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deck paint??

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  • Member since
    November 2005
deck paint??
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 1:02 AM
what is a good paint color to use for WWII wood decks? I have tried Testors' "Wood" but it seem to dark.

Bob
  • Member since
    March 2004
  • From: Spartanburg, SC
Posted by subfixer on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 5:49 AM
I believe that during WWII, the decks (at least on US ships) were painted over.

I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:18 AM
Subfixer is right - generally speaking. There were some exceptions (the decks of the battleships at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, for instance, and the decks of aircraft carriers were treated with mahogany stain before the war started), but generally speaking the typical wood deck during the war was stained either grey or blue.

There are, of course, plenty of other occasions for simulating an unpainted wood deck. (Come to think of it, was there any other period in naval history when unpainted decks were not the norm?) Different kinds of wood have been used for deck planking over the centuries, and different species have different colors. Pine, fir, and teak have all been used for deck planking, and all of them look different when they're freshly-laid.

My own opinion, for what little it's worth, is that unpainted deck planking, especially after the sun's shone on it, salt and rain water have soaked it, and human beings have stomped on it for some time, is considerably more grey than brown in color. The value (i.e., darkness) of it varies considerably. It's interesting to study black-and-white pictures and note whether the deck planking is lighter or darker than the painted surfaces. (Warning: if the deck has recently been hosed down, or rained on, all bets are off.)

The old Poly-S line of latex paints used to include a color called "Sahara Sand" that, to my eye at least, looked just about right: a medium, nodescript grey with a beige tint. That color isn't made any more. Poly-Scale does make a color called "Weathered Concrete" that comes pretty close - though I'd like it better if it had just a touch more brown in it.

The bottom line is that this is one of those areas of model building that allow for some personal taste and judgment.

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    May 2005
Posted by Ron Smith on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 7:59 AM
For 1/350 scale teak decks I've found a 50:50 mix of Model Master Acryl "radome tan" and "gulf war armor sand" to be a good basecoat. I follow that with a light gloss coat then make a glaze with Vallejo "black brown", "woodgrain", "glaze medium", "retarder" and lots of water to thin it out so it's almost transparent. This works best on decks with recessed planking.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 5:49 PM
There is also a color called "buff". I lean toward acylics and brush paint exclusively.
Testor's Model Master Acryl has both Panama Buff (#4221)and Navy Buff (#4232) both are within the desireable color for teakwood decks- at least to my eyes. I'll add grays or whites to them, depending on the look I'm after, old deck or new deck........
You may want to go to:
www.steelnavy.com
for tips on realistic wood decks. Rusty White has a pretty good article there on the subject. Look in the how-to section. But that method is for 1:350 applications- thank goodness I work in 1:700 !!
A little crazy if you ask me, but very realistic results.
The old time vs. results dilemma........
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, September 13, 2005 10:07 PM
Thank you all for your help and info...

Bob
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