Norwegian Sailing Pram by DocTom - Model Shipways - 1:12

[DocTom]

Post 9 - Painting the Hull, Part 2.

 

I spent this snowy Massachusetts weekend finishing the painting of the hull, rudder and center board. I experimented and thinned the paint about 50/50. I liked the reuslts with the thinner paint. It took 5 coats to get a nice result, but no significant brush marks.

 

                                                                                       

 

My attempts to follow the instructions' method for avoiding taping where the interior and exterior paints meet was an utter failure. Not sure if it was my lack of skill (probably), not good enough brush (possibly), or just bad advice. I therefore taped a short section of the top of the rub rail and repainted the white on the side, but had a lot of bleed through. I then belatedly realized I shoud utilize the collected wisdom of this community, and did some digging through the paint forum. I found the trick of using a clear matte paint to seal the tape. Brilliant! I would never have thought of that myself. I taped the top of the rub rail along the edge, sealed it with the clear satin paint provided in the kit, and repainted the outside of the hull, thinning about 3:1. The sides looked great, but I didn't do a great job keeping the edge of the tape straight, and it showed on the top of the rub rail. I then taped along the outside of the hull, leaving some tape extending above the rub rail, and sealed that.

 

                                                                     

 

I then repainted the outer edge of the rub rails using a very small brush. After 4 coats and removing the tape, any little build up disappeared with a few swipes of 400 grit sandpaper. The results were, I think, pretty amazing.

 

                   

 

I still can't believe I was able to do that, and I'm flabbergasted by how good it looks. After that I cleaned up and installed the floorboards. I tried my best to keep the edges in line, but didn't quite get there. Not too bad, though.

 

                                                                

 

My plan was to stain the thwatrs and stern sheets a darker color for contrast to the floor boards, using Minwax Antique Oak, but something went wrong, and the thwarts were a blotchy mess. Maybe i didn't stir the stain enough? I'm painting them warm white, but I may contact Model Expo about getting a new set, or perhaps try and recreate them from the frets. I'm not sure my cutting skills are good enough for the indents. In the meanwhile, here are more pictures of the painted hull, because I'm really proud of it.

 

                 

 

I learned a really great technique with these steps, about how to use tape topaint a straight line. I also learned a valuable lesson: test staing something before going full stream ahead!

 

 

 

[Kenchington]

Looks very nice!

 

Trevor

[Admiral Rick]

Painting looks great Tom. I find painting can sometimes be the most difficult part of the build. I use Liquitex Basic Acrylic Fluid and Liquitex Gesso for primer which leaves almost no brush strokes when it dries. Liquitex is professional artists paint and available at Michaels. I also like to paint the hulls with an  airbrush which leaves no brush strokes and is great when painting water lines because it almost goes on dry so there is very little bleeding. Also 3M automotive masking tape works a hell of a lot better than  regular masking tape and doesn’t leave residue on the surface.

Best Rick

Edited 15 hours ago by Admiral Rick

[druxey]

Some basswood does not take stain evenly. I suspect that this happened here - it's not your technique.

[DocTom]

14 hours ago, Admiral Rick said:

I use Liquitex Basic Acrylic Fluid and Liquitex Gesso for primer which leaves almost no brush strokes when it dries. Liquitex is professional artists paint and available at Michaels.

 

Rick,

Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out next time I'm over on Hubbard Ave. I'm interested in an airbrush, but haven't bought one yet. My plan is to use one when I build the lobster smack. I don't really have a good spot for spraying indoors, so I may have to wait for warmer weather. Now off to clear the driveway!