Sign I ruined~~

Too bad about your sign. I just broke the project I posted just after you posted your sign… Trouble comes in threes, so lets see if the next project is broken too…

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

Many years ago, my ex wife and I produced hand crafted items of all sorts. I would cut the item out of white pine, stain it and then spray a light coat of Deft Clear Wood Finish. After it dried, I would lightly sand it. My wife was a tole painter and used acrylic paints and a Calligraphers pen to paint and draw on the items. No smears or runs. When she finished, I would spray several coats of the clear to finish off the item.

We did this many, many times and never had any runs or smears.
Hope this helps.
Mike

Huh, I am a Calligrapher (wannbe, but I have all the tools) and it was ‘professional’ ink I used that I had a hellava time with.

I will try the nibs with the acrylic paint…..

@Hal~~~ONE, TWO, THREE~~NOT IT!!!!!!!! You start yours first~

-- Ride hard or go home~

I’m looking at “gel stain” to add letters to the toy boxes since it isn’t suppose to bleed. I’ve only started with a trial piece but my first test went well enough to try again. I’m just looking at a flat board with two tones of stain but it might be something to look into. I’m not sure how many colors there are in gel stain though.

This would be a great forum topic. I have a sign on my bench right now that was given to my late grandfather by my late great-grandfather on the other side of the family. I was thinking gel stain as well. Keep us posted.

-- "Begin every endeaver with the end ever in mind."

PS, the black is the ink, the red is acrylic paint

-- Ride hard or go home~

Sorry to hear this happened, I really like this sign!!!!

-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"

While all the previous posts addressed recommendations on how to finish your project without bleeding, I just have to say your sign says it all.

-- Just a man with his chisel.........

I, too, paint some of my projects. I have found a couple coats of poly and a light sanding with finer sandpaper will keep it from bleeding or soaking in. I have never worked with inks before though. I would imagine the final finish would make the ink run afterward unless lights coats of finish are applied afterward. I, IMHO, like acrylics on my projects. I will have to post a couple of painted items on my page.

-- A carpenter takes an ugly, knotted, twisted piece of wood and makes something beautiful and pure from it. Jesus was and still is a carpenter, I am that piece of wood.

If it makes you feel anybetter, I done the exact same thing a while back.
I’m not sure where I got it, but I have had a large bottle of ink for some time and thought it would be just great for carved lines in the horn of a unicorn. I had spent a lot of time on the lathe turning and carving those lines. Well, since you done it too, you know the rest of the story.

-- http://wddsrfinewoodworks.blogspot.com/

I use watercolours on wood all the time and they bleed like hell. A little lacquer shellac and some sanding prior is what does the trick, like Mike said. One I started doing that like got a lot easier. :)

-- Lis - Michigan - http://www.missmooseart.com - https://www.etsy.com/people/lisbokt

Very nice!

-- Ethan, CT: Check out my Shades of Grain blog: http://shadesofgrain.blogspot.com & my pallet craft blog: http://palletcraft.blogspot.com/ & also follow me on twitter https://twitter.com/Ethan_Woodworks

Wow~~~ This is WHY I joined this site… What a great resource.

@Montezuma~ I will look into the Gel Stain~ I used Miniwax stain to ‘color’ a couple of other signs and it works nicely. (See the ‘Taylor and Soren signs)

@Svenbecca, I will have to try poly. I DID use Deft Sander Lacquer…I should try the poly instead.

@tyskkvinna, I just bought some shellac (For the first time. I am really new to all things woodworking)....I will try it.

@AWS, I have been looking for sign painters in my area….y’all are a hard breed to find. I DO have several One-Shot colors….I dabble in stripping too~ I will try that. I talked to one person and they told me to stay away from One Shot, because you cannot ‘sand’ it…when/ if you want to try to make it look ‘weathered’..So, because of the headache they went through… I have shy’d away from using it~
I will look into finding someone in my area (Western Colorado) that can do the masks.

THANKS EVERYONE for the great ideas~ They are all great suggestions and I appreciate y’all taking the time to answer~

-- Ride hard or go home~

Your sign still looks good and you got your point across nicely ;)

-- ~ Bob ~ Newton, N.H.

That sign looks absolutely horrible.
Could you send it to me ?
;-)

-- Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.