Painting Prop's

Here's what I did to get wood grain on a cockpit floor for a 1/72 scale Pfalz DIII I was building.

I airbrushed with the floor with Model Master's enamel "Wood," and sprayed it with a clear coat.  The clear coat was to protect the original color and make the "streaks" apply smoothly.

When the "Wood" and clear coat were dry (like the next day), I thinned some darker brown acrylic craft paint and streaked it on with a small paint brush until I achieved a sort of grain-look.

Since this particular project was a resounding failure and I scrapped it all, I didn't get as far as the wooden propeller, but the technique I used on the floor might work on a prop.

Good luck, anyway!

Don't know anything about smart phones though--the dumb ones give me enough trouble.

Hi :

  I use pretty much the same method with one twist (no pun intended ) I take the prop and paint it in dark brown and light tan ,  in barber pole style (almost ) Then I let it dry overnight , next day I take a thinner wetted rag , NOT SOAKED !  and drag it the length of the blades from hub to tip . After it looks right to me I let it dry again , overnight and then clearcoat it in MODEL MASTER GLOSS . All Paints used are model master ENAMELS , not ACRYLICS !   Tanker-Builder

i use a coptic walnut alcohol pen. have to prime the surface first/

Simulating wood grain has always been a 'do I really have to' for me but look IN THIS THREAD for pics of the props on my V173. Nothing magic but it worked. Here's  quote from that thread of what I did:

"The props are done with craft acylics and Future floor finish. I mixed up some 'sand' color, airbrushed the blades with this as a base, then sorta dry brushed with a dark brown acrylic to mimic grain. Next was two airbrushed coats of Future tinted deep transparent yellow with food dye. The red, yellow, and blue bands were masked and sprayed with off the shelf acrylic craft paint. A final coat of straight Future finished the job. From hints gleaned from the web and from an artist friend of mine."

I used a wood shaded paint, tan or light brown, pour a little on a plastic deli tub lid (I use these for palettes all the time) Next pour a little black or dark brown next to the first color .Here is the trick, take your brush get a little dark on the end dip on lid to take a little off now dip into your wood color and paint long straight strokes  The light and dark should not blend but kind of streak in a natural wood look  practice on the lid utill it looks right then jump on that prop When dry do all the clear stuff everyone does good luck, keep on gluing!

This is similar to  "dry brushing."  It is how I do props.  Dry brushing seems to be a passed fad but I find it useful for many places. With dry brushing the paint does not go down evenly, but in a streaked pattern which can look like grain.

www.ipmsstockholm.org/.../stuff_eng_tech_wood_grain.htm.