If you learn more from making mistakes than getting things right, I've learned and learned good.Once the Pilot Boat superstructure was dry from it's wipe down with white spirit, I needed to start the repaint. All the yellows was gone and so were the silver window frames. I could have repeated the painting process again but to be honest I couldn't face all the frame masking again.
I'd also got an empty pot of warning yellow so took a trip to Halfords and bought a can of Ford Signal Yellow car paint. For a moment I seriously considered florescent yellow but then thought better of it. I also noticed they do a luminous paint and wondered what I could use that for...
Anyway, painting with an aerosol is a lot easier than an airbrush. A few blasts with the paint, some hairdryer heat and another waft gave me a nice yellow boat top.
Windows would be harder. The moulding doesn't provide any sharp edges to work with. Proper painters would probably mask the edges and spray but I decided it would be easier to draw these in with a bow pen and then fill in with a brush.
The results weren't bad. Silver paint is a paint to use - it varies in runniness no matter how much I mix it - but generally I think I got away with following the edges of the windows by hand. The blobs you see in the middle of the window are areas where I was checking how the paint flowed from the pen on the smooth yellow paint. I eshewed the ruler because all those handrails would get in the way but with a little practise and confidence the lines ended up OK. Confidence is the key to using a bow pen. Go for it and you end up with a much better result than you get if you are "careful". Anyway, I could always wipe the mistakes away with a dry kitchen towel before they became permanent.
3 comments:
Phil, silly question I know, but what was the hair dryer used for please? Was it to quicken the paint drying or to warm the aerosol for better coverage?
Drying the paint. I like to speed up the process in case I inadvertantly touch something wet. It also helps stop runs as dry paint can't.
Warming cans is better done by standing them in hot water.
Hope this helps.
Hi Phil,
Reading your text with great interest, particularly liked the bit where you outlined the silver cabin window-frames with a "bow pen". I've never come across this term before, could you enlighten me? I'm currently restoring a Clyde Pilot Boat, the Cumbrae No.1,a Caldercraft model.
Cheers, and Regards,
John.
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