The Lark Restoration

A short while ago a took delivery of a very interesting model called THE LARK in need of a total restoration, the details of the restoration were to totally strip down and repaint as well as supply new sails. The first job was to carefully photograph all the necessary details of the existing rigging as well as all the deck fittings and there exact positions before very carefully removing them all from the model. This job took a little while to complete but then the serious work could begin firstly by removing some of the paint to check on the surface underneath before starting to sand down the hull removing as much of the original paint as possible as well as checking the hull condition as things progressed.

After several hours the hull had reached the stage that can be seen in the photos, this was then skimmed with suitable filler before the final prep stage prior to painting. With the hull now fully prepared the first of three coats of primer could be applied rubbing down each one in between, this was then followed by very carefully marking the water line prior to the two top coat colours being applied. After applying several coats of each colour the model was then put to one side for the paint to cure fully before applying 2/3 coats of gloss yacht varnish to enhance the end result.

Now that the main part of the hull was finished the next task was to prep and paint the deck area after carrying out a few minor repairs to its surface, this was done using a carefully mixed paint to match the original colour. Once the deck had been painted the fittings could now be re-attached taking care not to damage any of the hulls paint job as things progressed.

With the hull finished the next task was to make new bowsprit as well as a couple of new booms, these were all then stained in Oak finish and varnished with a gloss varnish. Once the masts etc had fully dried the next task was to very carefully mark out the new sails and cut them out, these were then made up and lightly stained and starched before re-attaching into their respective positions on the mast and booms etc. Once all the sails had been attached the final task would be to re-rig the entire model taking great care to make sure everything lined up and functioned correctly as this is a working model.

The model was now fully restored, so after some final checks had been completed the LARK was ready to be returned to its owners.

Overall this proved to be a very satisfying restoration as well as a challenging one.