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LUCZORAMA SHIPWRECK SCAVENGER HUNT GIVEAWAY. 4 Weeks of Fun • 1 Legendary Prize ((OcCre’s Fram Ship)) • Global Crew Welcome!
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Hi, I have a quality airbrush which I use to good effect on models other than wood, but for wood I much prefer brushing. Use a good quality soft brush, well thinned acrylic paint and apply by building up with several of very diluted coats, if it’s hot use a setting inhibitor. For wood a gloss is a no, satin or matt is best, you may even like to finish it off with a coat of varnish of choice. Ken
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Hi, I find that there’s not a great deal of difference, each has its own merits, I used Caldercraft Admiralty paint on my Victory which you can see in the completed models showcase, there’s some close up shots, judge for yourself the finish, it can be thinned with plain water and applies nicely, they do ship colours quite well. I would also consider the surface prep, I always use a sanding sealer prior to painting, this seals the grain and when lightly sanded gets rid of the fine wood fibres that spoils the surface, I prefer cellulose sealer, it dries very quickly and gives a great finish. Good luck.
Echoing Ken's words, I wrote on the subject in my build log of the HMB Endeavour on this site. The build is ongoing.
I used Admiralty colours on my ship, which give something between matt and semi-gloss in appearence.
Good luck with your build.
Trevor
I used Admiralty colours on my ship, which give something between matt and semi-gloss in appearence.
Good luck with your build.
Trevor
I use spray paints for common colors like black and white, but other colors are generally craft-store acrylics. I use Rust-Oleum in the blue cans. I clearcoat everything with Rust-Oleum matte clear to even everything out and hide glue shine and touch-ups. I think models always look better with a flat finish vs. a glossy one. The reason I use these paints exclusively is because I have never had a coverage problem or incompatibility with the other finishes I use.
I have a Badger Patriot airbrush that I use for most applications over maybe 1" square, or where I have many small parts to paint together, but for individual smaller parts I brush paint. I have used many brands of acrylic paint and have found bigger differences between colors than between brands. There are some specific paint brand/color that don't spray well or don't brush well but when I find those I pick another paint of similar shade and can usually find a suitable color that coats nicely. Acrylic paints from craft stores like Michael's come in almost unlimited colors so I can always get exactly the look I was hoping for and with few exceptions they cover wood very nicely when sprayed or brushed.
YMMV, but this is what has worked for me for over 50 models and I'm not going to mess with it
Edit: When doing a large black model like the Constitution I use the color Licorice from Folkart. It is a slightly lighter shade than BLACK black that I like very much on models. To my eye it looks like the black object when it is viewed through 500 meters of atmosphere.
I have a Badger Patriot airbrush that I use for most applications over maybe 1" square, or where I have many small parts to paint together, but for individual smaller parts I brush paint. I have used many brands of acrylic paint and have found bigger differences between colors than between brands. There are some specific paint brand/color that don't spray well or don't brush well but when I find those I pick another paint of similar shade and can usually find a suitable color that coats nicely. Acrylic paints from craft stores like Michael's come in almost unlimited colors so I can always get exactly the look I was hoping for and with few exceptions they cover wood very nicely when sprayed or brushed.
YMMV, but this is what has worked for me for over 50 models and I'm not going to mess with it
Edit: When doing a large black model like the Constitution I use the color Licorice from Folkart. It is a slightly lighter shade than BLACK black that I like very much on models. To my eye it looks like the black object when it is viewed through 500 meters of atmosphere.
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There is a lot of personal experience and preferences in any answer to your question. I use standard hobby acrylic paint, flat sheen, on my wood ship models. Brush on only. I get this paint from my local craft stores such as HobbyLobby and Joann’s. I then finish coat over the acrylic with matte finish polyurethane clear by MinWax. I prefer the water based version. I have used this combination for my ship models for several years now. I do finish coat unpainted wood with the poly as well. Depending on the condition of the surface and type of wood sanding sealer provides a nice base for the acrylic paint. MinWax has a nice sanding sealer. You can also use the poly to seal raw wood before applying the acrylic paint.
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My wife’s an artist and she sometime helps me paint with acrylics. I’ve learned from watching her. She wets her brush then dabs it in the acrylic right out of the tube. Every thing seems to flow smoothly.She mixes colors till she gets the shade I’m looking for. Her brushes are kept pristine. Copying her method is a lot of fun and the results look great.
Interesting regarding your use of Licorice paint especially your results. Already made a note to try this out. Thanks!I use spray paints for common colors like black and white, but other colors are generally craft-store acrylics. I use Rust-Oleum in the blue cans. I clearcoat everything with Rust-Oleum matte clear to even everything out and hide glue shine and touch-ups. I think models always look better with a flat finish vs. a glossy one. The reason I use these paints exclusively is because I have never had a coverage problem or incompatibility with the other finishes I use.
I have a Badger Patriot airbrush that I use for most applications over maybe 1" square, or where I have many small parts to paint together, but for individual smaller parts I brush paint. I have used many brands of acrylic paint and have found bigger differences between colors than between brands. There are some specific paint brand/color that don't spray well or don't brush well but when I find those I pick another paint of similar shade and can usually find a suitable color that coats nicely. Acrylic paints from craft stores like Michael's come in almost unlimited colors so I can always get exactly the look I was hoping for and with few exceptions they cover wood very nicely when sprayed or brushed.
YMMV, but this is what has worked for me for over 50 models and I'm not going to mess with it
Edit: When doing a large black model like the Constitution I use the color Licorice from Folkart. It is a slightly lighter shade than BLACK black that I like very much on models. To my eye it looks like the black object when it is viewed through 500 meters of atmosphere.
View attachment 393490 View attachment 393492
Yes, I always use a sanding sealer on my wood art pieces - since I work mainly in exotic woods, l don’t use water based finishes - but I often use MinWax. Thanks.
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Lots of exceptionally useful (if divergent) information here. Thanks, everyone for all the well-considered input!
Now you need to experiment and find what works for you…I have found, however, you can achieve excellent results with general hobby type paints, stains, and poly. I abandoned specialty modeling paints long ago…
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Here I sit with 2 joinable spray booths and an airbrush along with my compressor. I am almost afraid to use them and ruin my model. I guess I will practice on some scrap lumber and see how I feel. I hear horror stories about the paint jamming up the sprayer and then I think it just spits instead of spray. Either way spray or brush there is good advice from experienced modelers. I thin with 99% medicinal alcohol instead of water wood models. I don’t model in plastic.
I've done airbrush art for decades, but just my thoughts.....enamels & most acrylics must be thinned correctly, (another cause of clogging), the airbrush has to be taken apart after every use for thorough cleaning, some kind of protection against overspray for anything nearby is needed. It does take some practice, with dual action, the trigger must be in the correct position (down & back) to control air pressure & amount of paint coming out. To sum it up, not worth it all for such scales we work on.
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A lot depends on the quality and finish of your timber, I keep a stock of good stuff (pear and boxwood ) and store the kit timber for internal works on other builds. If you use kit timber you can't get 'that' finish, acrylics will show every flaw. I dislike acrylic, both for ships and artwork, I use only Humbrol matt enamels which I brush on with a flat watercolour brush. The fish can be improved with a light rub of 0000 steel wool when it's hardened. It's about the best finish you can get.
Never use gloss, it doesn't scale and makes a build look toy like. For plain unpainted wood a light coat of oil, teak and Danish are the most popular. That will give a satin finish which is as shiny as you need to go. The light rubbing of Humbrol paint will also give a satin look.
For wales and other parts you want black a waterproof India ink is better than paint, it penetrates the wood so it will take a little further sanding. You might look at Tom Lauria's yt video on 'Scale and the Compelling Impression'. He substitutes black for a dark grey. This is to give the impression of looking at the ship from 100 yards away which is a scaled estimate of you looking at a model from close up, when the distance will mute black to grey. This actually works very well.
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A lot depends on the quality and finish of your timber, I keep a stock of good stuff (pear and boxwood ) and store the kit timber for internal works on other builds. If you use kit timber you can't get 'that' finish, acrylics will show every flaw. I dislike acrylic, both for ships and artwork, I use only Humbrol matt enamels which I brush on with a flat watercolour brush. The finish can be improved with a light rub of 0000 steel wool when it's hardened. It's about the best finish you can get.
Never use gloss, it doesn't scale and makes a build look toy like. For plain unpainted wood a light coat of oil, teak and Danish are the most popular. That will give a satin finish which is as shiny as you need to go. The light rubbing of Humbrol paint will also give a satin look.
For wales and other parts you want black a waterproof India ink is better than paint, it penetrates the wood so it will take a little further sanding. You might look at Tom Lauria's yt video on 'Scale and the Compelling Impression'. He substitutes black for a dark grey. This is to give the impression of looking at the ship from 100 yards away which is a scaled estimate of you looking at a model from close up, when the distance will mute black to grey. This actually works very well.
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Jim, as always, thanks for you well considered advice.
I've always tried to keep things as uncomplicated for myself as possible, using the most readily available products. I have said that when confronted with a problem I first look around my shop (upon whose shores stuff has been washing up for years) to see if I can solve the problem with what I have at hand. Usually so. Not often the most sophisticated solutions, but satisfactorily doable.
I never took up spray brushing. There wasn't any need for it restoring furniture that I couldn't do with a brush.
Much more challenging with models. Especially J-class boat hulls. I did use commercially available spray paint on "Endeavour I" and "Rainbow" which worked out ok.
I painted the hull of my Shamrock V with acrylics and a brush, with the result, according to the critical eyes of some honest model building friends, that the outcome was successful. But not without a LOT of anxiety and sweat equity. One heck of a lot of sanding with fine, up to 6000 grit paper, which you can't use wet on acrylics, I discovered, much to my chagrin. No matter what, if you use brushes, there will always be a ghost of the brush strokes. Whether in reality, or just in my fevered brain, I ain't too sure...
I've always tried to keep things as uncomplicated for myself as possible, using the most readily available products. I have said that when confronted with a problem I first look around my shop (upon whose shores stuff has been washing up for years) to see if I can solve the problem with what I have at hand. Usually so. Not often the most sophisticated solutions, but satisfactorily doable.
I never took up spray brushing. There wasn't any need for it restoring furniture that I couldn't do with a brush.
Much more challenging with models. Especially J-class boat hulls. I did use commercially available spray paint on "Endeavour I" and "Rainbow" which worked out ok.
I painted the hull of my Shamrock V with acrylics and a brush, with the result, according to the critical eyes of some honest model building friends, that the outcome was successful. But not without a LOT of anxiety and sweat equity. One heck of a lot of sanding with fine, up to 6000 grit paper, which you can't use wet on acrylics, I discovered, much to my chagrin. No matter what, if you use brushes, there will always be a ghost of the brush strokes. Whether in reality, or just in my fevered brain, I ain't too sure...
That's a good tip, Bob, for my Victory, I dropped the deadeyes in India ink, simple & quick.