the hull planking because I like to looks of the walnut.  Yes this is my second layer of planking and I used wood filler on the first layer and am happy with the shape of the hull.  It was good practice doing the first layer as my second layer came together much easier with fewer stealers.