Blackening

Thanks Phil. It didn't explain if "blackening" was pine tar though. I learned about making it when I was into archery.
As an aside I have a theory that all the mysterious stone lined pits that they're finding on Oak Island are tar kilns. It would explain a lot of their "mysteries".
 
Don Case said:
Thanks Phil. It didn't explain if "blackening" was pine tar though. I learned about making it when I was into archery.
As an aside I have a theory that all the mysterious stone lined pits that they're finding on Oak Island are tar kilns. It would explain a lot of their "mysteries".
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I love that show. I like your theory. It is unreal how much technology they are throwing at that island.
 
I suppose if someone would want to use something that is most like what they used to put on those ropes of the original ships they would use pine tar, but my opinion, if you don't mind me sharing it, is that it's easier to use bees wax. I don't know if the wax is required on polyester ropes as I have never worked with them.
 
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I did a little test with my "tar". I sat thinking for a while about it and my tar is actually pine pitch. I gathered it 25 or more years ago to use as a wound sealant on my bonsai. It then sat through my years of racing IOM's until I took up bow making. Historically pitch was used as a finish on bows so I mixed my pitch with paint reducer to thin it. I never got around to using it on a bow because it was too sticky. Then I got into building the Discovery. I found the jar of pitch which was now hardened. Thinned it out with lacquer thinner this time. When I tested it yesterday it dried in a few hours and was not sticky but it's glossy and quite brittle. I'll look at it a little more to see if I can find a use for it. The color is perfect for standing rigging but the gloss may be hard to take. I'll see. After hanging on to this stuff for that long I should find something to use it for. The kids will just throw it in the dumpster when I die. :)
 
Don Case said:
I did a little test with my "tar". I sat thinking for a while about it and my tar is actually pine pitch. I gathered it 25 or more years ago to use as a wound sealant on my bonsai. It then sat through my years of racing IOM's until I took up bow making. Historically pitch was used as a finish on bows so I mixed my pitch with paint reducer to thin it. I never got around to using it on a bow because it was too sticky. Then I got into building the Discovery. I found the jar of pitch which was now hardened. Thinned it out with lacquer thinner this time. When I tested it yesterday it dried in a few hours and was not sticky but it's glossy and quite brittle. I'll look at it a little more to see if I can find a use for it. The color is perfect for standing rigging but the gloss may be hard to take. I'll see. After hanging on to this stuff for that long I should find something to use it for. The kids will just throw it in the dumpster when I die. :)
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Feck when I die the kids will throw me in the dumpster! Love JJ..
 
Don Case said:
I'm reading the logs of the Discovery1789 and they refer to "blackening" the yards. Would that be with pine tar or maybe paint?
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If you're talking about the yards (spars) then matt black paint. Humbrol enamels have by far and away the best finish. When the paint is fully hardened (about a day) is can be finished with a light rub with 0000 steel wool. It's the only paint I would consider.
 
Pine tar or pitch was used liberally on historic ships as it was common, cheap, easily available, and actually worked. In my experience the issue for modeling is to simulate the color of the aged pine tar. That is not as straightforward as we would think. Pine tar darkens with age and layers of application turning a deep brown almost black. We use black thread for tarred rigging. On wood I have used two different options: one is flat black paint on masts and spars or any wood surface that would historically be covered in pine tar or pitch such as standing rigging deadeyes. The other option is MinWax ebony stain. The stain does a great job on darker woods such as walnut dowels used in masts and spars...not so good on light colored dowels unless you use several coats. You can get actual pine tar for wood preservation on line...but we can not easily duplicate the effect of the aging process when we use real pine tar. Thus we turn to simulated options such as paint, stain, and colored threads.
 
Don Case said:
I did a little test with my "tar". I sat thinking for a while about it and my tar is actually pine pitch. I gathered it 25 or more years ago to use as a wound sealant on my bonsai. It then sat through my years of racing IOM's until I took up bow making. Historically pitch was used as a finish on bows so I mixed my pitch with paint reducer to thin it. I never got around to using it on a bow because it was too sticky. Then I got into building the Discovery. I found the jar of pitch which was now hardened. Thinned it out with lacquer thinner this time. When I tested it yesterday it dried in a few hours and was not sticky but it's glossy and quite brittle. I'll look at it a little more to see if I can find a use for it. The color is perfect for standing rigging but the gloss may be hard to take. I'll see. After hanging on to this stuff for that long I should find something to use it for. The kids will just throw it in the dumpster when I die. :)
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Hi Don,

Not sure if this will help though it is related in my opinion, Acorn to Arabella did an episode where they made "boat soup" which is pine tar mixed with linseed oil, this is used to coat the deadeyes and will turn them nearly black.
Here is a link to the video, if you are not interested in all of the video the bit you want is on around the 20 min mark.


Cheers,
Stephen.
 
Bob Ellis is right, Humbrol does make a great spar paint, as it looks very real! Now that you can't get ModelMaster paints from Testor's anymore, Humbrol is the only way to go! Rick1011
 
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