Text on text finishing

[bigduke6]

I've learned how to mill out the text on text signs by the tutorials. They came out great and my wife loves them. What process are you using to finish them? I've been doing mostly VCarve signs with one color then sanding. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[rgerding]

I have been spraying the base piece prior to carving with Verathane. Then I paint the letters with a water base paint. You can easily wipe any paint outside the lines with a wet rag or paper towel. Works great.

[FixitMike]

You can apply the paint for the top text before carving. If you don't want paint on the frame, mask it off. After carving, apply Varathane or other finish to the whole thing, and then paint the text as desired. The Varathane will prevent bleeding when you paint, as well as making it easy to wipe off what you don't want, as was mentioned by rgerding.