Hull Finishing Examples

[BurgundyModels]

Hey guys,

 

I'm going to be taking on my next project soon, and trying to gather some ideas for hull finishing. The ship calls for copper plating, however I simply love the look of a finely planked hull. Assuming I can do a good enough job on a single planked ship (my last planking attempt was actually decent enough to give me some confidence), I was considering a finished hull look, instead of the copper. I've looked through quite a bit of logs, but wanted to get some input as well. I know there are plenty of good tutorials here on the steps to produce such a hull, I was hoping for some examples of logs that might point me in the right direction, or even serve as inspiration for what I'm trying to achieve. 

 

The kit itself appears to have basswood planks, and I was considering using a natural stain instead of paint. Since I may go natural, might also be a great opportunity to learn shift patterns in the hull planking. Any input is appreciated on the matter.

 

Thanks,

[bigcreekdad]

Here's a pic of my Occre Dos Amigos hull (not complete) which I did in cherry. I got the wood from the local (now closed) Woodcraft, and cut with my Jim saw. After sanding I applied a few coats of gun oil. The cherry was good to work with a turns a bit darker with age.

[Ronald-V]

For example, if you look at a nice finish with basswood...Zarkon does a really nice job with his USF Confederacy:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37088-usf-confederacy-by-zarkon-model-shipways-164-scale/page/2/

 

 

I used pear wood with wipe-on poly (self mixed) myself for my HMS Sphinx, so it may be a little less representative of what you are looking for:

 

[ccoyle]

@Chuck has achieved some excellent finishes with basswood, and he has described his methods in several practicums. He'd be able to direct you to them more readily than I can.

[BurgundyModels]

@bigcreekdad looks fantastic! I've found OcCre hard to get a good finish on with those veneer strips! Is gun oil like a tung oil or linseed?

 

@Ronald-V that planking is exquisite, the effort really shows in the final product. I'm following along your Sphinx build, are you planning on painting the hull of that one?

 

Definitely examples of what I'm looking for!

[Ronald-V]

41 minutes ago, BurgundyModels said:

 

 

@Ronald-V that planking is exquisite, the effort really shows in the final product. I'm following along your Sphinx build, are you planning on painting the hull of that one?

 

No just wipe-on poly  

Edited yesterday at 02:40 PM by Ronald-V

[BurgundyModels]

@ccoyle it's one of those practicums that I'll be getting more familiar with shortly, I plan to build the US Brig Syren after I finish up with the current Sherbourne. Wanting to get ahead of some of the research, I was considering doing a finished hull instead of the coppering provided with the kit. 

[ccoyle]

10 minutes ago, BurgundyModels said:

it's one of those practicums that I'll be getting more familiar with shortly, I plan to build the US Brig Syren

 

I hope you have a copy in hand? I checked at ME this morning, and their links to the practicum chapters were broken.

[BurgundyModels]

1 minute ago, ccoyle said:

 

I hope you have a copy in hand? I checked at ME this morning, and their links to the practicum chapters were broken.

 

I do not! Was going to use the one that was published here, along with the guide itself. Hopefully that's enough for me to create a beautiful boat!

[David Lester]

I have always found basswood to be all but impossible to stain successfully. It always wants to go blotchy. So here's what I do to colour it instead and it works quite well for me. I buy cheap Folk Art Paint from Michael's (flat finish) in a medium brown colour. I water it down quite a bit and apply it to the basswood. With a bit of trial and error with the thickness of the paint, it's possible to get an even colour that still allows the wood to show through.

 

Here are two examples:

In this one, I've used satin poly on top of the paint-

Here, I've used amber shellac over the paint-

 

Anyway, for what it's worth, that's one approach to dealing with basswood that I have found to work.

 

David

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BurgundyModels]

43 minutes ago, David Lester said:

I have always found basswood to be all but impossible to stain successfully. It always wants to go blotchy. So here's what I do to colour it instead and it works quite well for me. I buy cheap Folk Art Paint from Michael's (flat finish) in a medium brown colour. I water it down quite a bit and apply it to the basswood. With a bit of trial and error with the thickness of the paint, it's possible to get an even colour that still allows the wood to show through.

 

Here are two examples:

In this one, I've used satin poly on top of the paint-

Here, I've used amber shellac over the paint-

 

Anyway, for what it's worth, that's one approach to dealing with basswood that I have found to work.

 

David

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate the input! These are exactly the sorts of examples I'm looking for. My fear being that perhaps basswood isn't a great medium for staining. Was considering going for a Shellac or Oil approach, or even using stain conditioner first.

[SkiBee]

If you have a problem with blotchy stain on basswood, try a stain conditioner (usually called a 'Pre-Stain Conditioner).  I've used it a lot on pine wood working projects and it works great on any type of modeling wood.  It evens out the stain absorption of the wood.  Try it on a piece of scrap wood and see if it works for you.

[palmerit]

7 hours ago, ccoyle said:

I hope you have a copy in hand? I checked at ME this morning, and their links to the practicum chapters were broken.

I’m guessing the practicum is more detailed than his instructions. Would love a copy since I have that kit on my shelf. 

[bigcreekdad]

Burgundy....yes it is.