Forum

Painting over epoxy

On fibreglass you could use an etching primer which is a modified alkyd primer that produces a sound base coat on wood, steel, fiberglass, aluminum surfaces. but you should use an ordinary primer before the top coat. do a spray etch primer.

5 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Painting over epoxy

I have used several Aerosol spray cans on boats over the recent years. In each case I have sanded the hull down to bare wood as the boats were vintage ones and did have coats of paint on them that could not be identified. Best to use thin applications of both primer then paint then build up on that after leaving 24 hours between each coat. Another good point is that also stock plastic primer in their paints range which is ideal if your boat has a polystyrene hull or you have plastic fittings. Boaty😎

5 years ago by boaty

Blog

Painting the hull – Part 1 primer & anti fouling.

There’s no putting it off any longer, I need to start painting the hull before I do any more on the boat so the hull was given a final rub down with a fine abrasive and then the deck and gunwales carefully masked off. I used some panel wipe to thoroughly de-grease all the surfaces and then put the hull in the ‘spray booth’ on my turntable and applied two coats of grey primer. I left this for a couple of days to dry and harden off before setting it on my bench. The next stage involves levelling the hull fore and aft and side to side so that the waterline can be established. Fortunately the well deck floor is meant to be perfectly level when the boat is afloat and at rest and this is the datum I used to level to using a couple of spirit levels. The rough waterline points were measured off the plan and transferred to the hull to be used as approximate starting points for the waterline. For my previous build I bought a self-levelling laser to indicate the waterline so this was brought out for the same purpose. The laser level was placed on another workbench a couple of metres away and gradually raised with packing pieces until the projected line agreed with the rough position marks I’d made on the hull and then finely adjusted until the line was correct and pencil marks made at intervals along the projected line. The process was repeated for the other side of the hull and then also marked across the stern, fortunately the stern line and bow markings joined up accurately confirming that the levelling was spot on. Good quality low tack masking tape was then applied all around the hull and the area above the line masked off with a couple of layers of newspaper. The exposed hull was then keyed with a fine Scotchbrite type pad and cleaned off with panel wipe before two coats of red oxide primer applied as the anti-fouling.

5 years ago by robbob

Forum

Painting white metal

Hi Roger, Metal fittings of any kind and white metal figures can be painted with either Humbrol type paint (enamel) or Acrylic paint,both will need their own primer, but remember😱. you can paint enamel over acrylic, but not the other way (acrylic over enamel). Most of the fittings I get in my Deans Marine warships are white metal and resin, I use plastic primer (grey or white) then use acrylic paint from various company's to finish off. Hope this is of some help to you.😊 cheers Peter👍

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Forum

fuse holder

Hi all , can any one recommend a fuse holder type for RC boat , I have tested the schenllboot in the testing tank got all three working but intermittently , motor 1 fuse blown motor 3 smoking ,its a 15 amp 7.2v system.my aim is to replace fuse holders with ones more suited to model boat cant find any on internet which are specific for model boats , also planning to change wire for mtroniks wire for the fuse holder, programing the ESC works better doing one at a time

5 years ago by teejay

Response

Cooling coil

As long as the coil toutches the motor you will be ok if it is NOT touching then simply start agaain as it will b a waste of time.............................................With regards to your painting question simplest way is to go to and buy grey primer with is acrylic....if it is a wooden hull then you WILL NEED to use a coat of or Equivellent car laquer to seal the primer underneath ...rub down with 800 DRY then put your grey on top of it....reason for this is simple the primer is porous so you will need to stop water getting at the wood,if it is GRP then no need for this Dave

5 years ago by Dave J

Forum

Propshaft Lubrication

Hi I am using a mix of Teflon bike grease and a teflon based oil Teflon is non hygroscopic unlike some car type greases and have a low friction level hence low wear. Lithium grease has the same properties and is excellent, all of the suggestions are fine and it comes down to personal choice at the end of the day Teflon grease and oil are available in this country through Wilko's and (own brand. half the price and just as good) Out of interest I make my bushes from PET plastic, acetal is similar, plastic can be lubricated with water as well as grease and is often used in full size propshafts the Queen Mary carrier for example. happy 2019 to everyone.😊

5 years ago by TheBlacksmith

Forum

just need cable (wire)...

Gents, I wanted the soft floppy silicon covered wires, so wouldn't do. Doug, the odd thing is that when I worked in Germany as a clay modeller, I was often given hard modelling jobs (not clay) which usually meant making complex little mechanisms. So much so that I became known as Mechanical Martin or just "Mekanist". Yet back home fitting all the worky bits to a model boat or even a slot car/model railway loco is the bit I hate! Don't know why, except maybe in the boats/slotcars/locos there is a certain way of doing it which I find a drudge and in the clay studios there was always an element of invention required. indeed I am the nominated inventor on a VW patent! But, I have run out of space for storage boxes and can only rarely get to a decent pond to run anything, so I am going over to static models only now. 1/24th scale models of mahogany hot rods (woodies), some in scenic set-pieces, maybe. But I'll finish the models I have on the go first. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Blog

electrical connectors

Hi all back at bench for a couple hours my back is slowly improving. the build is nearly complete, but I do have a bit of a problem with the motors, two of the motors have grouper type connectors the other has connectors form , The one from is motor 3 this is the central motor , motors 1&2 have grouper connectors , motor runs really well no problems, but 1&2 RUN INTERMITTILY but only when tweak the connector, Now I don't know if there is some other piece of kit I yet to find out about or maybe the grouper type connectors are just finicky , any body any suggestions or comments before I replace the connections with the connectors and here is question for Doug you said it would be wise to fit a switch and a fuse on the battery for the RX I have a four cell battery , what size of fuse would recommend. and lastly here is the picture of my little milling machine

6 years ago by teejay

Forum

just need cable (wire)...

Aha! Of course!! GO FASTER STRIPING!! 😁😁😉😉 Zoom Zoom Masie😁 Martin. Don't know why you didn't just troll down to your local or any decent garage / auto parts shop, where you'd find the stuff hanging off the walls. Red, Black and any other third colour would do. The three brushless motor leads can all be the same colour, don't make a happorth o' difference. if the motor don't run the way you want just swap any two wires and all will be hunky-dory You aren't working with high currents (i.e. more than 10 to 15A) as far as I can see so the 'standard' car wiring , ca 1/8" diameter, would do. Cheers, Doug 😎 BTW; if you hate working models why the heck do you bother building 'em!?

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Spraying Again.......

Hi Doug Red primer certainly is porus and does need some protection when used on a wooden hull. The only exception to this is when the hull is plastic then plastic primer can be used. It adheres better than the standard primer and is readily available from the likes of etc. I have used this on my italeri P.T 109 and is still good seven years on. Boaty😁

6 years ago by boaty

Blog

Spraying Again.......

Well had a break of a few weeks, now back on the job. So now have a Red Oxide boat rather than Yellow one……………… Although these next stages are a bit ‘ samey’, I have learnt a few things as it happens. For example, I had put three coats of the filler/primer on a couple of days before I had a break. Now when I left it all looked dry, well covered and ‘solid’. When I came back to it some weeks later the longer drying period had shown up some gaps. Well not gaps actually but ‘mouths’ where tissue I had overlapped had pulled apart slightly. interesting, easily fixed with some 240 grit sanding, showing that the drying period is longer than it would appear. At least for filler/primer which is a much thicker substance than just spray paint. With the sanding, I had not appreciated the difference between the grades say from 240 upwards (or is it downwards) as my experience was with doorframes and floorboards. For the stage I am at, 240 and 400 seem very effective and leave a good surface. What I did find was how important dust becomes……………… The sandpaper rides on it (the powdery dust) and so becomes much less effective and I found brushing with a thin 2 inch brush worked well, using the vacuum cleaner to clear up later. I did try blowing it off with the heat gun but that put the dust up in the air too much. it is my intention to try ‘wet and dry’ approach for later coats and looking for a better answer when it comes to finishing coats. Another interesting discovery was coverage per rattle can. It may be my ‘beginner’ technique, but it seems to take a lot of paint. On this size of boat hull, 44inches (112cm) by 14 inches (36 cm), it took a 500ml rattle can of yellow filler/primer for three coats. For two coats of the red primer it took the whole of a 300ml can. Also discovered, using these ‘rattle cans’ for the first time, that the primer on its own comes out differently to the filler primer. This unsettled me for a minute or so but appreciate may be due to the different density so will be aware next time. Another issue that became obvious was…………..I must improve my ‘masking off’ ! So that is it so far. Next stage is - going to buy a couple more cans for the finishing coats, do a bath test, mark the white line point, more sanding down and then start applying the finishing coats. Any helpful comments will be much appreciated. NPJ

6 years ago by NPJ

Forum

Painting

If you intend to stain the wood don't use sanding sealer first as the name suggests it seals so your stain won't take. as for simulated planking I suggest you sand the deck as smooth as possible (down to 1000 grit paper) and the using a scalpel type blade score the deck lines, but be careful as any slip will show on the final deck. After scoring the lines use a stain to rub over the deck and immediately remove the excess with a cloth, the stain will have more effect in the scores thus showing deck lines. When dry remove any excess with white spirit and leave to thoroughly dry, then sand again. This should leave you with a planked deck look which can now be sealed followed by coats of lacquer - do a clear lacquer. I suggest you try on a piece of scrap ply first. good luck

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Sticking and Spraying

Good to see someone else is using shake and rattle. I often use it as a primer/filler and a top coat. Excellent results.

6 years ago by cormorant

Response

Sticking and Spraying

Now what are you moaning about? is this not the build blog? I am working on a tablet and struggling............ The colour was choice. The only filler/primer in a fifteen mile radius! Will have more detail on the progress when matters are back to what passes for normal. TTFN NPJ

6 years ago by NPJ

Forum

Stern Light

Always listen to any advice am trying the texture grey on the decks with sea grey roof tops and light grey sides.busy with the deck and roof fittings at the moment still looking for a tow hook and lift Davit might just try to make one but getting right dimensions is the problem. Hope you putting on some photos when complete

6 years ago by Elsrickle

Forum

46Firefloat Mk2 paint

I’ll give the textured paint a try. Just tried the non slip with common salt looked good but a bit too course. Look forward to hearing what fittings you put on line. The lift davit seems to be difficult to find was planning on making it myself if nothing found. Ian

6 years ago by Elsrickle

Forum

46Firefloat Mk2 paint

SLEC seem like a decent outfit to me. if they are happy to send you only what you're missing that's excellent. I might make the master of the davit and hook available as a white metal casting. I have a friendly caster literally round the corner to me! I'll put news of products on here. Happy to help. BTW, one of our members here did a superb job on the 46" version and used a textured paint from . I've not had the inclination to follow it up yet in this damned heat, but will do as soon as it cools down a bit. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Trent deck colour

Thanks once again for the information. I have found that the "sprinkling sand" method of recreating the non slip surface can be a little hit and miss unless you take exceptional care to get the covering uniform. instead I have used a can of textured spray paint available from and then overpainted it with my chosen colour. Regards Shaun

6 years ago by Flack

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Thanks for the reminder Iv'e just reserved a tin of textured paint from and Ref the colour scheme, I am thinking of joining the York model boat club and at an open day a few weeks ago I was talking to a club rep who actually served on the two RAF boats I will try and contact him and ask the question

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Weeing in ! Gadsooks!😲 Tja, the tribulations of old age 😉😁 PS Of course the dust was coarse - if you had a wee look at it 😁 Hmm, must take more water with it 😁😁 PPS: Don't fall off the ladder while sneezing 😲😁

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Doug, the trick to a good even sprinkle (oy, madam) is height. A more even coating results from a good high sifting. White pepper can be good too, though might cause a sneezing fit and then the jolts would result in molehills I might pop to and have a wee look tomorrow. They're just across from Wickes. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Martin. The textured spray I used came from and was applied in very thin layers to build up the required texture, bear in mind that the finishing colour will 'fill' the texture to some degree. I also applied a satin lacquer to seal the final surface. Sprinkling pixie dust (or crushed chinchillas 😱) onto wet paint sounds a bit hit & miss to me 😁. Whatever you do is acceptable as 'modellers license', and why not be individual with a two-tone grey scheme👍👍. Doug. I think I saw these books and others on Amazon UK when I doing my initial research but concluded that they probably wouldn't have any specific info or 'photos on the flying boat crash rescue tenders which are the subject of the discussion here and I didn't want to shell out on the off-chance that they would, but certainly very useful for the other RAF boats. RAF Hendon museum is very close to me, I could walk there in 20 minutes if I was feeling energetic, and it could be worth asking to see what 'photos and documents they have there. Robbob.

6 years ago by robbob

Forum

Painting

I have always used rattle cans from and or The Range. Beware of mixing different types of paints i.e. cellulose, acrylic and enamel. I have had a disaster with mixing paints that took weeks to strip the hull back to sort out.

6 years ago by Flack

Forum

Painting

I use the rattle cans for painting hulls but make sure you use the ' for plastic ' cans so you don't get any paint cracking from the plastic flexing.

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Painting

A friend of mine (Cormorant on here) builds reasonably big models and he normally uses rattle cans from with good results. Have look at his posts as he has gone into paints here himself. Chris

6 years ago by octman

Forum

Tamar deck colour

Thanks for that Martin I will fix with metric studding and put a nut on underside of hull. Remove parts and spray deck first . Might go for Polar Grey as nobody has come up with any other suggestions. Alan

6 years ago by alan50

Forum

Which Paint?

4 years ago I restored an old 34 inch Aerokits Crash tender. I used filler for any gaps in the joints then prepared the hull with sanding sealer having got it really smooth. For the rest of the paintwork I first used primer then used their acrylic for the final colours. I gave it four coats of colour leaving it over a day between each coat. When painting was finished and after checking it was fully dry, I rubbed the hull down lightly using Maguires scratch remover, (also from ) and got a nice shine between the deck and the red waterline. It seems to have lasted well as it has not crazed over this amount of time. The total cost of the primer, paint and especially the scratch remover was not cheap but in the long run it did work. Boaty🤓

6 years ago by boaty

Forum

Which Paint?

A couple of years ago i scratch built a 1/24 scale Vosper Long boat MTB 510. I spray painted the hull and super structure with white and gray primer. The Hull was given coat of Matt clear laquer Spray (Plasticote). The deck and super structure were also coated in a matt laquer spray. This product was Rustoleum Crystal Clear Matt Laquer. I have used this product before on acrylic base paints, and had no problems. Do not use on oil based paints as it will crinkle the surface. The Plasticote product i used on the Hull was fine at the time but a couple of years on the surface has become crazed. so i will have to repaint the complete hull sometime in the future. Can any one out there recommend a paint combination or product that is satisfactory, and will not craze like an old masters oil painting from the 1500s.

6 years ago by andyhynes

Forum

Which Paint?

I've always used the rattle cans for all my boats and never had any problems. Are you using a tacky cloth before you sprayed your boats ? As I have found it helps to remove any oily/greasy deposits , I always wipe down after each coat of paint after rubbing down with wet and dry 2500grit paper .

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Bristol pilot cutter mascotte

Back to the main hull Have finally got the hull sprayed today with this heat it has been drying faster than I can spray it on 😄 Firstly the hull was sanded with a 200grit paper to sand of the shiny coating to give the paint something to key too. It has had three coats of undercoat sanded with 2500grít wet and dry paper between each coat.the undercoat used was rattle can plastic primer. Then the lower hull colour was sprayed on again three coats sanded with 2500grit paper between each coat.colour used was rattle can ford arctic blue. the top half of the hull was sprayed with two coats only with it being black plus I didn't have enough paint to give it a third coat😋 colour used was rattle can satin black. Finally the hull was sprayed with rattle can clear lacquer three coats sanded with 2500grit paper between each coat.

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Response

Sanding down.

Hi Peter, if you have a car paint suppliers in your area, they do pro' sizes of paint, also can colour match, sanding sheets in pro' packs, and filler in larger sizes, all a lot cheaper than etc.

6 years ago by jarvo

Response

Sanding down.

Thanks Kevin. A model shop just gave me a good tip. Buy a car screen washer pump for the water cannon on my new project Police boat. They said it would be cheaper than the model pump. next place to visit. Glad I could be of help Doug. I have bought the 50cal. guns to match the carriages. The assembly instructions are available on the site. Still worried about breaking them whilst removing them from the sprue.🤔I am a precision engineer but this still fills me with nerves.😱

6 years ago by MouldBuilder

Response

Sanding down.

Hi do an excellent range in acrylic paints in good size cans, including Matt colors.additionally they will mix a specific color. Regards Kevin

6 years ago by kevinsharpe

Response

Doors

Hi Colin, I think the wood for the doors is about 2mm thick, a thin strip slightly wider than 2mm of plasticard is super glued around the edge, then using wet and dry sanded flush front and back. After drilling the hole for the porthole, the whole lot was given a couple of coats of clear lacquer and the knob stuck on. 👍

6 years ago by AlanP

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

After modding my Sea Queen with the new prop shaft I decided to smarten it up as the previous spray job I did was not too good, well I have had terrible trouble with it, the first attempt saw the original paint raise as I sprayed it with a primer that was supposed to be safe with all paints, so I removed as much as i could using the heat gun and a scraper, after sanding down and filling, I started again, i had some small patches raise up where I could not get the original paint completely removed, but after letting it dry and some wet and dry I managed to get a good primer coat on it. I then decided to spray it all white, so as I have always had good results with own brand I gave it some light coats of white gloss, I was unable to get a reasonable gloss finish and it also needed some more filling, funny how a gloss coat show up all the defects, well subsequent attempts at spraying were useless, run after run and a poor gloss finish. All I can think is that I could not have had the area blanketed off in the workshop warm enough and the thinners in the paint was not drying as it hit the boat and just ran. I am now half way into sanding it all back and have decided to hand paint, What is the best paint and method to getting a near spray paint finish by hand brushing?

6 years ago by RichardSReade

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

I have used acrylic when restoring an old Aerokits Fireboat. However, it was not the easiest paint to work with and only got a good finish when everything was stripped down to the bare wood. I applied sanding sealer followed by primer then built up several coats of acrylic , leaving 3 hours between coats. When finished I used rubbing compound to get a good gloss. I am sure there must be better methods of painting model boats especially vintage ones that have already had coats of paint in the past.😁

6 years ago by boaty

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

Colin and Richard, the answer to the gloss finish, all of range is Acrylic, so it does not have a super gloss finish like celulose, when you are happy with the depth of colour, flat back with 1200 - 2000 paper, tacrag the surface, then over spray with a clear cote, to give the final finish Mark

6 years ago by jarvo

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

I found similar problems when repairing vintage boats, I also use Ezecote and ultra fine glass cloth. But have moved away from car paint as the gloss was quite poor so have changed to Plasticote high gloss which I buy from the Range. The gloss is great and drying is quite quick if temperatures stay above 15degrees c. Hope this is helpful, cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Paint

Hi Falmouth. I have been using car spray cans and provided you prepare the surface well, the results are more than satisfactory. The cans are not too expensive and I use a wax car polish to enhance the finish. Here's one I prepared earlier. Volkswagen brilliant orange and gloss black. Hope this helps. Steve

6 years ago by cormorant

Blog

Hull painting started

Have given the hull a few coats of hull red ( red primer is close enough!). Have also added the red trim line at the top of the hull, most of which will disapear once the black rubbing strake is in place and its been masked off for the blue. Will leave this to fully harden overnight before I start masking for the blue band. I am planning on having a straight water line between the red hull and the blue with a white trimline strip to seperate them. I could mask and spray the white trim line, but using a vinyl trimline which I use alot of in RC aircraft will give a much neater finish. So, once the blue has been applied, I will give the whole hull a light coat of laquer and will then add the trimline, "Douglas Currie" gold lettering and RNLI flags before a final couple of coats of laquer to seal it all in.

7 years ago by Skydive130

Forum

Re Sea Rover by Wingcoax

And these bike lamp batteries,(I remember selling tins of carbide!).

7 years ago by philpjuk

Response

Aerokits Solent Class Lifeboat

Hi mark, many thanks for your input. I have planked before on those "wonderful" De Agostini part works I.e Bismarck, HMS Victory etc. However planning on sheet covering the hull using the templates on 1.5mm ply I have. I also plan to use a coating of finishing resin inside and out but will not be glass clothing as I'm informed it's not necessary. This of course after any required filing gaps, will then prime, sand, prime again and finish using rattle cans. As for household warefare! Thankfully I get lots of weekdays off when "she who must be obeyed" is at work, the Hoover works overtime before my understanding wife arrives home from work lol

7 years ago by Skydive130

Forum

correct size of wiring

Hi Chris, no you don't need 70A wire! 😊 That might be horribly thick and stiff for a scale boat. You need wire the same size as probably on both your motor and battery. Same the 'standard' wiring in cars. Available I suppose at and any car diy shop. WHAT YOU DO NEED IS A 15 OR 20 Amp FUSE TO PROTECT THE WIRING IF THE MOTOR STALLS (PROP GETS BLOCKED) 😡 If your ESC has a BEC supply for the RX put the fuse in the positive motor lead, probably red or yellow. if not, i.e. you have a separate battery supply, put the fuse in the positive lead from drive battery to ESC. Then at least the RX will still work and maybe you can see from shore if it still responds; e.g. by switching on lights or some other visible function. With twin or more props fusing the motor wire itself can sometimes help get the boat home on a remaining engine. Somewhere in the Electrical stuff blog is a long discussion on the subject! Have a look here https://model-boats.com/forum/electrical-related/28332 "What type of wire?" Happy sailing 👍 Cheers Doug 😎 PS: Almost forgot, if you have a brushless motor you have no choice but to put the fuse in the positive wire from battery to ESC! Brushless ain't got no positive!

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Which Cable To Use

Hi Joe I guess this is a follow on from your last request re charging batteries in the boat. Your tandem is usually referred to as parallel connected where the positive terminals on each battery are connected together as are the negative terminals. This will give you 12 volts but double the Amphr capacity in your case to 24Amphr. Is this to be used in the fishing boat with the working winch? As Doug advised the total expected current draw will determine the cable required and you should protect this with a fuse in the positive lead from the batteries. If you can run separate cables from the battery to the ESC and the winch control then they will only need to carry the current for that device. Again each cable should have an appropriate fuse. As regards the charging lead this will be less than 5 amps and your SLA will have suitable leads. I would not recommend charging SLA's in parallel as in my experience one always charges first and the charger goes into trickle mode leaving one battery undercharged. I thinke you will need to have the two positive battery connections accessible so you can charge each separately. have a range of cables which should cover your requirements and also have fuses. Cheers Dave

7 years ago by Dave M

Blog

The window glazing & frames.

A full set of laser cut perspex windows is supplied in the VMW kit along with corresponding frames for all and they are all a pretty good fit in the window apertures of the engine room, forward cabin and wheel house rear walls, only requiring a light easing with a file for a secure fit. I left the protective film on the screens whilst gluing them in place with a very small amount of canopy glue applied to the window edges with a dressmaking pin and pressed into place so that they were flush with the outside of the cabin walls. The wheelhouse windows were a bit trickier as they are glued to the inside face of the panels and I had to remove the protective film around the edges of the outer face of the windows by running a fine sharp blade around the window aperture with the perspex held in place by hand. Canopy glue was then used very sparingly on the face of the perspex and the windows clamped in place. The central screen of the wheelhouse has the Kent Clearview in it and this needed to be carefully centred before fixing in place. When all had dried and set the protective films were peeled off to reveal nice clear ‘panes’ without any unsightly glue smudges. The CNC cut window frames are made from a flexible plastic material with accurate and well defined edges. They were all given a light sanding with abrasive paper as a key for the paint and were then laid out on a large piece of card paying particular attention to getting them the correct side up, in particular the wheelhouse frames which are ‘handed’ for either port or starboard. They were all held to the board with small pads of double sided foam tape and sprayed with two coats of metallic silver paint followed by two light coats of gloss lacquer. After a couple of days to dry they were removed from the board and fixed in place with canopy glue applied with a pin as very small dots around the inside face, aligned with masking tape ‘guides’ and a straight edge and then held in place with small tabs of masking tape. The installation of the glazing in the wheelhouse was made a lot easier because I had previously cut away some of the bulkhead and rear wall to give better access to the wheelhouse interior for detailing. This is not mentioned in the building instructions but is well worth doing for all the above reasons 😁

7 years ago by robbob

Response

muddy 6 Upperworks

Hello, Thank you, BUt the camera lies..! I did think i had cracked it last year, by masking up the the varnished parts after a long drying time, and then continue with the painting..A month or so later, when all was done, i tried to remove the masking tape/newspaper, but found the tape had stuck hard and was a dickens of a job to clean off, it also left residue of glue on the varnish so looked pretty terrible. Talcum powder did work, sprinkling it on the offending residue and rolling it along the deck, but not 100%.. As a footnote, i used Wilko spray enamel on this one's hull with undercoat/primer, all spray cans.. Cheaper than .. But were doing 4 spray cans for the price of 3.. The cabin was hand painted with Humbrol enamel.. Muddy

7 years ago by muddy

Forum

Finishing

If you put a question out there, you'll get an answer. At least you will from me if I know about it and I know about paint. Why on earth do you say acrylic can be put over anything UNLIKE cellulose or enamel. Cellulose maybe, but enamel? You can put enamel over anything. I can even get cellulose over almost anything with my spray gun, but I know how to mist it on. I suggested enamel because it is so completely harmless. Cellulose, apart from mixed and Zero Paints is no longer available. Acrylic as you know can react even with itself. it doesn't have good pigments and doesn't cover well. Enamel does. I was well aware that the original post was from a new member, so I figured he deserved a straight answer. Not everyone wants a matt or even a satin finish on a model boat if it isn't a Warship or a service vessel. Would you put satin varnish on a Greavette or a Chris Craft, matt paint on a model of a luxury yacht of any age? Of course not. This nonsense about scale effect is just that....nonsense. A shine's a shine whether smaller or larger, otherwise where do you stop? Martin

7 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Finishing

That's why I counselled caution with anything over acrylic...including, as it happens, acrylic. HRG enamels take a very short time to dry. in fact so much so that they sell a decelerator to slow drying time to maintain a wet edge. Very important when you're painting a narrow boat by hand, although a lot of people then use Owatrol mixed in with the enamel. I sprayed HRG enamel, thinned with white spirit and I sprayed all the parts of a kit car with it. it dried the same afternoon and was handleable the next day with ease. Needless to say it glossed beautifully, being enamel. Spray cans can be OK, but are very expensive for what they re and NEVER use over acrylic as they will wrinkle. What goes in those cans ain't pure water based acrylic, trust me. For one thing, it stinks a fair bit. I've painted enough slot car bodies to know that and what mix for you is pure, stinks-of-peardrops cellulose, whatever they might tell you. None of them know a fraction of we old painty farts know! if you can afford them, I would recommend Zero paints. They're formulated to be airbrush ready, need no thinning and are to quote the man that makes them, "cellulose only different". I did a 3 foot model narrow boat for somebody and they went on beautifully out of my Paasche Model H single mix airbrush (all you need). in fact I have also used them from my spotting gun (cheap as chips and easy to clean, IF you have a compressor). Zeros mask well too. Problem is he won't post and wants a fortune for courier. I won't play that game when I just had 2 deliveries of epoxy resin through the post. I have recently used Tamiya spray cans that were given to me (yes I really AM that tight) and they are excellent, but then, they really are cellulose. I wish I could buy cellulose, but it allegedly isn't made these days...Hmmmm. Something ending in "...ocks" comes to mind. I'd honestly stick to enamels bought from a car paint suppliers. Their wet'n'dry is cheaper too. Always talk to the organ grinder himself, never his monkey, hence auto refinishers' suppliers. Martin

7 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Sea Rover planking

Not liking to see a thread unfinished, here are the photos as promised of the finished planking. Lime planks (Ikea blinds) glued with super glue, black card for caulking, Teak edging, several coats of spray lacquer, wet and dry in between coats. Final coat rubbed down with 1200 wet and dry then cutting compound, and polished with car polish. Alan

7 years ago by AlanP