Sealing and painting

As well as doing it's best to be the wrong shape (as mentioned yesterday), wood has another sneaky trick up its trunk.

Paint it without preperation and the surface turns as hairy as a 70's film stars chest. This is fine if you are building a miniature Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit, but a bit hopeless for anyone contemplating a coach from the Groudle Glen Railway.

So, step one in painting is to seal the wood. This simply involves giving it a coat of "Sanding sealer" - the name being a bit of a clue to its purpose. According to the tin, it's also a paint for the perfectionist which means I've got it under flase pretenses.

Anyway, in the can is a mix of ceulllose dope and talculm powder. This makes for an interesting smell best experienced in a well-ventilated area. Once painted on bare wood, the dope seeps into the surface and the talc acts as a filler. Given a few minutes drying time, the surface hardens and can be sanded perfectly smooth. Used on blasa, the effect is quite amazing. A couple more coats and a glass-like finish can be obtained.

Since I'm modelling a wooden vehicle, a single coat followed by a light sand was sufficient.

The Groudle bogie coaches are maroon but not (as far as I know) a standard one. Despite this, I reckoned that they were about the same colour as a Hornby ex-GWR railcar in BR blood & custard livery. I know that Humbrols acrylic crimson is a perfect match for this and more importantly, I had half a pot handy. Thinned with car windscreen wash, I sprayed this over the coach body.

Around 3 coats later, I think the result is looking good. Crimson is a colour that needs a coat of varnish to come alive but that will have to wait until I've done the black bits and cream roof interior.