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sails

P

pistonslap

Joined
May 20, 2026
Messages
12
Points
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Hi guys, Wondering what to use on my sails to stiffen them so that it looks like they are full of wind. I used betadine to age them, but now I want to stiffen them.
Thanks,
Tom
 
Sail material is cloth?

You have assured a relatively short life span by treating the material with an oxidizing agent.

Rite dye is safer.

Mix PVA glue with water in the 90% to 50% glue range - to a cream consistency - paint the cloth and
let dry over a Saran Wrap covered billow shape form.

Duco will probably work - it may want a bit of acetone added - it may add a bit of shine.

If you had used Rite dye or Walnut hull dye - bookbinders pH7 PVA Lineco is kinder to cellulose fabric.

For more sophisticated future models -- do a serious search here for SilkSpan sail material.
 
Thanks, I never gave a thought to how betadine might damage the sails! Live and learn. I should have asked first. The sails were about the easiest part anyway. That's one more thing I learned. This is a great site!
 
diluted pva to wet the sails. then direct a fan at the ship to cause the sails to billow to your liking.

ive used tea and coffee to tint sails 50 years ago, n so far no ill effects. in fact they aged beautifully.
 
Thanks guys, My next build is going to be another ship in a bottle, this time from scratch. My son found me a really nice bottle at an antique store. After that, I'm going to try to put some of the things I've learned from this site and by trial and error into my next build. One thing is for sure, no more Chinese knock-offs! The quality wasn't bad, but the instructions were non-existent.
 
If the model is larger than a ship in a bottle, they can be starched and stretched. The cloth should be 97% cotton and 3% spandex. Fabric stiffener from the sewing store works fine. Apply the stiffener until the sail is soaking wet. The cloth is stretched using a wooden jig that clamps the head of the sail and supports the clews with lines, and a sand bag or ziplock bag filled with water stretches the sail over night as the stiffener dries. Here is my build log link showing the process, which I learned from Ohla Batchvarov: LINK

1786180339427.png
 
Last edited:
pistonslap said:
Hi guys, Wondering what to use on my sails to stiffen them so that it looks like they are full of wind. I used betadine to age them, but now I want to stiffen them.
Thanks,
Tom
Click to expand...
I use PLAID Stiffy Fabric stiffener. I dilute it with water. 1 part Stiffy to 3 or four parts water. This always works great for me.
 
Staining sails with tea etc produces among the most unrealisic results on a build. Warships had sailcloth and a sailmaker on board. In heavy weather sails could easily blow out of the bolt ropes, or suffer general wear and damage, maybe a full suit of sails had to made after a storm. They most certainly never got to the age where they were brown. Also a captain wouldn't put into ports with sails in such a state. A little bit of soiling is OK, if you are going down the diorama route. But pretty clean is the way to go.
Modern sails can age significantly due to modern synthetics. But linen and cotton would wear far more quickly.
 
pistonslap said:
Thanks guys, My next build is going to be another ship in a bottle, this time from scratch. My son found me a really nice bottle at an antique store. After that, I'm going to try to put some of the things I've learned from this site and by trial and error into my next build. One thing is for sure, no more Chinese knock-offs! The quality wasn't bad, but the instructions were non-existent.
Click to expand...
 
Here's 2 ships in a bottle I made from scratch. I was mostly trying to figure out how to make the sea realistic, and how to arrange the sails once it was in the bottle. Not a lot of detail. My next build, I will try to be a lot more detailed. I can't believe how much fun (frustration too) this is. Not to mention how much trouble I had tying the turk's head. The knot looks a lot better on the other side. :)

tommy's.jpeg

jimmy's.jpeg
 
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