9
Brushes must be soft and of the highest
quality. Artist grade sable or synthetics
are the best. Use wider brushes for paint-
ing broad surfaces. If too narrow, the
bristles will cause excessive streaking.
When applying paint or stain with a
brush, lay down one thin coat in a sin-
gle stroke, then move to an adjacent
area and coat it with a single stroke.
Never go back over fresh paint. That
will tear up the surface. Wait until it has
dried to a hard finish before applying a
second coat.
Spray Painting
: Although slightly expen-
sive, a Paasche, Badger, Testors, Revell-
Monogram, or similar airbrush will pro-
duce a first-rate job and is worth the
investment. Airbrushes are either single
action (trigger controls only airflow) or
double action (trigger controls air and
paint) and easy to use. Spray patterns
can vary from thin to about 1/2" wide
by either adjusting the needle or
installing a different, sealed nozzle. In
some brands, paint travels through the
airbrush body to the needle. These
require disassembling to clean. Other
designs bypass the body and bring
paint directly to the nozzle. These clean
by simply spray solvent through them.
Paints are either water (acrylic) or solvent
based. Solvent- based paints spray best.
This includes Floquil's lacquers (thin
about 25%) and Testor's Model Master
enamels. Polly-S, Polly Scale, and Model
Master's acrylics are difficult to spray and
must definitely be used with the manu-
facturer's special thinner. Thinning water-
based paints with water creates surface
tension problems, resulting in poor cov-
erage and spray atomization. Experiment
when using acrylics. Some modelers have
success and others don't.
When using solvent-based paints, work
outdoors or equip your shop with a
spray booth. These fumes are toxic.
Many brands of aerosol paints produce
good results. However, test them on
scrap wood before spraying the model.
Aerosols put out a lot more paint than an
airbrush, so spray on several extremely
light coats to avoid runs.
Floquil, and other brands, has special
thinners for its various paint lines.
Follow each manufacturer's recommen-
dations. Mixing brands is not a good
idea, because they may not be compati-
ble. Sometimes, however, no other
option exists. If so, apply each brand
separately and allow to thoroughly dry
before adding the next. Always test to
make sure the final flat or gloss finish is
compatible with the paint it will cover.
Masking surfaces
: Masking can be a tricky
process. Some brands of masking tape
are worthless, because they allow paint
to seep underneath their edges. For
masking fine stripes or straight and
curved lines, use a graphic arts tape such
as Chart Pak. It comes in widths as fine
as 1/32” and 1/64”. Chart Pak tapes
have superb adhesion and won’t bleed
when firmly applied (burnishing is rec-
ommended). Black plastic electrician’s
tape and Scotch Removable Magic Tape
are also excellent. Scotch’s tape has the
same, low stick adhesive as its famous
Post-It pads. In fact, Post-It Correction
Cover-Up Tape can be used for mask-
ing. Rolls are 58-feet long and come in
1/6”, 1/3”, and 1” widths.
Scribing the waterline
: This can be done
in a variety of ways. One method is to
mount the hull so the waterline is paral-
lel to the bench top, then mark the
waterline using a height gauge and
sharp pencil or scriber. With or without
the aid of masking tape, paint the bot-
tom and topside colors precisely to this
line. The scribed line acts somewhat as a
barrier against transgressions by either
color, but a steady hand is needed.
A second approach is to guess where
the waterline will lie, but deliberately
overrun it when spraying or brushing
on the bottom color. Once it has dried,
scribe the waterline onto the hull with a
height gauge, then paint down to it.
Those with shaky hands should first
apply masking tape to the waterline.
2.
Niagara’s
Color Scheme
The color scheme is shown on the plans.
Sheet 3 matches it to equivalent Floquil
marine colors. Some are straight out of
the bottle, others a mix. (Model
Shipways sells a
Niagara
paint set.) If
another manufacturer's paints are used,
match them to Floquil's color chart.
Without this chart, follow the description
on the plan. The colors may not match
exactly, but should be close enough.
Painting And Staining The Model
QUARTER DAVITS
