Sealing baseboards

[Black Marlin]

Hello all.

I am building open-plan baseboards for my layout. They will live in a (weatherprrofed!) steel barn. The baseboard ribs and crosspieces are being made from 9mm ply. Given the conditions in which the layout will live, do I need to paint the baseboards before I start scenic work on them? And if so, what paint should I use to protect them?

Many thanks,
Gavin

[Ian Morgan]

Painting baseboards to seal against damp is always a good idea. I paint the underside white as it helps to see what you are doing when wiring.

[Western Star]

I agree with Ian, seal the surface when the wood is dry. Paint all of the board surfaces to minimise subsequent movement of the timber when the air increases in moisture content. My preference is to use oil-based gloss paint over the correct undercoat.

[Harlequin]

Hi Gavin,

 

I faced the same question recently with my open frame ply baseboards. (See my blog - also 9mm ply with ribs and spines - anything like yours???)

 

One of the reasons usually given for painting baseboards is to waterproof them against the wet processes involved in the creation of scenery. And the recommendation is to paint the top dark, the underside white (for the reason given above) and the sides whatever colour you like.

 

Personally, I couldn't face all the fiddly painting in the nooks and crannies created by the open frame design, and since my boards will never be scenicked and will always be in centrally heated rooms, I have opted to leave them raw.

 

I am hoping that because they are almost entirely engineered timber (i.e. ply) and because rigidity is designed into the whole structure rather than relying on the rigidity of a few timbers, they will not warp due to humidity...

Edited July 26, 2018 by Harlequin

[DCB]

I like the look of nicely stained wood rather than paint, but I have seen so much de laminated ply that I like to absolutely soak the cut ends of ply in wood stain to seal the ends even if I leave the sides untreated

[jcm@gwr]

It doesn't matter how good the quality of the ply is, it will always 

resist moisture/last longer if it is treated first.

I have used both Shellac and floor sealer* (for wooden floors),

but Shellac is not cheap for large areas!

*it's like a satin/matt varnish, but soaks in better.

[ddoherty958]

I have 9mm ply for the board and I just painted it white with matte emulsion as a base coat for the scenics. Follow my blog for more info on my layout!!

[bike2steam]

Over the years I've used a few ideas for a sealer, 10% watered down emulsion ( dark grey for the top, white, helps my not so good eyesight, for the underneath), 20% watered down pva, and 'Sanding-sealer', all have worked well.

[stoke_ferry]

I've used fence/shed paint to seal all my layouts (built from ply), as usually sufficient left over from a painting job. Works a treat (one layout has been attending exhibitions for over 10 years), and the bonus is that it starts off with a suitable colour for a base, i.e. green or brown.

[Teabag]

I varnish the underside and use timer undercoat and then a sort of dark mud coloured emulsion mix on top.  My layout lives in a damp garage that varies from 5 to 35C.  No warping in 4 years.

 

Teabag