Painting sails on Black Swan

I'm thinking some sort of grey. weathered,maybe a light one, kinda like that door looks in the pic above. Red might be a hoot though.

Bill,

I agree with Arnie on the gray color plus I think I would add some buff or light tan around the edges going from darker along the edges to a lighter shade as you go inboard.  Not too dark on the buff though.  You might want to look at pictures of weathered sails or tarps to look how nature weathers them.

Steve

Yeah, I guess that would look good, never thought about that! lol I'm comin' along on this, got three more canon doors to put on, then a few things more before I start on the masts, etc. Thanks for the reply. Have a great weekend and week to come.

Ok, got that. That's probably what I will do. What would you weather it with (color)? Red's not my color anyways, lol. Thanks for the tip.

Dirty underwear!

YEAH!! Get right on that! 'Bout the same color!! Thank you.

I forget the brand, but one brand actually has a color labeled "sail."  While sails could be any color, typical sails were linen, a sort of off-white. I have used "sand" colors.  A red, almost rust color was also popular, apparently from some preservative that sails were dumped in and then dried.  US ships often used white cotton sails because we grew so much cotton, and it was cheap here, but white sails were rarer on non-US ships.

This definitely isn't an American ship, by the movie description anyways. That 'rust' wouldn't be bad, but I'd have to be sure not to do it 'rust'! Probably heavier on the outside edges, then thin out towards the center. I appreciate the suggestion and will keep it in mind.

I'm sure I replied to this post, but it's a funny thing about 'that' door! It was painted the same at the deck!! I have no idea how it came out grayish looking. I suppose I could use a light gray, then wash with Tester's black wash, That's worked out pretty well so far. I've got the mast on, ratlines, etc., putting the standing rigging up. Working better than I really expected. Just sooooooo time consuming! I'll keep yas up to date when I get a little further down the road.

Time for the sails now! Been putting it off for awhile, but better get down to the nitty-gritty. I spray painted the sails off white, but didn't cover the gray completely, kinda let some it come thru. They don't look quite right yet. I haven't got an air brush or anything. Can you still spray another color on top of what I have and make it look right? Then there's what color to use, I don't want them to stand out like a sore thumb. Would I use a wash? This is my first time with sails, so it's hit or miss and I don't want to miss. Any suggestions anyone? Thanks in advance.

Grab some plastic packaging that you don't mind painting up (or the kit's box) to play with fading and such.  I've gotten quite nice fading effects with canned spray paint.  It takes painting at an angle to the surface and at quite varying distances.  The flatter you can make the finish, the better with cloth.  Good luck!

Gene Beaird,

Pearland, Texas