nrg.....

can you explain a bit more of what methylene blue does ?

basically it does nothing :D

methylene blue, engineers blue, engineering ink, marking out ink, or probably other names its known by, is methylated spirits with a blue dye added. the spirit evaporates quickly leaving the dye on the working surface, ready for markings produced by a scriber (or other sharp pointed implement)

its applied by brush to fresh steel prior to marking for cut lines or hole positions.
the measuring out is done by a rule (ruler), height gauge, odd leg callipers, dividers, sliding square, set square, protractor, or any other measurement device applicable.

using a measuring device, a scriber is used to produce scribe lines which show up as a scratch line the thickness of the scriber, usually a ground hardened point on a pen like steel. they are easier to see than a scribe line on bare steel, and more accurate than a line drawn with a marker pen that is the size of a cow's tit, and more durable than a line drawn by a lump of French chalk ground to a point.

the coating I put on afterwards serves no purpose other than to make it look uniform, and mebe offer a bit of protection until painting commences.
the methylene blue will be removed by wiping over with neat methylated spirits, which will dissolve the dye and evaporate, leaving a surface ready for further work.

hope this explanation helps :D
 

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