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[DJW]

Afternoon All


Thinners arrived. Varnish time...








This is first coat of many.  Epifanes High Gloss Clear Varnish, plan is to add 3 coats thinned 30% with Epifanes Brush Thinners before considering sanding. 24 hours between coats.  Then I'll reduce the thinners to 15% ish for subsequent coats.  The Epifanes is Tung Oil based, like Le Tonkinois and has a similar amber hue (even though it's labelled 'clear'), but for me when i tested the Epifanes it gives a harder finish that can be more easily sanded, or maybe it was down to me lacking patience.  The Le Tonkinois gives an exceptional finish like glass in the right hands (see UKMikes epic Aquarama builds...), I'm really hoping the Epifanes will give me a similar finish.





At the moment I'm not too stressed about having to door open and an airflow, the fumes are not fun...  I have a filtered spray mask which helps, but not being in same space while it's curing is better.  At least the dog is getting more walks...


Meant to add, I'm using 'Axus Decor Varnish Brushes (Lime Series)' the 25mm version for the early coats.  They're about £2.50 each on Amazon, synthetic and have yet to drop anything, very smooth and lightweight.  I'm applying varnish to the boat in one go as there's no real separation line between hull and deck.

Best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Short update.  Here are a couple of pics of the third coat of thinned epifanes:








I applied fourth coat yesterday afternoon, still building up some depth with just a rub over with scotchbrite between coats, so far so good.


Also been working on replacing the two electronics boxes.  3D printed this time so I can build in component supports, connection ports, cable routing and using better (more robust) connectors.


Pics to follow.


Best regards to all.
David.

[T888]

Lovely David 

[Mark T]

Lovely David 

I agree - I would have trouble putting that lovely boat in the water

[DJW]

Haha..!  Thanks for the comments.  And I can't wait to get it on the water..!  If I can get it running in time for Mayhem at Wicksteed next May I'll be very happy.  It won't be finished for sure, but might be ready to float...

Some pics of the new electronics cases, they sit port and starboard of the LiPos and are powered from a 4S LiPo, then voltage is dropped to 12v and 5v in port case and made available to modules in both cases:









And a raised floor to allow the cable routing underneath the modules:




Both boxes, and a gratuitous picture of the shiny mahogany after fourth coat...!



I have a question too if anyone wants to comment, a sanity check if you like, and to avoid blue smoke.  I plan to use three LiPos, one for each motor and one for ancillary stuff.  I'd like the Rx powered from the 'ancillary' LiPo so it can share ground and signals with other electronics on same battery, so far so good.  Can I just remove the +ve from both ESC becs that plug into the Rx and have the ESCs and motors powered by their main power connectors to the two 'other' LiPos..?

Best regards to all.
David.

[tsenecal]

Technically yes, on the three separate lipos, but instead of removing the red wire on the ESCs, take a 3" servo extension and remove the red wire from it, then plug the ESC into that, and the extension into the receiver (x2 for both ESC).  That way, if you ever need to plug an ESC into a programmer or similar to update or change its config, you don't have to repair anything.

[KitS]

Now that's a BRILL idea. 


How come I never came up with that one myself, after years of using radio control?

[DJW]

Agreed, excellent and simple solution. Thanks for that..!

[DJW]

Fourth coat went on about 5 days ago, I've been a bit under the weather since so slower progress than I'd hoped.


I took the two boats outside to look at the colours in natural light:





And they're pretty similar which is good.  The 1/5th will go darker as the coats are added.


Incidentally this is a similar side by side shot from August 2024, so just over a year ago:





Sometimes the pace of progress seems glacial, but good to see a real change to the hull in a year.  In one month the 1/5th will have been in build for four years...


Some more pics from outside:











The Epifanes is covering nicely I think.  The coats are thinned, and thin, I'm mixing up 30ml of varnish with 10ml of thinners, and the resulting 40ml covers the whole boat with some to spare.


Getting close it's plain to see that while the varnish is showing quite good gloss already, it's also still showing grain and is nowhere near smooth.  Not that I'd expect that yet.





So as this coat has cured for 5 days I decided to try some smoothing with a cork block and some mirka 'soft' 320 grit (foam backed sandpaper) and its made the high pots more evident and taken them down a shade.











I'm hoping this should improve finish on the next coat, then I'll go back to the scotchbrite between coats for another few coats to build some depth to the varnish before sanding again.


Still making progress with the electronics cases, the 3D printer is so helpful by making mods to the layout and just printing a new version, rather than taking a drill and saw to the old one when I need a new hole...





That's about it for now.


Very best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


More varnish applied, this is after 7th coat, less thinners used, about 10% now so it's noticeably thicker.  Inclusions and dubious levels still...








So after that had cured for about 4 days I used 1000 grit sanding pads, together with water and a bit of liquid soap added. The 100 x 70mm pads came from Amazon as a selection and are velcro backed which is useful.  I made up a couple of shaped backing pads to make them easier to use, and to conform the pads to the hull flare near the bow.





That went well so I used my Proxxon Angle Polisher WP/E with some of the 1000 grit pad cut to fit, and that was even better.  Have to be careful to keep it wet and moving, but very pleased with the surface it's producing. I recall getting to this stage with the 1/10th, once the varnish can be flattened like this, subsequent coats start to level well and all being well the finish starts to look the part.








I need to spend a little more time doing same to rest of the hull then apply another few coats to build it up again.


Also been working on designing a couple of detailing parts, I quite like the idea of a working compass, flush mounted on the dash, printed in black, something like this:





I have found a 25mm keyring compass that fits quite nicely.  It would be 125mm sphere at full size, so it's not too far off as the actual units are about 140mm diameter overall.


Also been looking at creating a searchlight... On the Aquarama it mounts to the windscreen, 3D printed first to get the design and dimensions, then create in brass and all being well add to the list to be chromed.


I've found some 3W COB LEDs, they run on 5V and are sooo bright.  They have a 20mm aluminium backplate to dissipate heat which would be helped by the brass case:





And a 27mm 'condenser' glass lens, which apparently 'renders a divergent light beam from a point light source into a parallel or converging beam' (according to Wikipedia), sounds ideal and should be fun to play with if I can get the optics right.







And the case so far:








We shall see...  (Pun intended..)


Best regards to all.
David.

[Dreadnought]

Wow that looks amazing 

[DJW]

Thanks..!  9th coat now, and starting to see a depth to the varnish that just wasn't there, also noticeably flatter after the sanding.









And that's been cut back with scotchbrite again and is now waiting for next coat, hopefully later today.


So now looks like this again:











For the next coat I'm going to try neat varnish without thinners to see if this improves the inclusions appearing.  As I understand it one reason can be solvents (thinners...) trying to escape as the varnish cures, leaving small pits in the finish.  It can be outgassing of the wood too, but I think we're beyond that and it's 100% sealed.  At the end of the day I know I can polish them out so I'm not too stressed at this stage, but I'd rather minimise them in the first place.  It's a bit of trial and error as another reason can be varnish going on too thick, skinning over before solvents have fully escaped...  Also going to switch to a higher quality brush that holds more varnish and avoid too much over brushing.  We'll see.


In other news I went up to the Model Engineer Exhibition in Warwick last week with my good friend John (John.B here on the forum).  John is building an Amati Riva Aquarama at the moment so obviously a man of impeccable taste, just saying...  We've been corresponding about aspects of that build, and now John is helping me by developing some electronics that will really help with the 1/5th build, right now this is a two channel and an eight channel RC switch for use with the various ancillary functions, lights, sounds and so on. Very exciting to get them tested and integrated.


And back to the Engineering Exhibition, lots of stands selling tools from screwdrivers to CNC lathes, bit like a sweet shop really, one of everything please.  And materials, I went with a brass shopping list and managed to get find most of what I need for the 'fittings' stage of the Aquarama build.  I finally found a supplier of half round brass to use as rubbing strip around the hull.  It's hard to find with a few suppliers saying that it's discontinued, I suspect they are all using same source.  Also picked up some tools, well I couldn't help it.  Some boats being displayed, and some very impressive trains and traction engines. Component Shop were there with what looked like the full array of stock, also saw Clevedon Steam with their beautifully engineered steam plants.


That's it for now.
Best regards to all.
David.

[ChrisF]

Hi David - I went along to the exhibition as well and likewise managed to restrain myself as well! Just bought a few more paint brushes - like clamps you can never have too many!

By the way, did you ever try that chrome pen out?

Chris

[DJW]

Hi Chris


Nice to hear from you..!  I did try the chrome pen, I used the 'Molotow Liquid Chrome Pump Marker Pen', £8.25 on Amazon with very good reviews.  It looks good when it goes on and covers pretty will, I've only tried it on 3D resin prints so far to be honest.  The issue I'm having is the deterioration over time...  This is freshly applied and just one coat:





It's very similar to the real chromed Musetto, so far so good.  And then next to one of the Amati supplied vents that I suspect are nickel plated:





So again the pen looks far more like real chrome.  However, over time, the pen loses its mirror effect, quite a lot:





And I think at the moment that's a deal breaker.  Which is a bit of a pity, but not wholly unexpected.  I'll still be saving up to get the full chroming done, there's too much chrome on the Riva and it really has to look the part I think.  But then the other complication is that I'll need to fabricate more brass parts rather than get away with 3D printed.


But just my experiences so far.  I've not tried coating the 'chrome' with say gloss clearcoat, that might seal the surface and so retain the shine.  I'll need to try that.  The approach would be so useful if it would work even for just small aesthetic parts.


As far as the main build goes, I've been busy with a couple of more varnish coats, had to pick up another 500ml of the Epifanes. Just building the varnish thickness up really before flattening it back.  I did have an issue with a couple of runs on the sides of the hull, so I had to wait for it to fully harden off before sanding and flattening back.  I'm now on plan B, that involves varnishing the deck and stern, waiting for that to cure, then rotating and putting a coat on one side of the hull, then wait, then the other side...  Bit laborious, but helps get the surfaces flatter.


Also been busy with more of the electronics.  It's all got a bit out of hand really so I'm trying to document how the subsystems are all going to be integrated and what the dependencies are so I can get what needs to be done clear in my head.  I'm using the little Arduinos quite a lot, so getting one to perform a certain task, that's fine, but then some systems are dependent on what other systems are doing...  I'm setting up the Arduinos that are dependents to listen on a given pin, then when they get a signal, they spring into action.  So in a very rudimentary way the different arduinos can network together. The dashboard is an example of this.  I need the dash dials (servos) to be live when the boat is powered up, but then when the boats main 'motors' are started (the sound system starts and the 'motors 'idle') the dials need to do their thing.  But then when the motors are turned off, the dials need to return their pointers to zero and power down gracefully rather than just stop in place as would happen if the power was just removed by a switch. 


I'm extending the idea of a Y lead by sending say the port ESC channel from the Rx to a small board with a set of connected pins all carrying the PWM signal for that channel, then the port ESC connects to one of these pins, but so do the port tacho dial, the various fan controllers, the water pump, the port sound system and anything else that needs to know how fast the port motor is running, bit like a Y lead on steroids I suppose.  Same for stbd ESC, also the rudder channels. Common ground throughout the boat, so just the PWM signals shared, seems to be working so far.  Then each device gets it's own +ve supply at whatever voltage it needs (5 or 12V) rather than passing the current via the Rx.  Indeed the Rx just becomes another device to power at 5V.  And the headache begins.  I'm trying to get the boat systems to behave very much like a full sized boat, or as close as I can.


Ever onward...


Very best regards to all.
David.

[ChrisF]

Thanks David. It will be a pity if the shine can't be protected.

What you are doing with that model is mind boggling, on many fronts! 

Chris

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Thanks for the comments Chris.   


A short update as the varnish is coming along:





I'm learning more about the Epifanes. Better late than never...  I was plagued by the 'inclusions', or whatever the term is for them.  I had a look under a loupe and they're small bubbles, some googling found that others are having similar issues, as in the varnish seems thicker than a few years ago, and benefits from some thinning on all coats not just the early ones.  So in these pics the varnish is thinned about 5% with epifanes brush thinner, and this does seem to allow the bubbles that do form to dissipate fully, in fact they just don't seem to form as readily at all, but the coating is still thick enough to build depth.








So I'm happier that this approach seems to be working.


I've only been working on the deck and some removable parts for the last few coats as I don't want to add coats to the hull until I'm able to rotate it, so the hull sides can be brought horizontal ish and so help the varnish level rather than slump. I'm thinking a couple of frames that will bolt / anchor into the hull, this will allow the boat to be inverted for when the time comes to paint the planing surface.  And then to extend the bolted in frames with a couple of L shaped frames that can hold the boat securely on edge to allow varnishing.


We shall see.
Best regards to all.
David.

[Davo]

Although logged in, none of the build pictures show up on this topic.  I am in the UK.  Anyway to see the pictures?
David

[DJW]

Hi David


I've heard this comment before.  I'll see if Martin has any comments re what's happening...  The images are hosted on the MBMImages server, so they should be visible...


Can I ask whether you can see this link, its the Album that goes with this build:


https://modelboatmayhemimages.co.uk/album/JJD3


I have heard in the past that MacAfee can cause issues...


Let me know how you get on.


Best regards
David.

[KitS]

I couldn't see the pics y'day, but I can today.


It may be notable that the same problem occurs on another forum that I inhabit and that too uses the Small Machines system.

[Martin (Admin)]

Hi David,

I can't see any photos either.... how many / which photos did you post today?

[SailorGreg]

That's weird - I can see them all.
Although none of them have the MBM watermark - has that been dispensed with?

[DJW]

Here we go with a test pic....

[Capt Podge]

Here we go with a test pic....

That photo is crystal clear David - as are all of your photos (735 of them) throughout this topic - I'm on an ACER ASPIRE 5 laptop, if that helps anyone at all.


Cheers,

...forgot to add - I'm using Windows 11


Ray.

[DJW]

Afternoon All


Thanks for helping troubleshoot the image visibility issues.  Still not sure what happened or why or if it's ongoing.  I see there are big Cloudflare issues again at the moment and know that MBM uses Cloudflare, not sure if the image issues are Cloudflare related.  If anyone cannot see images on this blog please let me know via PM, I can make alternative arrangements with image hosting going forward to see if that helps.


So, back to todays update.  I've been adding varnish again...  Somewhere between 12 and 15 coats of varying thickness.  Interesting to see progress of the layers, this was early coat where grain is still very visible:





And now, a bit more Riva like:














Still using 5% thinned varnish, and going well.  I've also been getting prepared for next steps, I've been using the rear hatch to do some tests with the Proxxon WP/E polisher using various grit discs from 600 through 1000, 2000 and 3000.  Then rubbing compound (Farcela G10) to remove any 3000 marks, then finish with wax.  I need to let the varnish cure fully then will be busy with the polisher.


Also been busy with the electronics again.  In the move to the new cases I seem to have caused a new issue with the sound system, it was working fine, now it's not...  And while troubleshooting that I realised I could be setting up future problems by soldering in the Arduinos, it makes them hard to manage in future.  So I'm making them pluggable and just soldering in some sockets.  This will also allow the Arduinos top be taken out of the boat to be updated / reprogrammed, or replaced.  I need to get past this and fix the sounds so I can start integrating new systems...


Very best regards to all.
David.

[DJW]

This weeks update.  I've finished with varnish, well I think I have.  If I make a mess of the next stage I may need to retract that...


I've learnt that it's pretty much impossible to get a coat of varnish applied without having some defect or inclusions, dust, small bubbles.  The finish is good, but I know flattening / polishing will improve it.  So, 12 to 15 coats applied over past 8 weeks, and now I need it to fully cure.  I think that could be a week or two.  I heard a good tip, if you can smell the varnish, it's not cured.


I've started the polishing process on some woodwork that was finished a few weeks ago, and this is the result...





I'm very pleased with the result.  It's like glass.  If I can get this result on the hull I'll be very happy indeed.





It's quite hard to shoot a picture of a reflective surface..!  This is my process:





I'm using the Proxxon WP/E polisher with 50mm attachments. I'll be using 25mm attachments for some detail areas. I've a foam backed velcro faced pad on the polisher when using abrasive discs to try to keep even pressure while avoiding digging into the varnish...  I'm starting out with 800 grit and have some 600 discs in case they're needed.  I'm keeping the discs and work piece wet with a spray bottle of water / liquid soap mix, very important to not allow it to dry out and heat up.  Keeping the head flat and moving, then wiping dry to check progress. The water goes milky when varnish is being taken off, like this:





The same piece looks like this when dried after initial 800 grit polishing.





It's the glossy areas that are low points and so further 800 grit required to remove quite a lot of varnish to get evenly down to the right level.  Once they no longer show it's time to go for a finer grit to remove the 800 grit scratches, so 1000, then 2000 and 3000 aiming to remove scratches from previous grit each time.





Then it just looks smooth, no visible scratches, but matt.  Then I use a medium foam head on the polisher with the regular Farcela cutting compound, and then switch to softer foam with fine Farcela compound.  Then I'm using some 'Howard Restor-A-Shine Wood Polish and Cleaner for Glossy Finishes'
And I'm finishing with a Carnuba Wax applied by hand with a soft lint free cloth.





That's all for now, polisher has cooled down, time to polish something else..!


David.