Model Railway Forum

Should I paint the top of my 12mm ply baseboard to seal it ? (It is in a concrete sectional shed). If so with what and what colour should I paint it please? From reading various sources sealing it will be a sound idea and a dark grey matt emulsion appears popular. Any suggestions please.

Yes. Paint it any colour you like, there are no rules. I used what ever emulsion I had in the shed or buy some test pots. Dark grey is good, brown, green, mixture of all of them. Where there is going to be loco sheds black is good. Fields, green or brown.

I have two thoughts on this. One is to paint it. The other is along the lines of when itnis pinted some things don't stick so easily on it.

Never had problems sticking anything down. I use PVA.

I sealed my baseboard with clear varnish (satin floor varnish if memory serves) and haven't had any problems sticking things down.

I used grey emulsion in a bargain basket.

I read somewhere (probably here) that pays to paint the underside as well as the topfor two reasons.

It may prevent warping if there is damp in the air.

It helps if the underside is bright as it can make wiring easier to see and work with.

Rgds

Chuffchuff wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:13 pm It helps if the underside is bright as it can make wiring easier to see and work with.

I like that train of thought

White underneath is a very good idea, you need all the light you can get under there. Most people have some old white emulsion.

That is exactly what I have done, the result is well worth the effort.