Scribing Wood Siding

[Brown Mouse]

Greetings,
I am looking at trying to scratchbuild a HO wooden boxcar or two out of basswood, but am having trouble figuring out how to scribe the siding in such a way that it will remain visible after being wetted. I know that there is wooden car siding commerically available, but for the small quantity I need it isn't economical to order online and the local hobby shop can't get it for me, so if possible i would like to scribe my own.
I have tries using a simple scribe, and an exacto knife, and while both look nice at first, the wood fibers are only cut and compressed, not removed. If I wet the wood and let it dry, the lines become nearly invisible. Since it will get wet when I paint it, this is a problem. Anybody have any ideas?

 

[Beachbum]

Wild guess: Could you seal the wood before you paint it? Maybe the sealer would swell the fibers too though...

 

[GaryMc]

A sewing needle in a pin vise works great for this.

 

[fast_ian]

... If I wet the wood and let it dry, the lines become nearly invisible. Since it will get wet when I paint it, this is a problem.

It's an interesting conundrum isn't it;

- When we want to maintain "details" we can be sure paint will cover 'em.
- OTOH, I guarantee that paint has *never* covered a "flaw" when we want it to......

Why is that?

Seriously, the wood shouldn't really get "wet" when painting - I guess try a few of the suggestions above and give it a light coat of primer - I think you'll be surprised.

Cheers,
Ian

 

[GrampysTrains]

Try using the back of an exacto blade. It works with styrene. DJ.

 

[RW&C]

Heat might help. Micromark sells a wood grain scratcher thingy which is essentially a little comb slotted into a soldering iron. If you can't get the wood to stay put, maybe singing it when you cut the slots would help? It wouldn't spring back so much when it got wet.

Water always makes wood swell. Unless you're painting with watercolors, though, you should be fine. Oil-based paint or stain shouldn't make it swell either, if you're going that way with it. (I generally just use spray paint; a few light coats of primer usually seal it up pretty well.

 

[Brown Mouse]

Well, I discovered that scribing works a lot better when it is done along the grain and not across it. The grain should run along the lengths of the planks anyway. Thank you for your suggestions - I will continue to experiment to see which technique works best.