Best paint for wooden ship models

[rmccook]

On 2/5/2023 at 4:29 PM, Bob Cleek said:

The use of water-based coatings on  the bare wood of models is not advised because water soaks into wood and raises the grain and "fuzz" to one degree or another depending upon the wood species and grain orientation. Multiple coats of water-based coatings can be applied and any resulting raised grain can be sanded fair, in which instance the first coat(s) serve as the sealer. Oil-based coatings will also benefit from a sealer applied first to the wood surface, but will not raise the wood grain.

 

 

This was very helpful advice for.a first time wooden model ship painter -- I was very frustrated with the look of the first application. Admittedly it was cheap acrylic, but I was wondering how much improvement I would really see from purchasing another higher-end brand for such a tiny area (it IS a model shop after all)... sanding and a second coat improved the look enormously. 

 

As someone who has painted with oils (artistically, not models) I wonder whether gesso would work... it might be overkill, but if you happen to have it, as I do...?

 

I would also love thoughts from some veterans on taping off before painting. Maybe I should start another thread, but it goes along with surface preparation. In short, the instructions I was using showed masking tape, and, again, from non-modelling experience, I never find it that effective but went along with it. For some of the straight lines I used some pinstripe fine line tape... not surprisingly, the paint seeped under the masking tape, leaving an irregular edge. The pinstripe paint worked like a charm, but is a little trickier to use on a gentle curve.

 

I fixed the problem with a little careful freehand touching up, but it seems that applying masking tape to a surface consisting of planks that are not perfectly even will always lead to seeping... is there a preferred taping method? Better sanding? Would sealed wood keep the paint from seeping? Thoughts and I'm happy to take this to a new thread...

[Dr PR]

One of the advantages of acrylic paints is that they dry quickly - or so we are told. I began painting (artistic) about 65 years ago with oils, and it was frustrating having to wait weeks for them to dry. I was enthusiastic about working with "fast drying" acrylics. They do dry relatively quickly (an hour or less) so you can apply a second coat. It is best to apply several thin coats rather than one thick coat. However, they do not harden until a week or two after application. Before this you can scrape them off with a finger nail!

 

Here is a trick I learned on the forum for using tape. Paint a part of the hull (upper/lower) with the appropriate color and let it dry thoroughly. Then apply the tape over the painted part. Now paint over the edge of the tape with the same color. If anything bleeds under the tape it will be the same color as under the tape and, therefore, not a problem. This will seal the edge of the tape so nothing else can bleed under it. Then paint the other part of the hull.

 

If you have a slight raised edge when the tape is removed carefully scrape it with the edge of a hobby knife to remove the raised edge. I suggest trying this first on something you don't care about because it requires a bit of practice to get the technique down. You can also gently sand the raised edge and then apply a clear coat over it to get a smooth finish.

Edited October 28, 2023 by Dr PR

[Bob Cleek]

6 hours ago, rmccook said:

As someone who has painted with oils (artistically, not models) I wonder whether gesso would work... it might be overkill, but if you happen to have it, as I do...?

Yes and no. Gesso would work, but the problem is that gesso is quite thick. When painting miniatures such as ship models, the goal is to apply a "scale" coat of paint, which is best defined as "the thinner the better." It is important to use as fine a grind of pigment as can be obtained, or perhaps as can be afforded, for the finer the pigment is ground, the more expensive the paint is. A thicker coating on a model will tend to obliterate fine detail. Corners become rounded on their outside and paint pools and creates "fillets" on the inside of corners.. The "crispness" one hopes to achieve is lost by applying a thick coat of paint. There is a difference with quality model paint, be it oil-based or water-based: the "good stuff" will have very finely ground pigments. Without getting into the really expensive top-end premixed "modeling paints," the pigments in high quality tubed artist's oil and acrylic paints are usually ground sufficiently fine for modeling purposes provided that the modeler "conditions" them properly, adding the required thinners and dryers. Pigment content and grind should be stated on the paint tubes, or in the manufacturer's product literature. Note that with artist's oils, particularly, they require dryer to be added (sometimes called "Japan dryer) because they are formulated with various vegetable oils, frequently raw linseed oil, which takes a long time to "dry" or, actually, cure by polymerization of the oil. This is a favorable quality in artist's oils because the slow drying oil paint permits the artist to work with the paint on the canvas and enable the painter to work on the painting for a number of days before it hardens and can't be worked on the canvas. It takes some experimentation to get a feel for how much dryer is required, but it isn't much. Most manufacturers will have proprietary driers in their product line for this purpose. If the modelers wishes to add a bit of "boiled" linseed oil when conditioning the paint, this may often be enough to increase the rate of polymerization of the oil to eliminate the inconvenience of slow drying paint on the model. "Boiled" linseed oil, a standard paint and hardware store item, as opposed to "raw" linseed oil, is simply raw linseed oil with some Japan dryer added to it. 

 

If using tubed artists' oils or acrylics and conditioning them for model painting or airbrushing is inconvenient, one very high-quality alternative, if one doesn't mind living with the color selection or mixing their own, is to use "One Shot" brand sign painters' paint. This is an oil-based paint which has a very high concentration of very high quality finely ground pigments. It is made this way for use by sign painters who, with the right sign painting and pin striping brushes, can freehand letter and stripe in "one shot" without having to go back over a sharp edge. It's sold in half-pint cans at some artists' supply houses and most automotive paint supply stores. See: https://www.1shot.com/One-Shot/colors/Lettering-Enamels.aspx

 

In my experience, I've found the best sealer for modeling purposes (and for cementing rigging knots and for lots of other sorts of similar purposes) is canned pre-mixed clear (or "white") shellac (not the natural unbleached or "orange" shellac which is colored "orange" to "dark brown.") Zinsser's "Bullseye" is a common brand. This is, as I recall, a "two pound cut," which means it is two pounds of shellac dissolved in one gallon of alcohol. It is relatively inexpensive and is thinned with plain alcohol. (If need be, it is conveniently reversible, as in untying sealed rigging knots, by simply dissolving it with a drop or two of plain alcohol and blotting it up.) Don't use rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol to thin shellac. Just use straight alcohol such as is used for fueling marine stoves. Do not, however, use the type of regular alcohol which is sometimes dyed to distinguish it from "drinking" alcohol, since you don't want the color on your model! Shellac will soak into wood nicely and a single coat won't build up on the surface appreciably. Shellac is compatible with just about every other coating and shellacked wood is very easy to sand to a very fine surface. (It is used, mixed with linseed oil in "French polishing" fine furniture." If it thickens in the can due to the alcohol evaporating when the can is left open, as it will do, just add a bit of alcohol to the can and you're good to go.

 

See: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Zinsser-304H-1-Quart-Shellac/dp/B000BZTIZW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1335907378073045&hvadid=83494311348363&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=43893&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83494685880282%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=10876_10730338&keywords=clear+shellac+zinsser&qid=1698215990&sr=8-1

 

6 hours ago, rmccook said:

I would also love thoughts from some veterans on taping off before painting. Maybe I should start another thread, but it goes along with surface preparation. In short, the instructions I was using showed masking tape, and, again, from non-modelling experience, I never find it that effective but went along with it. For some of the straight lines I used some pinstripe fine line tape... not surprisingly, the paint seeped under the masking tape, leaving an irregular edge. The pinstripe paint worked like a charm, but is a little trickier to use on a gentle curve.

 

I fixed the problem with a little careful freehand touching up, but it seems that applying masking tape to a surface consisting of planks that are not perfectly even will always lead to seeping... is there a preferred taping method? Better sanding? Would sealed wood keep the paint from seeping? Thoughts and I'm happy to take this to a new thread...

Yes, your instincts were correct. To obtain razor sharp masked lines on any surface, including models, one should "bite the bullet" and use "fine line" masking tape as is available for the purpose from Tamiya, or, less expensively, from automotive paint supply stores. See: https://www.amazon.com/3M-TALC-218-Premium-Masking/dp/B0065GVEZ8/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=3m+fine+line+tape&qid=1698216542&sr=8-8

 

"Fine line" tape is a plastic material which will stretch a bit and permit curved edges to be formed. It comes in varying widths. I've never needed anything wider than the quarter-inch size. I use it to define the edge and put regular blue painter's masking tape over it if a wider area needs to be masked, as when I am airbrushing. Be careful what type you buy. There are several specialty tapes, for example, one called "striping tape" is cut into three sections on the roll so that it can be applied to a car body and then the middle strip of it can be removed, leaving a masked line of perfectly uniform width. That's a neat feature if you are striping car bodies, but not so much for ship models and the stuff is pretty expensive for masking tape, but nothing does the job like the stuff made to do the job. You will find that if you use it only where you need a perfect paint separation edge, you won't need a lot. I have a roll that I bought so long ago I don't even know when that was. Like all masking tape once opened, the roll should be kept in a zip-lock plastic sandwich bag to prevent drying out or becoming contaminated with dust and dirt. Masking tape rolls which are laid down on their sides on a bench or wherever will immediately pick up any dust or grit that the tacks sides of the tap on the roll touch and then, when the tape is laid down, this dirt will contaminate the adhesive contact at the tape edge and promote paint runs under the tape. As with all masking tape, particular care needs to be exercised to burnish the edges well with a finger tip so the adhesive is fully in contact with the surface.

 

I'll mention, as well, that if you are ever in need of something more substantial than the quarter-inch fine line tape, there is a similar material in letter-size sheet form called "frisket." Frisket is an adhesive backed clear plastic material used for masking large areas of a picture or other surface for airbrushing. It can be applied to the surface and then the area to which one wants to apply paint can be cut out with an Xacto knife to any shape or level of detail required and removed from the surface, leaving the rest of the sheet in place to mask the adjacent surface. It's sold in art supply stores and anyplace airbrushing supplies are sold. 

 

Also as you note, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to mask a sharp paint line on a surface which is not smooth. Any scale model surface should be perfectly smooth. Nothing ruins the "compelling impression of reality in miniature" like a rough, out-of-scale paint or varnish job. I realize it may be easier said than done in the case of modelers new to the game who want a "bright" finished hull showing the wood grain, which, if any grain is showing, will also be grossly out-of-scale. (Some will say that's a matter of taste, and for them, I suppose it is. I'm just speaking of "best practices" in the trade, as it were.) One cannot expect masking tape to seal and edge that involves spanning open grain or plank seams that at life-size you could stick your fist into.

 

3 hours ago, Dr PR said:

I began painting (artistic) about 65 years ago with oils, and it was frustrating having to wait weeks for them to dry.

By adding some "Japan dryer" (sometimes sold in art stores as "accelerator") to the paint, (or by using the manufacturer's equivalent for acrylics) you should be able to adjust the drying of oil paint (or acrylics, as the case may be) to your own satisfaction. I also will use acetone judiciously to thin artist's oil paints for airbrushing. The highly volatile acetone results in a "hot" solvent carrier that quickly evaporates, leaving the linseed oil binder to polymerize thereafter. 

 

3 hours ago, Dr PR said:

Here is a trick I learned on the forum for using tape. Paint a part of the hull (upper/lower) with the appropriate color and let it dry thoroughly. Then apply the tape. Now paint over the edge of the tape with the same color. If anything bleeds under the tape it will be the same color a under the tape and, therefore, not a problem. This will seal the edge of the tape so nothing else can bleed under it. Then paint the other part of the hull.

This is a good full-size technique which I always used when I painted yachts. However, I've found it only works on miniature models when the paint is applied very thinly, often in multiple coats, because thicker paint creates a clearly noticeable raised edge or "lip" when the tape is removed and the dried paint remains. (This phenomenon, on the other hand, can be quite handy for subtly delineating scale iron plating edges and armor plate bands on ship hulls.) With thicker paint coats, as well, there is always the danger that the tape edge will lift the partially dried paint edge, with disastrous results. Now, when I need a razor sharp paint edge on a model, I always use the 3M Fine Line tape and an airbrush. I find the airbrush is far superior because it lays much less paint on the surface and by slowing building up the coat with successive airbrush passes, I can avoid any paint pooling up against the edge of the tape and thereby minimize the chances of a run-under on the edge.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[rmccook]

On 10/25/2023 at 3:42 AM, Bob Cleek said:

Yes and no. Gesso would work, but the problem is that gesso is quite thick. When painting miniatures such as ship models, the goal is to apply a "scale" coat of paint, which is best defined as "the thinner the better." It is important to use as fine a grind of pigment as can be obtained, or perhaps as can be afforded, for the finer the pigment is ground, the more expensive the paint is. A thicker coating on a model will tend to obliterate fine detail. Corners become rounded on their outside and paint pools and creates "fillets" on the inside of corners.. The "crispness" one hopes to achieve is lost by applying a thick coat of paint. There is a difference with quality model paint, be it oil-based or water-based: the "good stuff" will have very finely ground pigments. Without getting into the really expensive top-end premixed "modeling paints," the pigments in high quality tubed artist's oil and acrylic paints are usually ground sufficiently fine for modeling purposes provided that the modeler "conditions" them properly, adding the required thinners and dryers. Pigment content and grind should be stated on the paint tubes, or in the manufacturer's product literature. Note that with artist's oils, particularly, they require dryer to be added (sometimes called "Japan dryer) because they are formulated with various vegetable oils, frequently raw linseed oil, which takes a long time to "dry" or, actually, cure by polymerization of the oil. This is a favorable quality in artist's oils because the slow drying oil paint permits the artist to work with the paint on the canvas and enable the painter to work on the painting for a number of days before it hardens and can't be worked on the canvas. It takes some experimentation to get a feel for how much dryer is required, but it isn't much. Most manufacturers will have proprietary driers in their product line for this purpose. If the modelers wishes to add a bit of "boiled" linseed oil when conditioning the paint, this may often be enough to increase the rate of polymerization of the oil to eliminate the inconvenience of slow drying paint on the model. "Boiled" linseed oil, a standard paint and hardware store item, as opposed to "raw" linseed oil, is simply raw linseed oil with some Japan dryer added to it. 

 

If using tubed artists' oils or acrylics and conditioning them for model painting or airbrushing is inconvenient, one very high-quality alternative, if one doesn't mind living with the color selection or mixing their own, is to use "One Shot" brand sign painters' paint. This is an oil-based paint which has a very high concentration of very high quality finely ground pigments. It is made this way for use by sign painters who, with the right sign painting and pin striping brushes, can freehand letter and stripe in "one shot" without having to go back over a sharp edge. It's sold in half-pint cans at some artists' supply houses and most automotive paint supply stores. See: https://www.1shot.com/One-Shot/colors/Lettering-Enamels.aspx

 

In my experience, I've found the best sealer for modeling purposes (and for cementing rigging knots and for lots of other sorts of similar purposes) is canned pre-mixed clear (or "white") shellac (not the natural unbleached or "orange" shellac which is colored "orange" to "dark brown.") Zinsser's "Bullseye" is a common brand. This is, as I recall, a "two pound cut," which means it is two pounds of shellac dissolved in one gallon of alcohol. It is relatively inexpensive and is thinned with plain alcohol. (If need be, it is conveniently reversible, as in untying sealed rigging knots, by simply dissolving it with a drop or two of plain alcohol and blotting it up.) Don't use rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol to thin shellac. Just use straight alcohol such as is used for fueling marine stoves. Do not, however, use the type of regular alcohol which is sometimes dyed to distinguish it from "drinking" alcohol, since you don't want the color on your model! Shellac will soak into wood nicely and a single coat won't build up on the surface appreciably. Shellac is compatible with just about every other coating and shellacked wood is very easy to sand to a very fine surface. (It is used, mixed with linseed oil in "French polishing" fine furniture." If it thickens in the can due to the alcohol evaporating when the can is left open, as it will do, just add a bit of alcohol to the can and you're good to go.

 

See: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Zinsser-304H-1-Quart-Shellac/dp/B000BZTIZW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1335907378073045&hvadid=83494311348363&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=43893&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83494685880282%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=10876_10730338&keywords=clear+shellac+zinsser&qid=1698215990&sr=8-1

 

Yes, your instincts were correct. To obtain razor sharp masked lines on any surface, including models, one should "bite the bullet" and use "fine line" masking tape as is available for the purpose from Tamiya, or, less expensively, from automotive paint supply stores. See: https://www.amazon.com/3M-TALC-218-Premium-Masking/dp/B0065GVEZ8/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=3m+fine+line+tape&qid=1698216542&sr=8-8

 

"Fine line" tape is a plastic material which will stretch a bit and permit curved edges to be formed. It comes in varying widths. I've never needed anything wider than the quarter-inch size. I use it to define the edge and put regular blue painter's masking tape over it if a wider area needs to be masked, as when I am airbrushing. Be careful what type you buy. There are several specialty tapes, for example, one called "striping tape" is cut into three sections on the roll so that it can be applied to a car body and then the middle strip of it can be removed, leaving a masked line of perfectly uniform width. That's a neat feature if you are striping car bodies, but not so much for ship models and the stuff is pretty expensive for masking tape, but nothing does the job like the stuff made to do the job. You will find that if you use it only where you need a perfect paint separation edge, you won't need a lot. I have a roll that I bought so long ago I don't even know when that was. Like all masking tape once opened, the roll should be kept in a zip-lock plastic sandwich bag to prevent drying out or becoming contaminated with dust and dirt. Masking tape rolls which are laid down on their sides on a bench or wherever will immediately pick up any dust or grit that the tacks sides of the tap on the roll touch and then, when the tape is laid down, this dirt will contaminate the adhesive contact at the tape edge and promote paint runs under the tape. As with all masking tape, particular care needs to be exercised to burnish the edges well with a finger tip so the adhesive is fully in contact with the surface.

 

I'll mention, as well, that if you are ever in need of something more substantial than the quarter-inch fine line tape, there is a similar material in letter-size sheet form called "frisket." Frisket is an adhesive backed clear plastic material used for masking large areas of a picture or other surface for airbrushing. It can be applied to the surface and then the area to which one wants to apply paint can be cut out with an Xacto knife to any shape or level of detail required and removed from the surface, leaving the rest of the sheet in place to mask the adjacent surface. It's sold in art supply stores and anyplace airbrushing supplies are sold. 

 

Also as you note, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to mask a sharp paint line on a surface which is not smooth. Any scale model surface should be perfectly smooth. Nothing ruins the "compelling impression of reality in miniature" like a rough, out-of-scale paint or varnish job. I realize it may be easier said than done in the case of modelers new to the game who want a "bright" finished hull showing the wood grain, which, if any grain is showing, will also be grossly out-of-scale. (Some will say that's a matter of taste, and for them, I suppose it is. I'm just speaking of "best practices" in the trade, as it were.) One cannot expect masking tape to seal and edge that involves spanning open grain or plank seams that at life-size you could stick your fist into.

 

By adding some "Japan dryer" (sometimes sold in art stores as "accelerator") to the paint, (or by using the manufacturer's equivalent for acrylics) you should be able to adjust the drying of oil paint (or acrylics, as the case may be) to your own satisfaction. I also will use acetone judiciously to thin artist's oil paints for airbrushing. The highly volatile acetone results in a "hot" solvent carrier that quickly evaporates, leaving the linseed oil binder to polymerize thereafter. 

 

This is a good full-size technique which I always used when I painted yachts. However, I've found it only works on miniature models when the paint is applied very thinly, often in multiple coats, because thicker paint creates a clearly noticeable raised edge or "lip" when the tape is removed and the dried paint remains. (This phenomenon, on the other hand, can be quite handy for subtly delineating scale iron plating edges and armor plate bands on ship hulls.) With thicker paint coats, as well, there is always the danger that the tape edge will lift the partially dried paint edge, with disastrous results. Now, when I need a razor sharp paint edge on a model, I always use the 3M Fine Line tape and an airbrush. I find the airbrush is far superior because it lays much less paint on the surface and by slowing building up the coat with successive airbrush passes, I can avoid any paint pooling up against the edge of the tape and thereby minimize the chances of a run-under on the edge.

 

all very helpful -- thank you!

[Dr PR]

Bob,

 

I usually remove the masking tape before the paint dries to avoid lifting the dry paint. However, this is tricky, because it is a guessing game to decide when the paint is dry enough but not too dry.