Hi Jonathan,
I'm not too bothered about dings and scrapes showing as long as the tape doesn't peel off. If you look at pictures of the real St. Denys you'll see it is pretty well dinged up. I have found a supplier of aluminium ducting tape which has good reviews.
This has been a long term project so I can afford to try both tape and litho plate and leave them out in the winter⚡ weather for a few months to see which is best. Also I can try out some of the adhesives mentioned. The boat is powered by steam and really is a family heirloom item that I want to repair to the best of my ability so that my grandchildrem can sail it for years to come.
Thanks to all who have contributed. Any extra contributions welcome.
Best wishes to all Tim

Tim,
I just learned this technique this year as well! Here are a few photos of someone else's build ( HMS Cardiff) that shows the tape applied before paint. Only the proud plates need be applied. The 3M brand of tape has a very good adhesive. This can be the week point so use care in what you select. Also, the tape is often available with varying thichnesses of adhesive. While this will cause the tape to stand more proudly, it also means that the tape will likely show dents and dings more readily. If I remember correctly, the tape I used is of around .015' thickness, a little thin for 1/48, but it is the effect I was after.
Cheers

Good morning Jonathan.
That plating certainly looks impressive. Up until now I've always used strips of cardboard. Why didn't I ever think of metal tape? In the words of my hero, Homer Simpson, "Duh". I was worried about tape or plates lifting but I can see no evidence of that in your photos. A nice job.
I've found a recent picture of the tugboat that bears a resemblance to mine, here's the address if you're interested
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/98/89/ae/filename-port-museum.jpg
It shows the plating quite clearly. It's in and out riveted.
Best wishes Tim

Tim,
Here are some photos of my project with the tape in place. With overlapping strakes, I applied the tape every other strake. The over lap can obviously be varied as you like.
Jonathan

Hi Toradog.
I don't think it's a model of any particular tug. The nearest thing to it is the tug St Denys which was moored in Falmouth many years ago, now in Brittany somewhere. It was given to me by my brother in law who sailed it as a boy pre WWII. It had been partially destroyed having been underwater for a long time. It is a long term project which I have been doing off and on for many years. It's one of those projects you do when you get fed up doing other things. The chances of anyone having sailed on the original , if there was one, are very remote.
Best wishes to all
Tim

Given it's age rivets would normally be used and I think overlappped
Cheers Ian

Tim, It sounds like you could go either way, butt joints or over lapping. I overlapped a few joints on my build and was surprised how well it came out with the aluminum tape. You might consider doing an experiment and see which approach looks and works best for you. In the end, it is you boat and unless someone shows up with a photo and says you were wrong....well then your version would look right to me.
Jonathan

Thank you to everyone who has made a suggestion. I think the best thing would be for me to try aluminium tape and also the lithoplate glued on with marine adhesive/sealant/ thingy stuff and see which one gives the best finish scale-wise. I like the idea of putting a covering over the top to stop the plates lifting. All I need now is a plan of some plating and deciding whether it's going to be overlapping or butt jointed. The original boat would have been built around 1920-1930. Any suggestions?🤞
Best wishes Tim

This is another really good sealant. It is paintable and is used in fullsize boat building. I have used it in my own boat that I have moored up in Potter Heigham Norfolk. :- Sikaflex 291i Marine Adhesive & Sealant 300ml

Tim,
If the scale is large enough, over coating the tape would not hurt, but, sanding the overcoat to keep the sharp edges of "plating" showing might be a chore. This tape is quite rugged, but it is soft, making it easy to burnish. if it does get dented I would imagine some gentle burnishing would solve the issue.
The gent I learned this from has been running his models for a good number of years with no issues at all.

Hi Tim,

Give Silkaflex EBT+ a go - it's like a silicon, but totally waterproof, great grab adhesive (just use tiny amounts) and can be painted by anything. Comes in standard silicon gun size tube and we've had it outside on a heat and cold trap (i.e. expansion and contraction) for holding wood lathes onto concrete blocks and it ain't moved, shrunk, flaked or anything in two years.

Hope it helps

Andy

the home products are designed to be painted over they are used for windows and doors on the exterior of houses and if he is appling it between to materials I don't think he will be painting it. trim off excess with a razor blade

We have home depots here big box hardware stores. You should be able to go to any home supply store and get a silcon based window sealant
GE Max Shield All Weather Sealant this is one type. it's a large tube but very reasonable on price. Just make sure you rough up the metal and wood before joining together. any silicon base sealant/adehsive should work get the outdoor ones they are desighed to move with the temp changes.

https://www.amazon.com/GE-Weather-Siliconized-Acrylic-Sealant/dp/B07WFX445J/ref=asc_df_B07WFX445J/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416778468643&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17896084505104975721&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-869511536147&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=95471657938&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416778468643&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17896084505104975721&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-869511536147

Hi Tim,
I would not recommend using Silicon Because it will be a nightmare to paint over.

Martin555.

Thanks for the reply Bruce.
I am familiar with JB weld but not the silicon stuff. Is it anything like the stuff you would seal an aquarium with or maybe seal round a bath?
Best wishes Tim

I use 2 part epoxy like JB weld but if your are having temp changes the metal and wood expand and contract at different rates
you might try silicon contact like GE's Max Shield Sealant Stretches over 600% 100% Waterproof Mold resistant 60-year limited durabilty

Thanks for the prompt reply.
That sounds a good idea. I am not familiar with the fine fibre mesh only the thick, coarser stuf that you would make a canoe with. Would the mesh you describe hide detail such as rivets?
I like this idea as in the past I have had metal slowly peel off a wooden surface. A layer of fibreglass would certainly hold things in place.
Best wishes Tim

Hi Toradog, Thanks for the prompt reply. I have copper tape for another project but never thought of aluminium tape. the tug is quite a large scale so I was thinking of immpressing rivets into the litho plate with a ponce wheel. Is this something that could be done with this tape? How durable is the tape? willit withstand the ocaissional knock? Newby7 suggests using a resin coating such as ezecote. Would this work with the tape or is it overkill?
Best wishes Tim

I seem to recall folks using a good contact cement for attaching litho plate. I am working on a destroyer and using a technique that I learned from a fellow in New Hampshire. It uses aluminum foil tape such as this, https://www.amazon.com/3M-Linered-Aluminum-Foil-Silver/dp/B009PPEVTW/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=3m+aluminum+tape&qid=1607867771&sr=8-5 That I cut to width and length and applied, then burnished. It has a very strong adhesive that does not seem at all susceptible to H2O. Once painted it looked convincingly like plating.

Can you use supper glue to hold plating in place.When all plates are on and in spot use fiberglass mesh z-poxy or Eze-kote to top coat and hold the fiberglass on top of the plates and in place.
Will dry clear and be the look you want.
Rick