Painting sundeala boards

[Brew Man]

I'm thinking of painting my sundeala layout boards with brown emulsion paint to give an earth coloured base. Do others do this? I suppose what I'm asking is, does sundeala take paint OK? I can imagine it sucking it up like a sponge.

Thanks

[Yelrow]

Brew  Man.    Not a problem. Needs to be sealed first with mixture of water, and PVA. After that, paint .

[Brew Man]

Brew  Man.    Not a problem. Needs to be sealed first with mixture of water, and PVA. After that, paint .

Thanks for the response. Might have to have a think about this. Reading the sundeala documentation, it says painting is not recommended, though not out of the question.

[Yelrow]

Dont agee with that. Very easily takes paint once sealed. Any doubts,look on the net. Quite normal, i belive.

[96RAF]

Don’t like Sundeala - full stop.

[Brew Man]

Don’t like Sundeala - full stop.

No, there are a few who don't seem to like Sundeala. I'm beginning to wish I'd gone with marine ply. Certainly cheaper, but it's done now.

[Bulleidboy]

Sundeala is a bit like Marmite!  It's amazing how often it still gets used by  "big" names - I watched Peco rebuilding one of their major layouts - and it was all based on Sundeala boards. Although I don't use it - I did build two 4x2 boards with Sundeala tops - you could have stood a car on them - if there is plenty of support underneath Sundeala is fine.

[Yelrow]

You dont need Marine ply, normai 12 mm ply, for example fine.

[ColinB]

The big advantage of Sundeala it is easy to cut holes for PL10 point motors. I am about to build a small extension to my railway and I must admit I was thinking of using it because it doesn't weigh that much. My layout is built into the roof rafters and I worry about the weight of anything hanging on it. Surely when you seal it with pva glue and water, doesn't that make it expand. So what extra precautions do you need to take?

[Yelrow]

The rirst thing you have to do is to seal the edges. All you are doing is adding a tad of water to PVA, to make it brush evenly. This seals the wood and stops warplng. There will be  no noticeable expansion, certainly less than if you just emulsioned it. The alternative is Shellac..

[Brew Man]

So edges first. Do you PVA both sides?

[Yelrow]

No,only one side, according to  experts. Edges all round, all cut surfaces. If you do it all ,apparently you will stop it breathing. No doubt there will be detracteres, but  thats what i would do, and woodwork, is my metier.

[96RAF]

We all live and learn John.

I would have done all sides as past experience with other materials would have made me think only doing one side would cause it to bow toward the treated side. I can see the need for such a material to breath.

I used a couple of sheets of untreated Sundeala once as part of my first loft layout and I wet ballasted the track which caused the Sundeala to warp all over the place, hence why I never used it again.

[Bulleidboy]

I think if you were using Sundeala in a spare room, centrally heated and the boards well supported, it would be fine. If you were in your loft, where there are very wide variations in temperature - I would use ply, and it would obviously be damp at certain times of the year if you were building in your garage, so again probably best not to use Sundeala.

[Brew Man]

Thanks for the replies, guys, they have been very helpful. One thing I did read in sundeala's blurb is the need to leave a 5mm gap between sections. That seems reasonable given the material's expandability.

[Yelrow]

Yup, i am a ply man, but poster already has Sundeala baseboard. Hence, the way forward.  If he does as i suggested, should be fine. I only paint one ide of my ply, with emulsion, as that way, it can expand and retract. I make a lot of furniture. with ply panels, and they float in wood surrounds. Use Danish oil, and do both sides, of ply in these cases, but oil does not stop ply, doing its thing..   I would be divorced if all our lounge furniture started bulging..   Norm Abrams, is my mentor..

[96RAF]

Norm - the guy with a machine tool for every job and the knowledge of how to use them. Great programs which held me fascinated by his skills.

[Yelrow]

This was how i got all my machines. Heather said, Norm has a Sawbench, if you had oneof them.  Same with Planer / thick nesser, Router, and Table, Morticer, Bandsaw, and so it went on. Then she bought me all his books, and house and garden are  adorned with his projects. Sorry to digress, but it does explain my wood knowledge.