Sea Commander – Restoring a classic

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Sea Commander, the restoration of a favourite classic

The model was purchased off an internet auction site four years ago and could be described as in typical condition for its age;

 The obvious first task in any restoration is a visual inspection to determine the condition of the model. 

Inspection:

This boat has some minor visible damage to the hull and superstructure and some evidence of inexperienced modifications, the model was originally fitted with an I.C. engine (although long removed) and there has been no attempt to convert to electric.

The cabin roofs although well made don’t fit properly anymore and the cockpit windscreen and mast are detached but still with the boat.

 Photos showing in inspection have been listed in my gallery         

The biggest problem is that some of the plywood has started to delaminate; so far this is only evident in small sections around the windows and forward cabin roof and as such is easily repaired so I hope that this is the full extent of the problem but I won’t know until I have removed the paint.

Next removing the paint

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Removing the paint:

Why remove the paint especially when a quick rub down with fine glass paper might be all you need to do?

A good rule of thumb is that if you know the history of the model and who built it then you should be reasonably sure that the structure below the paint is in good condition in which case you should be fine to just rub and paint.

However when doing a restoration I prefer to remove the paint down to the wood as invariably there are problems hidden below the surface I also find that it gives me a very good insight into the original builder and how much care they took over the build and what the original colour scheme was.

Paint removal can be done in a few ways but I prefer to use a paint stripper as this method does less damage to the underlying wood.

Before you start to use a paint stripper please read the instructions and take note of the precautions that you must take and always wear gloves and safety glasses.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when applying the stripper and don’t be tempted to tackle big areas all in one go and don’t do it on the kitchen table, not only will the fumes get you but your better half might get a little upset (a smear of vengeful stripper in the underpants can sting a little bit)      

 Photos of the paint strip have been posted in my gallery section. 

There are basic guide lines to follow when scraping the softened paint off:

DO Use sharp tools, my favourite is a shave hook.

DO Keep the tool at right angles to the job and let the tool do the work (gently does it)

DO Always pull the tool toward yourself, if you push you will dig into the wood.

DO Always scrape with the grain and don’t hack at the paint, it’s a scraper not an axe.

DO Clean the residue stripper from the grain of the timber.

DON’T leave the stripper on for to long as it will dry out.

DON’T work indoors as the fumes can be quite strong. 

I apply the stripper to a small area with an old artists paint brush and work it into the edges and corners, after 2 minutes I will test scrape a small area to see how the stripper is progressing, at this point all paint stripping varies as it is dependant upon the thickness of the paint that the chemical is removing.

On this particular model the paint is quite thin having only 4 coats so the stripper worked very fast. 

After 4 minutes most of the paint had been softened enough to remove leaving a few stubborn bits and exposing some areas of filler.

A careful clean with fresh water will remove any residue stripper and after the timber has dried a couple of passes with a sander produces a pristine finish ready for re-painting.

Repeat this process over the entire model and within a couple of hours you will have stripped all the old paint and varnish off.

Remember at this point to tidy up properly as the paint scrapings will still have active chemical on them and you don’t want children or pets playing with them.

 Next time we will do the repairs and look at the hull seams

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Stripping update.

The model is almost fully stripped and I have uncovered the original colours which were blue over white so I will be able to reproduce this scheme when I repaint the boat.

I also found the usuall bits of car body filler around the bow (sometimes a build just does not work and it happens more often that you would think) which I am being careful with so as not to sand to much off.

There is more delamination of the ply around the windows but so far the hull seems unaffected.

The bulk stripping has left a few scraps of paint behind such as on the spray deflector, around the keel and in odd corners but I will strip these with fine tools like narrow chisels or sharpend screwdrivers before the sanding starts.

Again with these tools do not push away from yourself or the tool will dig into the wood just try lightly scraping at right angles to the wood and let the stripper do its job.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

The photos have now gone live on my gallery so you can see progress upto date.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

My worst fears about the seams have been realised as they have all separated, this is not uncommon in a restoration of a model that is the best part of 40 years old but the upsetting thing is that someone has already had a go at fixing the problem by running superglue into the joints.

This adhesive has just set into thin sheets and not totally stuck to the timber so I have had quite a job cutting it all out, for this I used a mini tool on a flexi drive (like a dremel) with a small cutting disk. You will see from the photos the extent of the joint failure, which I have highlighted, the only things holding the model together are the brass pins.

But not to worry once you have identified this problem you just clean out the joints and then refill with an 2 pack epoxy, I use a syringe to get right into the joint and to avoid excess spillage. Although these epoxies are fast curing I still allow 24 hours before I sand the excess glue off the seams.

Next we will repair the damage to the keel and check the prop shaft for alignment.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

I am pleased to say that the propshaft alignment is excellent all I had to do was re-pack with grease, I then repaired the keel by refixing it to the propshaft.

The hull is now ready for the next stage which brings us to painting.

Tools and Materials:The old adage of “buy cheap buy twice” is especially true when it comes to creating a perfect paint or varnish finish and you should always buy the best that you can afford. But in this don’t assume that expensive means good it could just mean a big retail profit so always carefully inspect the quality of whatever you are buying.A good example of this are domestic paint brushes, we have all at one time or another used the “value” paint brush sets that are available at all the DIY stores and suffered the problems of bristles being left behind in the fresh paint and a finish that you could plant potatoes in, these types of brushes are only fit for painting fences or undersealing cars and certainly not suited to giving your lovingly created model a superb finish.So when choosing a paint brush have a good look at the head and check the quality and firmness of the bristles, give individual bristles a good hard tug to see if they come loose and look at how the head is attached to the handle to make sure that it is not loose Then inspect the head more closely, poor quality brushes have course bristles and have an uneven shape or tip whereas good quality brushes will have fine soft bristles that are tapered, the tip will be level and non of the bristle ends will be split.Good quality brushes are like quality tools and if cared for will last a lifetime so always carefully clean and dry them after every use.Paints and varnishes are just the same in being available in “value” varieties so try to avoid own brand products which can be inferior and stick to quality recognised manufacturers, even then make sure that you fully read the instructions and understand exactly what the product will do.Lastly we come to masking tape which again is available in value packs, these might be alright for masking a garage door but can be next to useless when it comes to working on model boats, the problem with cheap tape is that the paint can bleed up through the adhesive leaving “spiders legs” of paint on your pristine surface.Always use quality masking tape and when using make sure that you fully press down the leading edge of the tape to ensure a crisp and clean paint line. 

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

 Painting Continued

Preparing the surface:The way in which the surface of the wood is prepared prior to applying the finish is vital, as a clean, dry and smooth surface is the most important basis for a quality finish so the watch words are: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.This might sound rather clichéd but it is a true today as it was 100 years ago that the better the preparation the better the finish. At this point it is worth remembering that whatever remains on the surface of the wood will prevent your chosen finish from adhering correctly and result in unsightly blemishes on the finished surface.One of the best examples of this problem is glue residue, the removal of excess water based resin glues is easily solved by wiping away before they have time to set and is more a case of care and attention than a real problem.However other glues are rather more difficult remove and great care must be taken to ensure that all residue is removed either during application of after drying. Try applying less glue and being more precise in its use this will mean that less glue will squeeze out of the joint and you will have less waste to remove, not only is this good practice it is also economical as these adhesives are expensive.Another problem residue but only on a restoration project can be paint stripper, by its very nature it is an invidious product designed to work its way into layers of paint so if it left on for to long it will bury itself deep in the grain of the wood and cause havoc when you try repainting, so make sure that all the residue is washed off and that the wood is fully dry before painting.  Sanding the wood to get it smooth it a tried a trusted method of preparing for painting, sanding is a straight forward procedure providing you follow some basic rules.1/ Always sand with the grain.2/ Keep the sandpaper square and flat on the surface.3/ Use consistent pressure when sanding to avoid “dishing” the surface.4/ Check the work to ensure that you don’t remove too much or work out of square. There are literally dozens of different types of “sandpaper” that can be card or cloth based and these come in a sliding scale of different roughness called grit.The grit size of sandpaper is printed on the reverse of every sheet and can be easily identified, as a modeller I tend to use only 5 grit sizes of sandpaper either on machine or hand held.60 g Aluminium Oxide is really coarse and is great for removing material fast.100 g Aluminium Oxide is smoother than the 60 but still good for shifting material.250 g Aluminium Oxide gives a nice smooth finish which is ok for painting on.1200 g Wet & Dry, I use this on painted surfaces to get a  mirror like deep finish.2400 g Wet & Dry, I use this on varnished surfaces for the perfect blemish free finish.The process of sanding is simple but time consuming and there are no short cuts especially if you wish to achieve that perfect finish so be prepared to invest plenty of time and effort.. 

Sealing the wood:The surfaces of most woods are porous and will absorb whatever liquid is applied to it. This can be a problem as quite a large number of coats could be required before the finish begins to have any visible effect, this is especially true with varnish.So it is desirable to use a surface sealer, these come in liquid form and are simply brushed onto the porous surface. When dry all that is required is a light sanding before the finishing varnish is applied. 

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

 Painting Continued

Wood Stains

Sometimes you might wish to change the colour of the wood, a common example is the wish to darken birch ply to a shade of mahogany.There is a very large range of wood stains available but if you can’t find the exact shade that you want then just like fillers it can be possible to mix the stains to get the right colour.

But remember that just like fillers don’t mix manufacturers and always test your results on a piece of scrap wood before applying to the model.Stains can be applied by either brush or pad but the most important factor is to make sure that you achieve an even and smear free surface, try not to overlap the strokes especially after they have dried as this will just appear as a second coat which will be correspondingly darker than the surrounding area.Although most stains are sprit based and therefore dry quite quickly it is advisable to wait 24 hours before applying the next coat, unlike paints and varnish wood stains don’t require sanding between coats. 

Varnish:

When you are satisfied with the preparation of the surface, pour a measured amount of varnish into a small, clean container then dilute the varnish with 10% thinners, for this check with the manufacturers instructions, when diluted use a clean brush or cloth to apply the mixture.Always brush with the grain and apply sparingly and before leaving the first coat to dry make sure that any drips or runs that might have appeared are brushed gently back into the surface. 

Although some varnishes are fast drying you should still wait for 24 hours to ensure that it is fully dried. The first coat of varnish might raise the grain so don’t be disappointed if your carefully prepared work becomes rough, simply use a fine sandpaper such as 1200g and gently sand the surface, always sand with the grain. Apply the second coat, this time of undiluted varnish, using the same care that you took with the first and allow to dry then lightly sand smooth. You should repeat this process several times until you achieve the finish that you require although obviously don’t sand the final coat.

It should go without saying that you must do everything that you can to minimise any dust or the possibility of dust when varnishing so it is usually best not to varnish in your normal workarea as there will be all sorts of dust and debris in the atmosphere. You also need to watchful of temperature and humidity as both can ruin a great finish by giving a milky haze to the dry coat, this is called Bloom and if you get it then you will have to sand and start the last coat again.

An old tradesman once told me that a perfect brushed varnish finish was like the holy grail, everyone has heard about it but no one has ever seen it.

And he was right varnishing can be a most frustrating process.

The last problem are insects as they just love to land on your newly applied surface, if you are lucky you will spot it and be able to remove the little bugger before the varnish sets it in place. If not then when the varnish is fully dry a little local light sanding and delicate brushwork should restore the perfect fnish

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Stage by stage restoration

[Rob InghamParticipant @robingham65202]

Hi I read your article with interest as I have recently been given this boat as a restoration project myself the only thing I am after is a set of plans , do you have any idea where I might be able to get hold of some , I have searched the web put nothing other than buying the new kits has appeared .

with thanks for any help 

Rob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Sorry Rob but I don’t have a set of plans however if you have a quick google you might find some info on the interweb.

 

The good thing about old Aerokits boats is that all of their models are built on the “eggbox” design so once you understand the method of construction then they are quite easy to repair.                      

 Good luck and if you get stuck just ask.

 

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

This is an excellent article Paul!

 

Don`t know if Paul has already mentioned it, but I always pass a new brush a few times over a fine sheet of sandpaper, to taper off the bristles.

 

In the old days, house painters used to paint a square yard of brick wall with water first, to break in their brushes!

 

Just passing……………..Bob

[Rob InghamParticipant @robingham65202]

Hi Paul ,

The boat itself is in very good condition despite the fact that it has spent the last 30-40 years in someones  loft the only major concern that I have is that the propshaft is bent and the keel is  a right mess but other than that I am really looking forward to doing the restoration. 
I have managed to source some plans from an article in an old model boats so they are on the way ,

Thanks for the offer of help I dare say I will call on your previous experiance at some point or other

Regards Rob

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