We inherited a beautifully decorated pair of 'Roses and Castles' wooden centre-hatch panels when we purchased 'San Serriffe' several years ago. We are certain that the Roses and Castles were painted by original owner Don McPhee's wife Lillian who is a gifted amateur artist.
Both the rear-door panels and the centre-hatch are decorated with the same high level of skill. Unfortunately I noticed recently that these panels had begun to deteriorate with gradual exposure to the weather especially the rear doors that are open to the sun and rain every day that we are aboard.
Not only were the 'Roses and Castles' beginning to suffer but the 'scumble' (traditional painted wood graining) was beginning to peel and flake. I have tried both scumbling and traditional Narrowboat Rose art myself on a previous boat with varying degrees of success.......certainly I could not manage the confidence with which Lillian had painted the originals. Centre-hatch panels were constructed of a frame with an upper 'Castle' panel on a plywood base that fitted snugly into the steel hatches with the rear door panels constructed in the same way.
Water had seeped behind the centre-hatch panels and the plywood had started to rot and delaminate seriously. Worse still was the area that had been painted with the Roses as this was starting to split and destroy the painstakingly painted traditional designs. With a very heavy heart I realised that these panels were beyond saving and with the cruising season coming to an end it was time to tackle a serious artistic and joinery challenge and start from scratch with new.
Taking the panels out off the steel doors was a major job on its own. They were screwed into the steel with fine-threaded machine screws that had rusted solid into their respective holes and refused to move. Several hours went by as I managed to free the wooden panels by widening the holes around the screws with a chisel. Removing the wooden panels from the steel doors revealed extensive surface rust to the inside of the doors that had to be taken off with a wire brush and then rust-proofed and painted. I realised that removing the panels was a blessing in disguise because if they had been left the doors would have eventually rusted through leading to an even more serious and expensive job.
My plan of action was to remove the upper panel and frame from the rotten ply-base. This was sound and dry and had the added advantage of saving the painted Castles. Like all jobs ( at least the ones I do) it was not as easy as it looked. Obviously the original joiner had been determined that the two should never come apart as they were 'screwed and glued' together with a few small nails for good measure!
I purchased some expensive exterior quality ply to make the new panels hopefully ensuring that the job like the original would last at least another twenty years !!
Primed and painted with a red centre panel ready for the painted Roses I attached the panels to the original outer frames and everything was ready for a bit of scumble and canal art.......well at least as good as I could manage.
I have used 'Humbrol' enamel paints in the past. These are the ones that are used to paint plastic 'Airfix' Spitfires etc, and I am told they do not fade in the sun and are fairly weather proof. This suggestion is not original to me as I have read that they are commonly used by canal artists with a lot more experience than me!!!!!!
I have read several books written on the subject of painting Narrowboat Roses and after some practice have managed to achieve a result that at least would not reduce the onlooker into howls of laughter......and they are not too bad , especially if viewed from the opposite side of the canal or better still a wide river.
I decided to try a few Daises and failed miserably. After a hour of trying I gave up and decided that the panel would have to be bare and bereft of aforementioned Daises.
" Let me have a go " suggested Captain Denise and promptly did a perfect Daisy.
So perfect was the Daisy that a whole chain of Daises followed and the painted panel became a joint effort....... perhaps I should also have left the Roses to Denise I can hear you say :)
As I had started from scratch I decided the side hatch panels had to be scumbled like the originals. Fortunately the rear door panels were in good condition apart from the paint, so all that was required was to re-paint the scumbling.
I had tried some scumbling on the panels of a previous boat some seven years ago. I had used J.H Ratliffe's Light Oak scumble on a 'yellow chrome' base by the same company. As I never throw anything away both these tins were found lurking at he back of my shed and despite their age were ready for use after a thorough stir. Basic method is to coat the primed wood with the 'Yellow Chrome' ( light yellow) and when dry a very dilute coat ( at least two parts thinner to 1 part paint )of the Light Oak painted on the top. Whilst this is still wet ( it drys fairly quickly) use a dry brush to produce the 'grain' This takes some practice and in the past I made up some boards with the light yellow and just experimented until I felt confident to have a go 'for real'......all a bit of fun really.
As you dry brush through the weak 'light oak' each bristle uncovers the yellow underneath producing a convincing 'grain' effect. Look at real wood and try to replicate the swirls and knots - I found my method for a knot was to put a blob of paint on the graining and swirl the (small) brush in an oval and then 'diverting' the grain around the knot. Apparently Ratcliffe's do not make the 'Yellow Chrome' anymore, but I am sure some white wood primer with a dash of yellow paint mixed in would do just as well. Scumble done like this is not weather-proof so I finish the job with couple of coats of good quality exterior varnish which also darkens the grain a little, giving a slightly 'aged' look.
So if you are a time-served master 'Roses and Castles' canal-craft painter, please make allowances for our amateur efforts and we promise to do better next time.............
Whilst I was in the mood everything that moved was in great danger of being 'scumbled' realising the centre hatch lid and curve needed a face-lift. As the sun was shining the yellow scumble base was applied to both the hatch lid and the rear doors. Rear doors were in good condition part from the original scumbling and Castles............but in for penny........in for a pound..........so they also got a bit of much needed 'TLC' from the mad scumbler.
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Both the rear-door panels and the centre-hatch are decorated with the same high level of skill. Unfortunately I noticed recently that these panels had begun to deteriorate with gradual exposure to the weather especially the rear doors that are open to the sun and rain every day that we are aboard.
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| Roses and Daises.......with restored graining ( Scumble). |
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| Plywood base of the panel starting to delaminate |
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| Water damage to the rear of the panel |
Not only were the 'Roses and Castles' beginning to suffer but the 'scumble' (traditional painted wood graining) was beginning to peel and flake. I have tried both scumbling and traditional Narrowboat Rose art myself on a previous boat with varying degrees of success.......certainly I could not manage the confidence with which Lillian had painted the originals. Centre-hatch panels were constructed of a frame with an upper 'Castle' panel on a plywood base that fitted snugly into the steel hatches with the rear door panels constructed in the same way.
Water had seeped behind the centre-hatch panels and the plywood had started to rot and delaminate seriously. Worse still was the area that had been painted with the Roses as this was starting to split and destroy the painstakingly painted traditional designs. With a very heavy heart I realised that these panels were beyond saving and with the cruising season coming to an end it was time to tackle a serious artistic and joinery challenge and start from scratch with new.
Taking the panels out off the steel doors was a major job on its own. They were screwed into the steel with fine-threaded machine screws that had rusted solid into their respective holes and refused to move. Several hours went by as I managed to free the wooden panels by widening the holes around the screws with a chisel. Removing the wooden panels from the steel doors revealed extensive surface rust to the inside of the doors that had to be taken off with a wire brush and then rust-proofed and painted. I realised that removing the panels was a blessing in disguise because if they had been left the doors would have eventually rusted through leading to an even more serious and expensive job.
My plan of action was to remove the upper panel and frame from the rotten ply-base. This was sound and dry and had the added advantage of saving the painted Castles. Like all jobs ( at least the ones I do) it was not as easy as it looked. Obviously the original joiner had been determined that the two should never come apart as they were 'screwed and glued' together with a few small nails for good measure!
I purchased some expensive exterior quality ply to make the new panels hopefully ensuring that the job like the original would last at least another twenty years !!
 |
| One of the new panels primed and the basics of the Roses completed ready for the original upper frame to be attached. |
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| Original undamaged outer frame is ready for attaching to the base panel ( when it is straight !!) |
Primed and painted with a red centre panel ready for the painted Roses I attached the panels to the original outer frames and everything was ready for a bit of scumble and canal art.......well at least as good as I could manage.
I have used 'Humbrol' enamel paints in the past. These are the ones that are used to paint plastic 'Airfix' Spitfires etc, and I am told they do not fade in the sun and are fairly weather proof. This suggestion is not original to me as I have read that they are commonly used by canal artists with a lot more experience than me!!!!!!
I have read several books written on the subject of painting Narrowboat Roses and after some practice have managed to achieve a result that at least would not reduce the onlooker into howls of laughter......and they are not too bad , especially if viewed from the opposite side of the canal or better still a wide river.
I decided to try a few Daises and failed miserably. After a hour of trying I gave up and decided that the panel would have to be bare and bereft of aforementioned Daises.
" Let me have a go " suggested Captain Denise and promptly did a perfect Daisy.
So perfect was the Daisy that a whole chain of Daises followed and the painted panel became a joint effort....... perhaps I should also have left the Roses to Denise I can hear you say :)
As I had started from scratch I decided the side hatch panels had to be scumbled like the originals. Fortunately the rear door panels were in good condition apart from the paint, so all that was required was to re-paint the scumbling.
I had tried some scumbling on the panels of a previous boat some seven years ago. I had used J.H Ratliffe's Light Oak scumble on a 'yellow chrome' base by the same company. As I never throw anything away both these tins were found lurking at he back of my shed and despite their age were ready for use after a thorough stir. Basic method is to coat the primed wood with the 'Yellow Chrome' ( light yellow) and when dry a very dilute coat ( at least two parts thinner to 1 part paint )of the Light Oak painted on the top. Whilst this is still wet ( it drys fairly quickly) use a dry brush to produce the 'grain' This takes some practice and in the past I made up some boards with the light yellow and just experimented until I felt confident to have a go 'for real'......all a bit of fun really.
As you dry brush through the weak 'light oak' each bristle uncovers the yellow underneath producing a convincing 'grain' effect. Look at real wood and try to replicate the swirls and knots - I found my method for a knot was to put a blob of paint on the graining and swirl the (small) brush in an oval and then 'diverting' the grain around the knot. Apparently Ratcliffe's do not make the 'Yellow Chrome' anymore, but I am sure some white wood primer with a dash of yellow paint mixed in would do just as well. Scumble done like this is not weather-proof so I finish the job with couple of coats of good quality exterior varnish which also darkens the grain a little, giving a slightly 'aged' look.
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| Graining (scumble) in progress on the new base panel |
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| Base panel 'frame' grained (scumbled) to match the original |
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| Newly scumbled bottom panel with holes for brass handles |
So if you are a time-served master 'Roses and Castles' canal-craft painter, please make allowances for our amateur efforts and we promise to do better next time.............
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| Completed refurb' of the centre hatch doors. |
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| Newly completed centre hatch panels back in position....... |
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Centre hatch lid and curve painted with base yellow in preparation for new wood-grain scumble |
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| Finished graining ( scumble ) on centre hatch lid and curve |
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| Centre hatch lid prepared in 'Yellow Chrome' prior to graining |
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| Finished graining |
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| Rear doors awaiting new graining....... |
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| Finished scumble graining added to the base yellow |
There is a glitch with the Google software and sometimes the 'Comments' box at the end of the post will not appear. If you would like to leave any comments just click on 'no comments' and the box will appear like magic....simples!!!!! :) just scroll down.
beautiful job thank you so much for the tips and pics!!!
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