Strenthen the boat body surface

[sanjaya attanayakeParticipant @sanjayaattanayake96158]

Hi, I am new to model boat making and am so excited that I built my first model boat from the scratch using balsa wood.

 

The boat surface is prepared for painting but, the surface is so soft and it can be dented even by nail.

 

I would like to know whether there is any thing that I can do to make the surface strong.

 

Thanks,

 San.

[sanjaya attanayakeParticipant @sanjayaattanayake96158]

[60wattParticipant @60watt]

Hi Sanjaya.

The recent  thread called “hull strengthening membrane”.

 

 

[Mike DavidsonParticipant @mikedavidson22772]

Hi San  when I made the transition from aero modeller to model ship builder, I carried on using the materials that I was familiar with, in those days, we built a frame from balsa as light as we could and covered the frame in tissue paper which we painted with cellulose dope. The dope shrank the tissue causing it to become very tight indeedand then when it dried, it dried very hardalmost like a metal skin. well, having sent you to sleep, I will get down to the nitty gritty.  That principal stayed in my mind and I duplicated it as near as I could with my model ships clad in sheet ply or 16th inch balsa sheet. I bought a special offer multi buy pack of paint brushesand I use them once and throw them away, but I don’t use paint at that stage, I use epoxy resin, painted on in a thin layer, it dries to a hard glossbut it has the added benefit of seeping into all the nooks and crannies before setting like rock,which adds structural strength to the hull as a whole,and of course adds to the watertight integrity of it all, having done that, I mask off and spray paint my model using car aerosol paints favoured by graffiti artists. My paint brushes last no longer than a dogwatch, so I just throw them away and use another new one next time. I use the same principle when I am building using glass fibre * to apply the resin to the mat( *Glass fiber to our American cousins )  Of course, you could always go back to the stone age, and just apply cellulose dope directly to your balsa wood which will give it a very tough skin and make it waterproof. You may have to resort to the throw away brush method with very fast drying dope, and a bit of 800 grit wet and dry paper will give you a very good finish if it is waxed   Good luck…..Mike ….D

Edited By Mike Davidson on 01/06/2009 20:06:52

[JC Uknz 1Participant @jcuknz1]

The problem with using epoxy on balsa  is that it makes the whole structure very brittle.    At least don’t do what I did when ‘helping’ my son to build his first boat … that was to coat it with PVA … on its test voyage it left a trail of white stuff down the neighbourhood stream.*     Better is to build in a material that is itself strong such as thin plywood or milled timber.

 

*Blind leading the blind

[Paul FreshneyParticipant @paulfreshney24971]

Glynn Guest’s Free Plan articles are usually based around a balsa hull and he uses dope and tissue to strengthen the surfaces. In his articles he always covers this at length and in some detail. The most recent was in April 2009 MB including the Free Plan of Goblin.

Paul Freshney

MB Editor.

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