What do you use as a sealer for rigging thread?

[ViperR]

Hey all,
Once I get a section of rigging done, I like to put some sort of sealer to keep the fibers of the various thicknesses of thread from fraying and to seal the knots. As an experiment, I used CA, but all it did was soak into the fibers, crystalized and weakened the thread and it just snapped/broke. I was thinking about using a water-based all purpose sealer. Saw "Masters Touch" at my Hobby Lobby. Fairly expensive at $7.49 for an 8-ounce bottle. Would that be safe? What do you guys use? Thanks!

 

[Rob444]

Some people coat their standing rigging with a solution of PVA glue and water.

Rob

 

[ViperR]

Yep, and this seems like the same as the sealer I described. Thinned out white glue. Kind of like Mod Podge.
Thanks!

 

[Bob Cleek]

I am not a fan of PVA diluted in water for cementing rigging lines, or for anything else, for that matter. PVA takes quite a while to dry and when diluted with water, it takes even longer to dry. It's messy to work with, as well. The results receive mixed reviews. The post above isn't the first instance I've heard of it making thread brittle and weak. From an archival standpoint, PVA is perhaps the least "reversable" of all the "reversable" adhesives commonly seen in ship modeling and, as any restorationist or conservator will tell you, "reversibility" is of paramount importance in a adhesive because it makes it possible to disassemble things for repair and restoration without breaking them. This is doubly so for ship modelers because reversible adhesives make disassembly to correct errors a relatively simple matter. While it is claimed that isopropyl alcohol will reverse PVA by softening it, in my experience, it's not particularly easy to do, especially if the PVA has fully cured.

For some time, I used thinned clear nail polish, which was cheap, dried fast, its solvent being acetone, and it worked well for "whipping" thread ends to prevent fraying and fasten knots to prevent untying. It was reversable by applying liberal amounts of acetone to dissolve it, which is occasionally necessary when one makes an error belaying to the wrong pin or adjustments to rigging tension is necessary. It does have the drawback of drying to a high gloss if applied too thickly.

Similar to nail polish, or Duco nitrocellulose cement, for that matter, is "homebrew" polystyrene cement which can be made by dissolving "styrofoam" packing material (blocks or "peanuts") in acetone until a desired consistency is achieved. This can be stored indefinitely in a closed container.

I later came to use nothing but clear Zinsser "Bull's Eye" brand shellac right out of the can (3-pound cut), which is a staple in my paint locker for sealing all wooden parts, hardening card stock, and so on. If applied in a single coat, it will be absorbed and become virtually invisible when dry. Multiple coats will build, with a high gloss, though. Shellac is thinned with alcohol (not isopropyl rubbing alcohol, just regular alcohol from the paint store, but not the alcohol sold for stove fuel and dyed blue, for obvious reasons. I buy it by the gallon, which is a lot cheaper than pint cans. Like shellac, It's a stock item in my shop.

A touch of a knot with an alcohol charged brush will soak right into the knot and dry very quickly. (Blow on it and it will dry even faster.) It is much easier to reverse with an application of alcohol than will nail polish with acetone, and will less noxious fumes, if you are concerned about such things. (Note that shellac and alcohol are non-toxic. Both are produced in "food grades" for human consumption. Shellac dissolved in alcohol is used to put the shiny surface on jellybeans and fancy fruits, for example.) One nice property of shellac on rigging line is that when it is placed on a line and is partially dried, but before it is fully hard, the line can be formed by hand to create catenaries, form coils to desired shape, and even "stick" lines to a deck or whatever. I use shellac to form reefing lines and stick them to sails to obtain a realistic position. As anybody who has ever done them knows, it's impossible to get the reef lines to hang naturally against the sail without gluing them somehow. This technique is also very handy for rigging cannon tackles and such. Shellac which is thickened when the alcohol is partially evaporated is also an excellent adhesive.

At present, while I haven't used it as yet, I anticipate trying a relatively new adhesive material which has achieved widespread acceptance and endorsement from the professional conservators and restorationist in the art and science fields because it is stronger and harder than polyvinyl acetate without being extremely brittle and is easily reversible with acetone. This material is called Paraloid B-72 or just B-72. It is a thermoplastic resin that is sold in the form of clear plastic pellets which are suspended in a cheesecloth bag into a container of acetone and left to dissolve overnight. The material can be mixed to whatever consistency suits the user and, if desired, can be thickened with colloidal silica in a manner similar to thickening epoxy resin. Archaeologists, for example, used thinned B-72 to coat fossils to solidify them and prevent damage from handling and environmental exposure. China and glass restorers use it to put broken glass and pottery pieces back together. It is the main "go-to" for use in cementing clear glass as it is invisible when cured and any excess on the glass surface can be cleaned off with an acetone dampened cloth. B-72 is now being used by major maritime museum and private ship model collection private restorationists as a primary adhesive and sealer, particularly on rigging line. Some claim that it is even possible to reconnect broken rigging lines, avoiding the need to replace broken rigging lines which were part of the original fabric of a model which, especially in the case of very old models, they desire to preserve if at all possible. It is semi-flexible when dry and does not cause line to harden and break as other adhesives tend to do.

B-72 is not particularly expensive and is readily available online. There appear to be some particular techniques for preparing it that should be followed. There are a number of YouTube instructional videos on the preparation and use of B-72. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraloid_B-72#References Rob Napier in his great book, Caring for Ship Models: A Narrative of Thought and Application discusses B-72 at some length. https://seawatchbooks.com/products/...tive-of-thought-and-application-by-rob-napier Highly recommended reading for any ship modeler!