pugdog
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Jun 17, 2007, 12:39 AM
Post #2 of 4
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Re: [newby] Die Cut Kits & Manufacturers
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Hi,
I detached, and set this up as it's own thread, so as not to be lost under my long intro post :)
Sanding/sealing is a time consuming chore. If you have not already detached the parts, it's easier to seal and sand them while still attached to the to whole sheet. I did this with several kits and got a very, very smooth finish on them.
I used a standard sanding sealer from the home store, brand isn't important, as most of it gets sanded away :) The idea is to let the sealer get into the wood, and seal the fibers.. If you do it while the parts are still on the sheet, it's easier.
I know I posted an article somewhere... I think greenleaf deleted it, and I don't see it on the other sites I've posted to.
In short, on a cool, dry weekend, or if you have a large area you can work on where the humidity is not too high (this is always a killer for thin wood), you can set up a drop cloth, and this is important because you need to do both sides sort of at the same time to prevent a lot of warping. Apply the sealer to BOTH sides of the wood. Use small blocks or strips of wood (covered with wax paper) to keep the damp side off the cloth. This will give the best results. If you have to do one side at a time, be aware of the tendency to get some warpage (usually, this will even out once the other side is sealed).
Confusing? I'm sorry. It's late. But this is a quickie thing. You can do 10-12 sheets in an hour, if you have the space to lay them out. Standing them on edge is ok, if they don't warp or bow. you DO NOT want them touching. They will stick, and that's not good. If the wood spacers stick to the throw-away wood, that's ok. They can be separated easily, but usually leave a rough surface (so you don't want it on good parts).
Once the wood is all sealed, you need to sand -- and there will be a LOT of dust! This is why you want to do it out doors. An inexpensive pad sander ($40 or so) is a _GOOD_ investment! Use a fine/med-fine paper, no more than about 220 grit (too much wood would be removed otherwise). Go quickly, getting rid of bumps and roughness. You will see a lot of unevenness, and maybe even areas that don't look sealed. That's ok. You need to give it AT LEAST one more coat. These coats can be given one side at a time, without much chance of warpage. So, I usually do one side of each sheet, and by the time I get to the end, the first sheet is usually dry enough to turn over and do the back on.
Let them dry, on a cool, dry day, this only takes an hour or two, usually. Some sealers suggest 6 hours or more, but for what we are doing, that can be overkill. We aren't finishing the wood, just smoothing it. So if the wood feels dry, and looks dry, you can get on with the next sanding.
Again, you don't want to take off too much wood. 220 grit is the highest you want to use. 400 or 600 is ok, but slower. The idea is to get off most of the surface sealer, and down to the wood itself.
You'll see that the wood up to the edges has been sealed, and once the wood is properly sanded on both sides, some of the parts will start to want to fall out of the sheets.
This is one BENEFIT of doing it this way. You don't have to use a knife to cut the parts off where they were not fully die-cut. The sanding process does that for you. Often only gentle tracing with an X-acto blade is all that is needed.
Once the parts are separated, any parts that need more sealing can be sealed and sanded one more time. Before that though, it's a good time to fill the voids and defects.
If there are surface defects in the wood -- voids or pieces of wood that fell off -- you can either glue the wood back at this point or fill with a wood putty. There are a lot of them, Elmers is a good one, and is usually available. Follow the directions, then seal one more time, and sand.
At this point, you should have very, very smooth wood. You won't see/get any wood grain out of it, if you stain it, but you have a very smooth surface to paint or paper over.
Your wood putty will be your best friend at this point.
As you build, you will need to fill gaps, fill edges and joints, and more.
If you want a better quality house, look for parts you can change to cut basswood -- or even balsa wood. These parts are trims, shutters, and such. They are not structural, and can be used to hide the rough edges. The caveat is, if you use THEIR plywood to hide the edges, those pieces also have cheesy unfinished edges! So, using strip basswood or balsa is a good idea. You can get bags of odds and ends at most craft stores, or you can buy sheets and strips from the parts bins.
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If you have already removed some of the parts from the sheets, you can still sand and seal them, but it will be more time consuming. You need to do each part separately, and using a hand sander (or sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood) is about the only way. Rubbing the parts on sandpaper double-side-taped to a flat surface is a good way to smooth small parts.
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Painting! One thing you need to realize is that paint has a THICKNESS! If you use a standard latex housepaint, you will get SIGNIFICANT thickness to your wood. This is ok on walls, but maybe not so good on windows (as most people find out when building the old Duracraft kits).
I suggest using hobby/craft acrylics or enamels that are used for models for parts such as windows, door trims, and such. The paint is thinner, and will not build up as much. On walls or doors themselves, it's not so important. Paint thickness won't interfere with anything.
These hobby/model paints have micro-fine pigment granules designed to be more in-scale.
While many people pride themselves on how cheaply they can find paint and stuff to finish a house, like your real house, the quality of the paint and it's freshness can make a big difference in the final outcome, and how long it will last.
After finishing the wood as above (sealing, sanding, putty,etc), I suggest applying an all-purpose primer to any surfaces you are not going to wallpaper or cover with wood flooring or carpeting. It won't hurt. It might make a big difference though, later on.
Paint your trim parts before assembly. You'll get cleaner lines. Paint your whole house white, or whatever base color you want to make it before assembly. Scrape the paint off where you will glue the edges together. This will give you a far, far cleaner look.
A white primer covered with a white base coat of paint will provide a good under coat for almost any color you want to use, or any wall paper you want to put over it.
Paint the roof black if you are going to shingle, the dark underneath, if it shows through a crack, will look like a shadow.
One thing to remember is that you are working in MINIATURE. Anything you do will look magnified. That includes wood grain, brush strokes, dust, hair, whatever.
If you make sure your wood is as smooth as possible, and that all wood is sealed before painting, you will get much, much better results.
WINDOWS -- depending on the type, it can be tricky to finish them. If the parts would be too hard to sand after sealing, spraying them with a FRESH spray shellac (remove the plastic first, obviously) will make a big difference! You can use one of the sanding sticks at 400 or 600 grit to sand lightly where you can. You can test the difference in results on some scrap wood. The smoother surfaces will look much, much more realistic and in-scale.
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I hope some of this helps!
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