I have to wonder if this project is too complicated for me. *sigh*
So few illustrations, and so few official references. Everything about the Habbakuk is just one big GUESS.
Anyway, getting back to the painting predicament.........I talked to my best friend tonight and he had a rather interesting comment to make. He said: "Why bother painting the hull when it's just going to melt anyway? That ship isn't going to last forever."
True, quite true.
As designed, the main hull had 40 FT. thick pykrete sides, bottom, and top as shown in this example schematics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/ ... rlord2.jpg.......and on the right side of this pic: V
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/ ... -plans.jpgTrying to "paint" pykrete would have been impossible as the paint would not stick, and if the pykrete started to melt in any way, then the paint (if it was applied) would "melt" resulting in runs. Also, trying to paint a 2000 FT. long aircraft carrier would have been a major drain on paint resources when WWII was trying to conserve what it could. And there's no sense trying to "hide" (camoulflage) a ship this big when it could probably be spotted by high flying aircraft or German U-boats from far, far away.
However, in the first link, you can read where it says "Insulation" was used on the sides of the hull to probably protect the pykrete from melting or to help keep it cold, etc. This insulation would probably not be steel siding as steel was in short supply during WWII. Chances are, the insulation would have been possibly plywood/fibreboard as mentioned in the Wikipedia link I gave about the Habbakuk.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_HabakkukAny steel used in the Habbakuk would have been for refrigeration ductwork that ran through the pykrete to help keep it cold, and also for interior decks and superstructure, etc. only.
The following two pics show red lines added by me that indicate where the insulation would be:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/ ... insul1.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/ ... insul2.jpgSo now, I pose the following questions:
1. Should I just leave the main wood hull that a friend is building, "as is" and not paint it?
2. If I do paint the wood hull, then what would be an appropriate color? I highly doubt there'd be a boot topping or the hull painted below the boot topping.
3. The bridge superstructure, guns, masts, etc. will get painted. Possibly some shade of light gray.
4. What would be a good color to paint the flight deck? (Flight deck is being laid down with Evergreen V-groove to simulate wood decking.)