I am working on my second project! A solid wood hull and I want a nice finish. I know I should condition/seal before staing these soft woods but should I also do it before painting?

Thanks.

Sheila,

First of all, congratulations on finishing your first project, I was just looking at it and you did a beautiful job on it, very neat and precise.

I would definitely seal the wood of your hull before painting, that way it will take the paint evenly regardless of the grain and you won't end up with alternating flat and glossy areas. I used Deft brand lacquer sanding sealer on my Phantom and sanded lightly between a couple of coats.

What are you working on?

Dan

Hi Sheila,
Your Flattie looks very good. Nice sails. I agree with Dan, use Deft clear wood satin finish spray before painting.

I am trying to get more experience with cutting and shaping so I got a 1969 Scientific Cutty Sark. It is a solid wood hull. I bought it from ebay and it is mostly complete. I am doing some research on the ship and have quite a challenge as there is one huge diagram but certainly not the detailed instructions I had with the Midwest kit.

Of course I bought some minwax pre-stain wood conditioner before I asked this question! I will try it on some scrap and see what happens. I saw the Deft but thought the laquer would make it too shiny.

Sheila: I also use Deft; get it in the "satin" finish, it drys to a "flat' finish. If you want a shiny finish, you can finish it with fine steel wool. It will seal/coat any surface you will find in ship modeling.

Shelia, while I agree on using the deft product, i would recommend using the gloss finish. It is a purer finish with less pigment in the finish to make it opaque. If you do not like the gloss finish, the shine can be reduced by using 0000 sandpaper or other sanding products. Just remember also that in sanding your wood surface, don't go with a grit higher than 320 as this will begin to burnish the wood and result in less penetration of your sealing product. Feel free to PM me with any questions of check out my article in the shop notes section. Good luck!

Fred

Congrats on your first build...nice job. I agree with the Deft but as an old timer I still go back to the original wood sealer for a real smooth finish. We use to mix talcum powder with dope but now days you can buy the dope with the talc already in it. The one I use is by Aero Gloss and called Balsa Fillercoat Primer made by Midwest Products in Hobart, IN. Three coats of this with 320 sanding between coats and you will get the smoothest finish paint job you have ever seen.

Ron

Shelia --

I agree with the others regarding DAMAR varnish . To answer your question -- yes -- you should seal all wooden surfaces before painting ( like using a primer) . Be careful if you use a spray varnish , as too much will dry "white" and is difficult to remove - I would recommend a good quality brush and a light coat of varnish before painting . Also , James' advise regarding sanding for the finish is also useful .


cheers

Just a note on Deft lacquer products- sounds like we might be talking about 2 of their products which are slightly different. They make a Sanding Sealer that is similar to their finishing lacquer but it is a bit thinner so it penetrates the wood better and seals the pores. They also make the finishing lacquer which comes in satin and gloss, these products are a bit thicker and contain a waxy plasticizer that shows up when you sand it, not sure if that would affect paint adhesion but it might, especially if the paint doesn't have much bite. As always, run a test!

Dan