I bought a nice balsa wood box and was just wondering if I can use varnish on it to make it look nicer?

Question

Or if not varnish, what kinds of paint could I use, I like the box as it is, but my partner thinks it's too plain, so I either want to varnich it, or paint it pink.

Answer 1

I think balsa wood actually absorbs paint and varnish, so you will need to sand it down first to give the paint or varnish something to hold on to. Enamel paint is the best thing to use I think, but use a couple of coats, I think you've already been told that by someone else. Also you could use varnish, but again you'd need quite a few coats for it to look right. :)

Answer 2

Staining Balsa Wood

Answer 3

I searched google for balsa wood finishing and here is what I found....
Balsa finishes easily with standard water based paints, or varnishes. May fuzz after first coat and require fine sanding.

After looking at many pages, they all say the same thing.....

Either use very fine steel wool or a brown paper bag to sand it with. Then use a tack cloth to remove the particles of dust., seal it, sand and tack cloth again, apply your varnish, paint or stain, repeat the sanding and tack cloth and then apply the final coat of varnish or stain.

Answer 4

Sorry, no plane has even been constructed out of just balsa wood. The "Mossie" was simple in construction and design. It was a twin engine, single boom aircraft with the pilot and navigator sitting side-by-side. It was one of the most cost effective aircraft ever built. Included in the construction was Ecuador balsa for the plywood skin, Sitka spruce from Alaska and B.C. in the wing spar, Douglas Fir stringers and birch and ash for the longitudinal members. These were all held together with glue and wood screws. The result was an airplane that was easy to maintain, tolerant of battle damage and simple to patch. It was faster than the Spitfire, flew higher than almost any other aircraft and carried tremendous fire power and a bomb load over tremendous distances. The bomber version operated with relative impunity over Germany to the end of the war, because the Luftwaffe never had a nightfighter fast enough to intercept it. The nightfighter versions remained in production until 1947. As you see from the above, the mosquito has Ecuador balsa plywood as its outer skin, but was not "built of balsa"

Answer 5

Please dont seal it with pva glue. If you are going to seal it use a decent quality yacht varnish thinned 50/50 with the appropriate thinners.Put a couple of layers of varnish on then sand with fine wet and dry sandpaper used wet and then repaint with unthinned yacht varnish.You will get a lovely deep shine then.You can paint balsa with any sort of paint but acrylics are fast drying and easy to use. Have fun and experiment with different designs etc before you start.

Answer 6

Yes you can varnish it, you may need to do several coats to get a nice finish, if you decide to paint it I would reccommend Acrylic paints.

Answer 7

With wood u would be better with a polish such as a furniture polish or u could use some linseed oil that will really bring the grain out. Just a little on a soft cloth rubbed in and there u r!

Answer 8

if you use P.V.A.glue first it will form an insulating barrier for you to varnish over as it also dries clear

Answer 9

You could do whatever you like on it. Just go with the flow and use your imagination.
Add stencils, glitter, collage, decoupage etc.