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14. PAINTING AND FINISHING

Various Methods of imparting a Neat Workmanlike Appearance to a Model are here dealt with in Considerable Detail.

Matters that could be dealt with under the title of this chapter would be enough to fill a bulky volume, but here attention is directed particularly to the various methods of preparing the surfaces of wood, cardboard and other materials; the choice and application of various pigments and some hints on such items as polishing, lacquering and the like.

A workmanlike finish with paint, enamel or other pigment depends primarily on the material to be painted, its proper preparation, and a wise selection of the pigment itself. For convenience, therefore, these methods are here grouped under various headings to facilitate reference.

The amateur should appreciate that painting is a difficult art, calling for personal skill and dexterity, which is only acquired even by the professional after a lengthy apprentice­ship; consequently it must be understood that the hints which follow are intended for the novice. The expert will not have much to learn and might adopt other methods; however those recommended should give entirely satisfactory results.

In the case of old-time ship models the bulk of the materials employed are wood, paper, card and plaster, with only a few metallic parts; and of the woodwork, the most important is the hull.

Supposing this to be plank built, it will need only very carefully sandpapering with old well-worn but clean fine paper, followed by a dusting, and then by one coat of clear crystal varnish. This should be allowed to dry hard and then be carefully but lightly rubbed down with sandpaper, dusted, and given a second and rather more generous coat of varnish. This treatment leaves the wood in its natural colors, but if a deeper and richer effect with a very high gloss is desired it will be necessary to employ a high grade carriage varnish and to give two or three coats, each allowed to dry hard, prior to rubbing down with fine sandpaper, or preferably withpumice powder.

Fig. 171. Application of Wood Filler.

To rub down a varnished surface withpumice powder, put some of the powder in a linen bag, an old handkerchief folded into four answering very well. Draw the corners upwards and tie them together with string, leaving a flat part at the bottom of the bag which can be used as the rubbing surface. Dip the pad in water and rub lightly and bi'iskly over the surface of the dry varnish, using a circular motion. Keep the varnish and the pad moistened with water to prevent the varnish lifting or pulling up, as it would do if the surface became hotby friction. Endeavour to produce a perfectly smooth even surface, marble-like in appearance and texture. Similar measures can be employed when rubbing down for French polish, or to impart a fine surface on paintwork.

The final coat of varnish is generally left plain, but can be rubbed down in this way and polished afterwards with linseed oil and a trace of beeswax dissolved in turpentine, and rubbed on as if French polishing.

The foregoing is an excellent finish for mahogany or other woods used for deck houses and the like, and for the masts and spars. Usually on small model work it is unnecessary to give a preliminary coating of size or filling, but this may be occasionally needed and can then be carried out as described for the preparation of timber prior to painting.

Should it be desired to darken or enrich the natural colour of a wood prior to clear varnishing, it is best to use a water stain, applied with a brush or rubber or pad of soft linen. This pad must not be made of any "fluffy" material or the fibres may remain on the work and disfigure it.

The water stain may raise the grain of the wood, and if this happens it must be rubbed down with fine sandpaper or pumice before giving the first coat of varnish.

Varnishes ought to be applied with a medium soft brush, and flowed on or applied rather thickly; it is difficult to describe how much varnish to use, but it must be sufficient to flow together after the brush has passed, thus obliterating the brush marks, but it must not be too generous or it will run down into miniature rivulets and never dry flat and uniform in appearance. Try to apply a coat absolutely uniform in thickness, use a proper "varnish brush," the best quality varnish, and success will surely follow if the work is guided by commonsense.

Other items to observe when varnishing are to exclude all dust and draughts of cool air, work in a warm dry room and leave the varnished model in such a place, or carefully cover it up so that dust cannot settle on or adhere to the moist surfaces. See also that the varnished surface remains untouched for quite a long time after it appears dry as it takes 24 to 48 hours for most of the oil varnishes to dry really hard. Spirit varnish dries very quickly and is most useful on small work; it is applied as before, but is not so durable. The application of varnish to paper or cardboard should be preceded by a coat of clear size, unless the material has been painted with "poster colours," or some other fairly thick pigment. Use a specially prepared "paper varnish" or a quick drying crystal, apply it quickly and liberally, and always work the brush in the same direction, never backwards and forwards.

This applies to all forms of varnishing, but particularly when going over a surface which has been painted with water colours or with poster colours, as the dampness and friction might "lift" the colour and ruin a fine piece of work.

The successful painting of any wooden surface, particularly a model boat hull, necessitates preliminary treatment, first by careful sandpapering, secondly by the application of a wood filler and then by the various coats of colour.

Having sandpapered the hull and made it as smooth as possible apply a coat of wood filler to close up the pores of the wood. A preparation supplied by Messrs. Hobbies Ltd. was used on the models illustrated; it is supplied in paste form and needs dilution with turpentine.

It is applied with a brush, or preferably a linen rubber, the filler well rubbed into the wood, as shown in fig. 171, and allowed to stand for some hours to dry hard. After this use some medium grade sandpaper and briskly rub over the surface, working in all directions to produce a nice smooth surface. One such application is usually sufficient, but any little visible cracks should be filled in with "stopping," a mixture specially prepared and obtainable from oil color men, or one made up of whiting and linseed oil.

Next apply a uniform coat of "priming" paint, composed of red or white lead diluted with turpentine and gold size. A small quantity of litharge, or patent driers, can be added to accelerate the drying. Rub this down thoroughly and then give one coat of body color, which should be of any suitable tint, according to the desired color, but rather lighter in tone. Any good "flat" oil paint can be used; flat Ripolin, and "coach color ground in oil" have both been successfully employed by the author. The foregoing is admirable when the hull surfaces are smooth, as for example the lower portions below the main wales, or in cases where the hull can be thus prepared and the wales and doublings added afterwards.

Fig. 172. "Cutting in" or Painting a small part.

When, however, they are already in place, the filling and rubbing down processes become more complicated, the colors have to be "cut in" (that is brushed neatly and carefully around all the raised parts), and the rubbing down accomplished by the use of square-ended felt rubbers which can be worked into the corners.

After the body color had been applied, the painting is completed by a coat of enamel, which can be applied similarly to varnish, or several coats of color can be used and the finish be imparted by varnishing or by French polishing.

French polishing is better left alone by the novice; it is an art that needs much practice, and the amateur can attain better results by using a spirit varnish, rubbing it down with pumice, and polishing with a mixture composed of beeswax, turpentine, a trace of linseed oil and a few drops of paraffin oil.

Most models are painted a different color below the waterline, and this necessitates careful lining which is generally done with a longhaired flat brush known as a "pencil." Alter­natives are to stretch a gummed cotton along the hull at the line of demarkation, and to paint up to it, the ridge formed by the cotton is quite enough to guide the bristles of the brush. When finished the cotton can be removed by damping it slightly.

The old-time ships were gaudily painted if one can judge by the remaining contemporary paintings, hence the model craftsman can give free rein to fancy with the choice of his colors. On the model illustrated (fig. 173) the hull is a warm Vandyke brown, the wales and doublings done with the same color but mixed with white to somewhat lighten the tone. The ground color of the carved work on the bulwarks is "Milburn's red," with decorations in yellow chrome and gilt. Below the waterline the hull is a deep bluey-green known as "brilliant green" ; the gunport covers and channels are dull black. These small parts have to be very carefully painted with a small sable brush, as shown in fig. 172 to avoid encroaching on the bodywork.

Extraordinarily good results are obtained with poster colors; the author used a small box supplied by Messrs. Clifford, Milburn & Co., which contained twelve small glass jars all with different colors, and this range and quantity were more than sufficient for all purposes.

Deck erections and the stern gallery want a good deal of care. All the little windows, doors and other features shown on the working drawings should be carefully drawn in with pencil, and the colouring carried out with poster colors applied with a fine sable brush. Windows are represented by ultramarine blue with streaks of white, the top left hand corner of each pane being carefully colored with blue, and the remainder streaked with blue and white. Relief is obtained by showing the window bars in black, and all recessed parts represented by black shadows—usually by putting a black line under the top bar of the window and another strong black line at one side.

Fig.  173. Painting the  Royal Albert.

Gilding is best accomplished by using a ready prepared liquid paint; the alternatives are gold leaf, which is not only expensive but very difficult to handle, and by the use of gold powder. This is a very fine metallic dust and is blown or poured on to damp varnish, previously applied to ever}' part where the gilt is needed. The powder seems, however, to get all over the work and the novice is therefore recommended to use the liquid gold paint.

Small metal parts are preferably finished by black oxydis-ing, which can be done by any local electroplater, but the few pieces required on old-time models and the fact of the originals being made of wrought iron suggests the use of a dull black paint as being the most suitable.

Polished metal parts should be finished by lacquering. The easiest to use is a gold lacquer, which has only to be brushed on like varnish, but not so thickly; such lacquers are easily obtainable either clear, or deep gold, green, blue, and other colours.

Fig.  174. Painting inside the Bulwarks.

Rope and cordage are often varnished to preserve them and impart a uniformity of colour and texture, also to represent the tarring which was a feature of much of the earlier rigging. Any light oil varnish will answer well, and it may be coloured with a few drops of "staining colour" of the requisite tone. As this work has to be done when the rigging is in place it calls for very neat, painstaking work to avoid splashing other parts of the model; as precaution against such accidents, cover up as much of the work as possible with clean tissue paper.

A good deal of the paintwork has to be done on the model at various stages of its completion. The photographic illustrations, figs. 173 and 174, demonstrate this, and likewise the facility afforded by turning the hull on its side while working on the bulwarks and other internal places.

Back scenes on scenic models are generally done with ordinary water colors or poster colors. Plaster waves or other parts are generally painted with oil colors, or with poster colors if the plaster surfaces are previously gone over with a light coat of crystal varnish or a thin coat of clear shellac varnish, either of which closes the pores and stop the "suction," thus enabling a uniform surface of color to be attained.

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