How to make canvas?

Any one made canvas…pixs welcome also…

Toad

How do you mean “canvas”?

If you mean the cloth -then that is a warp of linen and a weft of cotton (or wool).

regards

ralph

For scale use?

Hi ToadFrog&WhiteLightn

I havn’t but I will be.

I plan on using an old Cotton Drill work shirt for the fabric

The texture may be a bit course but I can live with that, not sure what I am going to do about the eyelets around the edge so it can be tied down.

regards John Busby

Rib-bit

I asked a similar question the other day. click above for link!

cale

Cale, Thank you Sir!

Toad

I’ve used several things to simulate canvas: paper (fortified with shellac), painting canvas and blue jeans. The latter material was used to make the canvas shades on my 7/8 scale Plymouth

A tip I picked up was to use an old pillow case (plain white) and paint it with Floquil Earth.

I made a “hobo tent” a couple of years ago. Generic paper towel, NOT the “quilted” kind, but the brown ones you get in public restrooms. Build the framework you want to cover, cut the towel to size with a small margin for “tuck under”, paint the paper towel (both sides) with a kaki brown or olive drab (military green). While the “canvas” is still wet, place over your form, tug slightly to make the little sagging as if between the supports. I had one outside (here in sunny Sandy Eggo) for almost three years before the dogs make off with it.

Is that a zip tie I see?

And yes Triggy I see you!

Toad

I would try a fine tulle fabric. Spray paint it an appropriate dark color (dark green seems to be the most common color for heavy canvas). The spray paint will give it a less opaque quality and still leave you with a finer material than a cotton or silk would. As for grommets, small dots of a darkened brass or gold color paint do an adequate job of simulating the grommets. Hope this helps.

PS-if anyone has a method for simulating canvas grommets I would be most interested in it.

What are the smallist eyelets out there, there brass.

Toad

try 100% cotton small hand towels and stain them in a brew of regular tea.

For both the canvas and the grommets, what you can use to simulate them will depend greatly on the scale you are looking for.
For canvas, the reality is that if you are trying to keep the weave look or appearance accurate to the scale, then you could probably use a fairly fine count cotton, and treate it with a shellac or varnish, especially when you get to the smaller scales.
For the grommets, you have several choices, but you have to decide how and where things will get used. Using fine brass brads or nails can leave you with the head of the nail giving you the appearance of a grommet. You may also want to consider using a metalic gold automotive urethane paint. You can use the shaft from a Q-tip swab (with one end cut off) as a “stamp” to apply grommets on just about anything you could immagine, the choices in the automotive urethane paints and finishes is wild, from finishes that look like real chrome, to heat sensitive paint that acts like the old “Mood Rings”, to finishes that change color depending upon the viewing angle. Lots of metalics and patina’s too. Generally, these paints are made to be sprayed or airbrushed on, but they can be used with a brush too. You might look at Alsa paint, or DuPont, 3M, House of Kolor, and some others. This stuff isn’t cheap, but a tiny bottle will go a real long way for most train enthusiasts.

Search for model ship making supplies for the grommets.

CHUCK