wood kits

[Anonymous]

Hello, When painting a wood kit how and what do you do when the piece warps, is this normal? Thanks

[rogerhensley]

You need to use a sealer on the wood before painting. Once they are warped, you may or may not be able to recover. There is a nice article by Jim Wilhite (former owner of La Belle Woodworking) on working with wood on the NMRA Beginner Pages at: http://www.nmra.org/beginner/workwithwood.html

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Roger

[CNJ831]

Gary - To some extent it matters whether we are talking about a car kit or a structure kit, just how much warping has occurred, and how thick the wood is.

One should always attach bracing to large walls on the interior side before painting to begin with. If the walls are thin, you can probably correct the problem by adding some stiff bracing even now. Odds are that you applied a bit too much paint all at once.

Warping of wood kit walls is not uncommon but one should always try to avoid it (as noted above). The situation is not likely to be a serious problem unless the warp it extreme or the wall quite thick. But even if extreme, you might try "pressing" the warped section overnight or for a few days between some heavy books and then add the bracing. As a scratchbuilder I've never encounter a warp that couldn't pretty much be eliminated.

John

[Anonymous]

Gary, I agree with John and Roger, one more thing when using the sealer or staining, do both sides. I find if I only do one side I will get some warping. Ron.