What paint to use on new baseboard

[hopeful]

Hello, after 15 months I've eventually got my lad's 7'x5' board, with an operating hole in the centre, with legs, mounted on the wall. It's 9mm ply braced underneath.

Question is, what sort of paint do I need to apply? We're thinking green, though may stick a bit of grey on for some roads and he has decided he would like some yellow for a beach. Either way, what sort of paint should it be, cheap and cheerful as well as more expensive suggestions welcome.

Also should we seal it first or does some paint do that anyway, and indeed what would I be sealing it from?- the wood has been indoors the full 15 months and is acclimatised.

Finally, should we paint both sides of the board?

Many thanks again

[0121modeller]

Grey primer of some sort would be an ideal start.... as the fact that its a primer & and its grey creates a base-cote for other paints , being a similar colour to ballast its therefore ideal under the areas of points as the amount of ballast granuals should be ideally less as to avoid jamming point blades.

No need to paint underside of board if its in a fairly stabilized room temperature.
The paint will act as a sealant as to minimise the somethimes loose & splintery nature of plywood, espiecially the edges so paint & seal the edges & tidy any splintery area before painting, as those splinters are nasty & a pain in the backside to remove if you get jabbed by one.

Dave.

[craw607]

Hello hopeful
I have used paints from B&Q their grey undercoat before laying track.
Also have bought a few tester pots which the will mix to what ever colour
you wish.
John

[hopeful]

Grey primer of some sort would be an ideal start.... as the fact that its a primer & and its grey creates a base-cote for other paints

So a primer first and then other colours on top as required - are we talking standard household emulsion here?

splinters are nasty & a pain in the backside to remove if you get jabbed by one.

presumably only if you sit on one!

cheers
hopeful

[0121modeller]

Hello hopefull,
I have used multi purpose primer (Spray can) available from wilkinsons etc, or grey automotive primer on different occasions to do with spraying plywood.
I have never really used any emulsion based or other paint on top of the primer, only the area detail of model paints, textured model paints (tarmac road, muddy path, etc). , scenic scatter, folliage, lichen, & the area of the models on baseboard , so no need for any topcoat in my instance, just grey primer is fine.
I've only ever used emulsion or other type of top coat for the baseboard frame & the 8mm ply thats i have screwed/bolted vertically as to protect raised scenic area's from accidental damage.
Avoid any paint thats too glossy, or too contrastingly odd as it does'nt blend in with its surroundings, for example, dark green gloss is perfect for my canal scene (canal water) cus it gives a natural look of real thing, but if i were to use the same dark green gloss on any of my plate girder bridges, then it would'nt look quite right alongside its surroundings.

Yep, Had a few of those splinters, In my hand, finger, leg, & once in my backside also !! , (they like to move around house via soles of your shoes & attach themselves to clothes you're wearing when you cut it !)
The first thing i do when buying & returning home with any wood, is to get a sheet of medium grit sandpaper to remove all the splintery edges & then vacuum 'em up

Dave.

[hopeful]

Hi Dave,

So I don't need to paint the board the colour of the scenery (me and my lad are new to this caper) as I use scatter, lichen etc for that eh?

I'm going to use emulsion on the back of the board so it sort of blends in with the wall when it's up (it's in the dining room). Will that need a primer?

cheers
hopeful

[bigbob]

You don`t have to paint it the same colour but it may help if you miss a bit!! If you`re going to ballest pain it gray, grass areas paint green/brown etc then any bits you miss won`t be obvious with wood showing through!!

Bob

[hopeful]

Hi

will the emulsion on the underside need a primer?

[0121modeller]

Are you painting underside of baseboard ? I've never considerered doing this, but I'd imagine just using primer or a coat of varnish would do as to ensure the ply grain is sealed.
Here are som pics of my scenery, the original main baseboard is just used as a supporting foundation for averaged size12" x 12" modules of scenery that are fixed down with screws or M5 bolts & wingnuts.






Dave.

[hopeful]

Hi Dave,

Yes, I'm painting the underside as it it's hinged to a wall in the dining room, so I want to paint it the same colour as the wall.

Hopefully by doing this when it's in the up position Mrs Hopeful will never know it's there
Excellent pictures by the way.

Cheers
hopeful

[0121modeller]

Are'nt you being a little too "hopeful" on that aspect of her not noticing ?

Thanks for your kind comment on my work

Cheers,

Dave.

[zarniwhoop]

For areas which will be "countryside", I recommend earth-brown emulsions. Then cover with fine scatters (mostly greens, unless you plan areas of bare earth or mud - for wet mud, I'd probably stop at the emulsion stage), then static grasses and coaser foams etc for bushes.

For track, I usually put cork down _only_ where the ballast will go. I have in the past sometimes put cork down in other areas, and covered it with emulsion, but that seems to be a waste of cork (and last year, cork was awkward to source). On my current test-track I tried using polyfiller to ahape the edges of the roadbed, which meant I had to paint over it, but that was a bad idea and now I'll just use bare cork and cover that with the ballast.

ĸen

[retiredoperator]

Hi There Have you ever thought of a window?? just paint the underside of the baseboard to look like a window, with a scenic landscape. But if you to a good job it might have to remain upright.
just a thought? happy modelling Kev

[Bufferstop]

If you paint the top, in theory you should paint the underside, to avoid unequal stresses and bending, in theory! I've painted the underside with a very light grey primer, on fixed boards, purely to make it easier to see wiring and the holes you've drilled for it.