Mahogany planking preparation/finishing

[Eddy Matthews]

Hi guys,

I'm building a model that has a mahogany planked deck, this is my
first model to have a planked wooden deck, and I was wondering about
preparation/finishing techniques etc.

The deck has to be varnished with a clear satin finish, and I'd be
grateful for any help with preparation etc to get the best possible
finish - Can anyone help with a detailed description please?

The sort of info I'm after is:

1. should the mahogany be given a coat of sanding sealer first?
2. I'm having difficulty finding spray on satin varnish, can I get a
GOOD finish using brush on products? I'm in the UK, so no American
only products please.
3. How many coats of sealer/varnish would you recommend?
4. What about rubbing down between coats. What grit paper is
recommended? And should I sand it wet or dry?
5. Should the varnish be thinned or used straight from the can?
6. Any other hints and tips?

Many thanks
Eddy

[eddieh]

Eddy, I do a lot of planking, here's my technique,
1. I use thin strips of abs plastic to simulate caulking, this is normally available through the train folks,
2. i sand the planking fairly well prior to gluing down, piece of plank, piece of plastic zap, second plank, accelerator, so on and so forth, the plastic will usually be a little taller then the planks, this will scrape down with the back edge of an exacto knife, now if your are staining the wood wait till all the planks are on , do your scraping, and then sand down till your up to 400 grit, wipe down with lacquer thinner or alcohol, stain, then rub it down with 600 or some 00 steel wool, (this will bring up the white again in the plastic) if using steel wool vacuum the surface, and then tack, I stopped using varnish, but this will work if you decide to go this route, i then use a lacquer based sanding sealer, basicaly all it is is unthinned automotive clear lacquer with a bit of talc in it, you can just use straight clear lacquer and do two coats, wiping with 600 grit in between, when applying varnish, always brush into the wet the first/second coat should be as from the can, and gradually thin the varnish till it's about 50/50 at the end, (maybe 6 or 7 coats) I spray mine with clear automotive lacquer, and then polish so it is like glass, my preference, when you wet sand, start with 400, then 600, 800 and finish up with a 1000 or up to 2000 if its handy, then rub it out but i think for that satin look, just a light rub with some paste wax will be ok,,, is this for that riva???? haven't started mine yet, too busy trying to go fast...
post some pics, if you want I could post some picks of my planking to see if you like it, cheers ed

[Eddy Matthews]

Originally posted by Eddieh
Eddy, I do a lot of planking, here's my technique,


Thanks for the detailed description Eddie.... Please see my email for more info.

Regards
Eddy