What shade of red was used in the gun decks of 18th century British ships bulwarks?

[bear]

Ahoy Mates

 

I have heard conflicting views on the red that was used for the bulwarks of the gun decks on British ships. From bright red to a almost hull red. Which is the real color that was used?

 

Thanks Keith from Troutdale.

[mtaylor]

I think the answer is:  "depends".   Paints at that time were mixed by various folks and not pre-mixed like today so color would vary.  Aging of the paint after painting would also mean that it's varied dependent upon when was the last time it was painted.  

 

I think the answer is basically... use what looks good to your eye.

[vossiewulf]

My understanding was that they primarily used red ochre, which was about the cheapest paint color you could get. That's why I chose more of a brick red than a crimson red that you see on some ships. I don't understand the crimson reds, that would have been a pretty expensive paint at the time (as far as I know, which is admittedly not very far).

[Jsk]

I suspect that first coming out of the yard probably the cheapest paint had been used. But Captains had a lot of discretion when it came to maintenance. Some had more money to spend than others.

[serpe]

If you are building a ship that just came off the slipway, pristine paint would be appropriate. But as a ship would be at sea it would have chalked out fairly rapidly. For reference see how WWII ships paint faded out very fast. So in my opinion you could lighten up the colour and make it more of a satin to a flat finish depending on how long you think your build would be a working ship. As said above, it's variable. 

[thibaultron]

In any era ship, if you do not know the specific ingredients of the paint used at shipyard X in year Y, you will never get the "right" color. The best you can do is get a good representation, of the colors used. Also during the age of sail, the captain was allowed latitude to change paint colors, rigging, etc. to his taste (within bounds).

 

I once worked with a contract engineer, who was proud to own a "Historic" farm in PA. That was until it came time to repaint it! As it was listed as historic, he was required to use only paint made the same as when the farm was new down to the exact formula recorded in the local Historic Society's records! He sold the farm, and bought a newer not "Historic" farm. He made money on the sale, and the new farm cost less than the cost of repainting the old one!

 

I model the Santa Fe Railroad, and have many books listing the Santa Fe Standard Colors. The only problem, is that the records of the formula used for say "Santa Fe Yellow" have been lost. The best we can do is compare color photos, or possibly faded paint chips removed from existing buildings as references.

 

Just use a nice flat red.

[François de Saint Nazaire]

 

 

 

hello

 

Here's some information from France to help you reflect.

 

 

In the 17th century, Louis XIV's goal was to master the seas and become the world's leading naval power. To succeed in this ambitious undertaking, he implemented measures commensurate with his ambitions: he increased the budget allocated to the navy tenfold, equipped seaports, multiplied naval bases, created specific training programs for naval officers, and so on.

To further emphasize his power and dominance, he chose to visually standardize his maritime fleet by implementing a very specific set of specifications: all ships had to be identical. In other words, each element of any ship (hull, deck, cabin, cannon, boat, masts, etc.) had to correspond to a specific shade.

It is this palette of colors, used in the Royal Navy between 1650 and 1850, that is known as the "13 colors of Vauban." Each of the colors present was selected by Vauban, the Sun King's architect"

 

Thanks to the research of the renowned architect Jean Boudriot, we know a little more about this fascinating period. It is in his book "La Compagnie des Indes" that this naval architecture enthusiast sheds light on these 13 Vauban colors used in the French military navy.

 

 

frigate Hermione :

 

In his book, Jean Boudriot reveals that the quotes of the time mentioned the use of 57 pots of white, 51 pots of black, 110 pots of red, 42 pots of yellow, 21 pots of blue and 24 pots of glue white to paint a single ship. The dominance of the color red is reminiscent of the bloody battles that took place on these ships, thus visually attenuating the recurring blood stains.

Vauban's 13 colors, and the place each occupied on the ships, can be seen at the Musée de la Marine in Paris, through very realistic models. It is also an opportunity to admire the diversity of hues used at the time.

 

"Jean Boudriot, la couleur dans la Marine classique 1650 - 1850, Collection Archéologie Navale"

 

 

Edited Sunday at 09:30 AM by François de Saint Nazaire