to paint or glue first?

[Mark Pearse]

Hi All,

 

I am building a 1:20 model of a small yacht. The hull topsides will be painted (black) & there's a gunwale & sponson on the topsides. The gunwale, at scale, is about 1.5 x 4.5mm, the sponson about 4 x 7mm. The setout of the sponson is important to the whole look of the yacht, so needs to be accurate.

 

I can paint first, then glue the timber , or glue then paint. In the first case, painting is easier as there's less cutting in; in the second, getting the sponson setout right is easier. I'm posting this here to get some advice on this. I am probably painting with a brush.

 

thank you all in advance...

 

 

 

 

[Capt. Kelso]

The process I follow is to glue then paint. I use an airbrush, paint the hull and then mask off the items to be painted a different color. Tamiya has a good product line of masking tape which I use.

[Thukydides]

It really comes down to personal preference in a case like this. As you articulated there are advantages to either method. Painting on a flat surface up to an edge is a relatively easy task to get a clean line with. Just go slowly, make sure your hand is resting on somthing and use a relatively small brush when you get near the line. Make one stroke close to the line, but not right on it, then do a second stroke where you almost push the paint you already laid down right up to the line (if you go on youtube and look up tutorials of cutting in the edges of walls, the technique is very similar just on a larger scale). Beware of having too much paint on your brush as that is how you loose control and overpaint. So if you have a steady hand that is what I would do.

[Desertanimal]

I opted for very careful hand painting in the same situation. After glueing. Support your arms more than you’d think you need to. Best of luck. Looking great!

 

 Chris

Edited October 27, 2024 by Desertanimal

[Ronald-V]

Not related to your question, but lovely planking!

[Jim Lad]

Mark, the problem with painting first is that the glue is then adhering to the paint layer, not to the underlying timber, and may not be as secure in the long term.

 

John

[Mark Pearse]

Thank you, all very helpful. 

 

I'll probably use epoxy glue rather than CA, & pin the timbers in position so they don't slide & set in the wrong position - which would be bloody terrible..... Then spot fill the pin holes. I'll research some suitable pins.

 

Hi Ronald, thank you - the planking looks good at least partly as they are pre-cut & therefore constant width rather than tapered. The actual yacht is strip-planked (ie: wood/epoxy composite using narrow constant width planks, with fibreglass & epoxy resin over), & the model is following that in the planking.