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[ballastanksian]

I apologise if this is a silly question as it is late and I am prone to typing gibberish after ten at night (I didn't notice the change you say!) but I am trying to discern what 'Steel decks' are.

Were they painted in a steel grey colour despite being fabricated from steel?

Were they honed and scrubbed by sailors as were wooden decks with the Holystone??

Did they rust and get scraped occasionally?

I ask because the Deans M15 kit specifies this colour for the quarter deck and Foc'sle and would like to get it right. It may be that some had cortisene in areas.

[TailUK]

Extract from "The Painter's Guide to World War Two Naval Camouflage" by Patrick Hreachmack.  HTH

[ballastanksian]

Thankyou good sir. That helps a huge amount 

[TailUK]

I suspect that the deck underneath gratings was also painted dark grey, if only to help control corrosion.

[dodes]

I think what Dean was mentioning is decks of destroyers not over accommodation, such as over the Boiler room, where burnished with something like what was used on coal fires, which gave a dark greyish steel colour as were some gundecks on raised mountings. The area over boilers has a name which slips my memory for now, but paint then was expensive and destroyers where cheap  warships compared to cruisers etc. Also Home Fleet Destroyers between the wars were painted what was called North Sea Green, which was medium grey but based on green rather than the blue based medium grey of major Home Fleet units. I do have a model destroyer built between the wars by Chatham Dyd apprentices and presented to a Destroyer Captain who kept in his cabin until the vessel was scrapped after the war and she was painted in the original North Sea Green.

[Netleyned]

Dodes,
Do you mean the Fiddley ?


Ned

[ballastanksian]

They used Black lead? How interesting.

Thanks for the information chaps.

[Beagle1831]

Could this be referring to the humbrol steel grey colour as a recommendation? I think the other colours in the list are humbrol matches. No idea how accurate they are though!

[TailUK]

I was going on the fact that he specifically mentioned Forecastle and Quarterdeck. 

[ballastanksian]

That's right, as per the kit instructions. I will look for the steel grey as referred. I was just checking that it was paint and not as Dodes specifies for 'Fiddleys' which seems to be black lead.

Thanks to you for taking the time to clarify and illuminate:O)