wood structure help

[nik_n_dad]

Hi.

We are starting to build new structures for our next (n) layout. Some of them will be wood.

We'd like to use acrylic paints. To help prevent warping, what do we need to prime or seal the wood with?

TIA

[tstage]

NnD,

If you are going to use acrylic paints, I would assemble your structures as much as possible before you paint to lessen the chance of warpage.  Acrylics are nicer (and less smelly) to work with but Enamels are better on wood.  Even if you prime the wood with acrylic, you run the risk of warping the wood, if the pieces are thin and it's not assembled.

Although I've never tried it on any structures, you can use a wood sealer on bare wood.  Unfortunately, I don't have any experience with them.  I look forward to learning more about them.

Tom

[reklein]

To prevent warping, brace the wood walls with 1/4 sq.or 1/8sq.  material before construction. Seal BOTH sides with an acrylic spray for speed. Sand with 320 grit before painting. To be contrary,I recommend finishing the walls as much as possible before assembly. Including painting, installing windows and glazing ,curtains etc. This will alleve the difficulties in handling a semifinished structure. Theres much more,and you can buy some pretty good CD's on the subject I'd reommend"Building craftsman structure kits" with Scott Mason.Available @ [e-mail]. I have no affiliation with this guy beyond my recommendation.

[mls1621]

I model in N scale also and have only one plastic building on my layout.

A vast majority of my wood structures are from AMB, LaserKit.  Their walls are thin and are subject to warpage, but with some care and prep that is easily overcome.

I like to spray the flat walls prior to assemble.  I use double stick Scotch tape to hold the wall panels flat on a piece of 1/4" plywood I keep specifically for this purpose.  I lay the tape on the plywood and press the wall panel to it.

After spraying the panel, I let it dry completely before carefully removing it from the tape.  This method has worked well for me.

YOu can also paint both sides of the wall panels so any expansion, due to the moisture in the paint, acts equally on both sides of the panel.

Painting the interior also gives depth to the finished structure.

[SpaceMouse]

I've kinda sorta stopped messing with wood at least on wall where warping is an issue. On my last project, I reinforced the wood walls with styrene so they stayed consistent. In the model before that, I replaced all the wall sections with styrene board and baton. I just got tired of messing with it. It is faster and I beg you to tell the difference.

[nik_n_dad]

We're not up for the craftsmen kits- the sorts as our local hobby store calls "a bag with things that look like toothpicks"....we pretty much do the kits where the walls are already in "sheets' and sort of tab * slot into each other...does this makea difference?

We wanted to do acrylics beuase we think we can do beer on mixing colors, getting weathering, etc....and I'm working with a 8yr old, so less toxicity would be better.

I've painted the nsides of previous models with flat black or other dark color. What do I want to prime\paint the outside of the building with? Is it a light color of spray enamel?

On our first layout we did all plastic. I've been intrigued by some of the buildings and looks that the hydrocal and wood models give, and am thinking on the next layout, we want to use more of this-- if we can get it all to work.

all comments so far have been appreciated.

[mls1621]

nik_n_dad,

Incase you haven't tried one, the American Model Builder LaserKits are not craftsman kits.  All the pieces are precision cut and fit every time.

All the trim and windows have pre-applied sticky tape for easy application.  The windows can be tedious because of the layered construction, but they look great.

An easy weathering method is to lightly sand the walls after painting and prior to assembly, it give a nice worn look to the building.  The building below was weathered using this method.

As far as priming is concerned, I'd go right with the color and fore go the primer.  Depending on the scale of the project, layers of paint can mask detail.  Just my opinion.

 

 

[ARTHILL]

As said:

1. Paint all sides equally at the same time. This is the only real secret.

2. Paint before you asemble ( then you can fix when assembling.)

[spidge]

I model in N scale also and have only one plastic building on my layout.

A vast majority of my wood structures are from AMB, LaserKit.  Their walls are thin and are subject to warpage, but with some care and prep that is easily overcome.

I like to spray the flat walls prior to assemble.  I use double stick Scotch tape to hold the wall panels flat on a piece of 1/4" plywood I keep specifically for this purpose.  I lay the tape on the plywood and press the wall panel to it.

After spraying the panel, I let it dry completely before carefully removing it from the tape.  This method has worked well for me.

YOu can also paint both sides of the wall panels so any expansion, due to the moisture in the paint, acts equally on both sides of the panel.

Painting the interior also gives depth to the finished structure.

Mike, you cannot tease us with one or two photos. Please add a link to your photos in the signature as I sure would like to see more of your layout.

[loathar]

ARTHILL is correct. Paint both sides at the same time. I've found most warpage usually goes away after the paint dries.