Paint

     I decided to move on to painting the outside of the boat. I am done with the gunwales and quite frankly I was to excited about seeing my model with some color on it instead of Honey Nut Cheerios.
     I did a test on some spare cardboard with Crayola Poster Paint. While I love the pictures my kids paint with this stuff, It seemed kind of lousy for my boat. The color was dull and flat. I also didn't think I would ever get it to look smooth or totally cover the graphics on the paperboard.
     I decided to finally hit up the hobby store. The Hobby Town where I live, seems reasonably well stocked. I must say there is a surprisingly large collection of miniature doll house items. And not plastic beds and toilets either. I mean super detailed armoires and vanities. They have wall paper and wainscoting. This stuff is not for children. in fact, I am having trouble thinking of someone who would build such a thing, and not be creepy. Anyway, I didn't ask the hobby guy about that, but I did ask about paint. He said since I was painting something absorbant I should try a petroleum based paint.

Model Master's "British Crimson"

     So far it is working great. The deep red color looks great and the paint seems to flatten it self out as it dries. Which is fortunate, because I bought the cheapest paint brush in the store. The phrase, "You get what you pay for." seems to be a recurring theme on this project. Indeed, most of the advice I read about boats follow that logic. On the flip side though, you also hear people say "Don't pay for that, you can make one." I guess the common trait is that you have to have good materials. So the paintbrush I bought was adequate for laying down the paint. But only because the paint was decent quality. I did however wind up with a hairy transom. My cheap brush kept shedding and leaving hairs in my work. It took me a few minutes to pick them out.

     Another thing to be aware of with Petroleum based paints, is that water wont clean your brush. I took mine over to the sink and began to rub it with my fingers. The cold water made the paint congeal on the brush. Suddenly I was rubbing blood red goop all over my fingers. Shoot! I ran through what I know about petroleum in my brain. You can use another petroleum product to clean your hands. I wasn't about to go to the neighbors house with blood red fingers and asked for a tablespoon of Vaseline, so I started digging through the cupboard with the 2 clean fingers I had left. Finally I found a massage oil made with Mineral oil. I had to rub my fingers together with the oil and then wipe them off with tissue. I did the same with the brush, so I should be able to use it again tomorrow for the next 2 coats of paint. If not I'll just have to spend money for a real brush and a bottle of mineral oil.

D5 model gets first layer of paint

     I saw some very thin 6"x12" pieces of plywood at the Hobby store. If I make another one of these I might consider using real wood. I can't deny the thrifty nature of using a cereal box, but I could varnish a real wood boat.