Hi Andrew - the base coat is Humbrol #63 Sand, sprayed on. I then use 0.5mm micromask tape to mark up laminations, a few at a time. I lay the tape initially by lining up at the hub as this is the best place to get parallel lines, then lay the tapes outwards judging the "parallelness" by eye but looking from the side. The darker laminations are brushed between the tapes using Humbrol #29 Dark Earth but any darker shade will do. I scrape away any over painting and touch up with Sand but the oil covering hides rough edges quite well! It is possible to mask up the whole prop in one go and spray the darker colour, but I find the tape can lift with too much handling.
Oils for graining are a mixture of Windsor&Newton Raw Sienna, darkened with a spot or two of Burnt Umber. Not completely mixed so that there is a hint of difference when brushed off (using the WNW advice for wood painting). When the oil is dry I will apply 4 or 5 layers of klear, maybe with a colour tint in one or two layers to add a bit more depth.
This has taken me two sessions, of 2-3 hours each to get to this stage. The masking is slow! I had tried to use a brown pencil to do the laminations free hand, but I wasn't satisfied with the results, so I sanded it off and started again with a fresh spray of the base coat.
