Excellent report, great sampling, and a good choice, Irish Black Tea, some years ago I used Canadian Red Rose tea, soaking for about 30 minutes, air dried, then sprayed ironing starch on both sides of the cloth. Then I did the hem stitching. It turned out pretty good, but I admit it came closer to the Earl Grey colouring you have shown.
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Decades ago, as I worked in a department that had drafting units, I was able to lay hands on a roll of drafting linen that was used for laying down profiles using pen and ink. To cut to the chase in this story, the linen itself was coated with some sort of solution (starch based I think) that gave it a light blue tint and a smooth surface texture that responded similarly to mylar for inking purposes. However, that coating was water soluble and by washing in warm, soapy water, could be removed leaving this very, very fine high thread count linen. I like the scale of the cloth for models as it's nearly gossamer thin... and the linen itself after being washed and dried takes on a very nice wrinkled texture.
That's what I've used for any of my models that I had sails on (which I'll confess are very few, as I prefer not to have the rigging and masting details obscured from view). To stain the cloth, I've always relied on soaking the linen in oolong tea, which has very dark tanins. I should have known about the acidic aspect of using tea, but till reading this thread hadn't given it much consideration. So far, I have models that are nearly forty years old, and thankfully not showing any signs of deterioration that I can see. Perhaps after a century or so it may break down, but by then I'll be long gone and it will be someone else's problem.
Push come to shove, I guess if I were making museum quality models intended for a long lifespan, I'd be going with other tinting and staining methods based on the education I've obtained from reading this thread. A deep and sincere thanks to all those who have contributed the informative content regarding sail staining options and considerations. You're never too old to learn, and this has certainly been an education for me. Again, thank you to those who provided that content.
That's what I've used for any of my models that I had sails on (which I'll confess are very few, as I prefer not to have the rigging and masting details obscured from view). To stain the cloth, I've always relied on soaking the linen in oolong tea, which has very dark tanins. I should have known about the acidic aspect of using tea, but till reading this thread hadn't given it much consideration. So far, I have models that are nearly forty years old, and thankfully not showing any signs of deterioration that I can see. Perhaps after a century or so it may break down, but by then I'll be long gone and it will be someone else's problem.
Push come to shove, I guess if I were making museum quality models intended for a long lifespan, I'd be going with other tinting and staining methods based on the education I've obtained from reading this thread. A deep and sincere thanks to all those who have contributed the informative content regarding sail staining options and considerations. You're never too old to learn, and this has certainly been an education for me. Again, thank you to those who provided that content.
Watching this video I can't decide if he used two sheets of silkspan or only one. I've used a lot of tissue like paper on stick model airplanes and they called it silkspan. Is this the same stuff or is it different? Pete