That is good news Roy.

Very good Roy, I'm happy for you.
I think the seller was convinced by reading the forum messages, he doesn't want a community of naval modelers against him for disappointing Roy, ahahahahah.

Good news I responded nicely to the seller and she agreed to pack the model up for a little extra, so await her info then will get the model picked up by courier.👍👍👍👍👍😊
Happy boy Roy

Shame about that Roy.

You are spot on as regards thin mahogany. I used some for the deck of my Faun build which I'd had for sometime. Came to cut it and it just broke. Gave it a quick soak in water and it was OK. After drying and gluing in place it was fine and the varnish puts some moisture into it.

Chris

My question on whether to purchase a decorative model has been resolved by the seller, as packing up and using a courier was not an option. Shame as the model was very nice but many miles away.
Roy

Having been a long time club member it has often fallen to me and a colleague to clear a fellow modeller's model making tools and where with all out. I always collect the odd sheet of wood usually in part sheet form and put into my stock.

So I have wood, mainly obechi (bass wood) stacked away. In my last completed model I used some of the old obechi and the top surface can be rough and dry. It is worth doing a gentle spray of water to each side and allow to dry naturally and then to lightly sand off the top surface until the wood shows a better surface. If you have a 'thicknesser' machine a lot easier.

The width will decrease a little but can be allowed for in building. However, mahogany and like hardwoods when about 1mm thick they dry out become to subject to splintering in use.

If you have an old kit (typically Billing) with mahogany sheet and printed lines to cut round. Then carefully cut wood sheet to no bigger than A4 size.
Now photocopy the sheets of wood and use the printout to stick onto newer wood and then they can be used to build the kit.

Roy

In UK Halfords has a large range of car paints including a red primer just right for under water part of ships and boats.
When using the colours they dry 'soft' and it is essential that they have the varnish clear spray finish to get hard. This recommended by Halfords.

The gloss paints are less vulnerable to water incursion than the matte colours, so always spray varnish on top.

There are other ranges which work well as long as you can find the colour you want.

As I almost exclusively build in wood I take a lot of care in preparation, it pays to do so. I have a sailing yacht painted (not sprayed) built in 1965 that still has its original finish, just gets cleaned up now and again.

Roy

Guguseli, it's me again . . .
The hull of the stern wheel steamer was a disaster. It was twisted in the longitudinal axis by 7 mm . . . At first I thought of rebuilding it.
But a German shipbuilder (real boats) gave me the tip to fill it with water and empty it a few hours later.
Then I clamped it on the opposite side with 10 mm of overstretching and simply left it to dry for a week.
As I was travelling spontaneously, it was 3 weeks. It didn't do any harm, but when I bought it I was amazed! It had worked.
Now I stretched it flat on my work table and treated it with 3 coats of Eze-Kote and then left it to dry for another week.
Then I painted the outside with black 3 times and with Eze-Kote 3 times
Then nothing happened for weeks until October.
I never thought I would be able to restore a 160cm hull to top condition.
For the BASF hull of the Optimist, however, I will use 2K with flow to reinforce the hull. But until I start, the globe will rotate several times around its own axis . .
Good Night, Your Michel-C the landlubber 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Hey all!
I also use Eze-Kote and have had amazing experiences with it on my Mississippi paddle steamer.
I stored the railing, painted it with white acrylic paint and brushed Eze-Kote on it.
As I had to bend parts of the railing with a radius of 50mm, I held them over boiling water after painting.
The result was that the plywood did not break but could be bent gently in one step.
I then used a 90mm tube for the bending and attached the bent railing to the tube with clamps.
As for the hull of the stern wheel steamer later.
Bb Michel-C.

I use Minwax products to seal the interior and exterior of my models.

Minwax Clear Polycrylic Water-Based Protective Finish Satin, Semi-Satin or Gloss

I looked at Eze-Kote which is much more expensive.

When comparing the two products, they have similar characteristics but also varying pros and cons.

I did a Google search using:
“Eze-kote finishing resin vs polyurethane water cleanup minwax”

______________________________

My models are generally painted after the several coats of clear.

Depending upon the paint used, I will give a couple more final clear coat applications.

The paint I have begun using is an Outdoor Acrylic Paint from “Craftsmart” used on both these models and with a final coat of clear which protects the paint from skuffs.

Hi Roy.

Waterproofing a hull both inside and out is essential, indispensable for a dynamic RC model.
Of course the external part is a priority because it is in contact with the water (sorry, it's almost banal to say it).
The internal part must still be waterproofed because some infiltrations or even simple humidity could swell or ruin the wood.
However, I mentioned epoxy resin for the function of strengthening the hull.
A hull treated inside and out with several coats of paint becomes waterproof, but the paint does not contribute (or contributes very little) to strengthening the hull.
Instead, a hull treated inside and out with epoxy resin becomes waterproof but above all very robust, it becomes a compact, resistant, fairly flexible and relatively light shell.
I paint the outside and resin the inside only because I am still unsure and I do not trust my abilities with resin. If I make mistakes inside the hull they don't cause any problems and in any case they can't be seen.
However, I think that the next hull will also be resined on the outside and I will also use reinforcing fiber on the inside.

Regarding the freezing of the plastic airplane model:
This episode dates back to the times when as a child I built 1/72 models not for modeling but to play with.
They were built quickly because the fun and the purpose was not the construction and then the display but to play with them alone or with friends (who had other planes to fight with).
Therefore the construction time was wasted time, time to be reduced to a minimum to finally be able to play with the plane.
I didn't color them (I didn't waste time coloring them at all) and I used a putty-type glue (usually Bostik brand), like the one in the photo.
Only later, as a modeler, did I switch to cyanoacrylate.

Regarding the advice you asked for.
Since I don't think I understood everything well because of the translation, I ask you:
What do you mean exactly by "decorative model"?
Which kit in particular are you referring to? Can you say the brand and type or post a photo?
By unexpected leaks do you mean water infiltrations?

In my very limited experience with this type of conversion I’ve used flowable epoxy ( brands in U.S. are Git Rot & Min Wax wood hardener) in the interior of the hull. I cut access holes to areas that don’t have ready access, pour in the wood hardener, & roll it around in the hull. Brushed it on in accessible places. Did this on my outboard cruiser INTREPID. Worked very well. However it has never remained in the water for an extended period so I well could be all wet with this approach.

Hi Chum444 - it will add some structural strength when used with cloth as it is effectively forming a skin.

It dries pretty hard but as I said not as hard as epoxy and so provides good ding resistance to softer timbers such as balsa.

If you want to impart real structural strength from the resin though I think you'd need to use an epoxy resin which will effectively form a shell.

Chris

Advice please I am contemplating buying at knock down price a completed model from a kit but I think it has been built as a decorative model.

My experience of doing this once before and setting it up for sailing led to a lot of unexpected leaks even though I had gone to great lengths to look for them in the first place.

I have assumed that a builder of a decorative model would be putting the kit together and if it touched then why worry how good the glue bond might be?

What do you reckon?

Roy

Hi Alessandro, as you say waterproofing inside should always be done.
I think that the outside is more important so that the wood cannot get wet from the outside. Then waterproofing the inside so that the water cannot get in there either. Otherwise the outside will start to crack along the seems as the wood expands.

Interesting your point about freezing an airfix model. I thought that most plastic glues were solvents so that the adjacent pieces of plastic were welded together.
Roy

I don't have a lot of experience but I think it's important not to distort the physical and mechanical characteristics of wood too much with chemical products.
Speaking of the hull.
To bend the strips, in my opinion it's better to use mechanical methods (strip bending pliers) or heat (dry or with steam).
For glues I've always used either simple mastics or cyanoacrylate for the speed of setting. However, in hindsight, it would be better to use glues that resist over time even at low temperatures.
As a child I did an experiment by putting a 1/72 plastic airplane model in the freezer. It all disassembled because the glue expanded.
I always make double strips for the hull and never just one.
I don't use fillers to even out imperfections. I sand a lot.
To reinforce the hulls I am now more than convinced in the absolute effectiveness of epoxy resins.
I spread the resin only inside directly on the wood which absorbs the two-component and forms a single block resistant and light.
Those who also resinate outside are very good but I don't do it because I don't trust my ability.
Using fiberglass inside makes the structure even stronger but it is absolutely not necessary.
Not resinating at least inside (even if I use two-component resin without fiber) is wrong because you give up an exceptional reinforcement in exchange for a small expense in terms of work time, risks and money.
For the care of the outside I use many coats of good quality paint.

Chris F. Does Eze- Kote promote structural strength? Torsional (hull twisting) & compressive(resistance to sheathing deflection between frames) forces?

Great topic for discussion. I’ve been using window cleaner (diluted ammonia) for years with no problems. I don’t have much experience using it on plywood; one concern would be delamination. I’ve never had any problems with using CYA on wood be t using window cleaner or problems with a fiberglass overlay. Fillers & paint also adhere well. The glass cloth & resin impart strength to the underlying wood much like another lamination of plywood; resin alone merely adds weight. I do coat the inside of my wooden hulls with flowable epoxy, more commonly known as wood hardener under various brand names. The end result is a watertight & rigid hull. For example, my mahogany-planked Chris Craft hull fell 10ft (3M) to the ground from the deck railing with no hull damage. An unintended destructive test!
I’m very interested in techniques other folks use.Thank you for initiating this discussion Roy; I’ve already learned about Eze-Kote.👍

Not cheap but I use Eze-Kote which is a resin that is water clean up and very little odour, if any. I use it to waterproof the inside of hulls and on the outside with lightweight cloth (1oz per m2) which ties different timbers together e.g. balsa blocks and ply or bass planking and provides an ideal base for painting. It also dries quickly and so you can apply a number of coats in a session.

Not as hard as the epoxy resins, but plenty hard enough, and easy to sand.

Chris

I got use to using the soap & water clean-up polyurethane at the school shop. We used for some years the polyurethane which uses chemicals to clean-up, but both smell and the damage to the plumbing system this caused, we switched to the soap n water clean-up products.

I have been using the same product for my vessels too. Yes it requires multiple coats but it is kind on the environment.

Very interesting subject and a lot of combinations not normally thought of. I have tried chux type cloth with fibreglass resin internally on one of my boats, it seems ok but I like the option of tissue with thinned varnish.

This is a keeper.