Finally! Finishing Success

[Dadof2and2]

I like the natural color of red oak. I make most of my signs in red oak. Previously I would sand the work piece, apply a few coats of waxless shellac, carve , paint the lettering with latex, sand off the paint from the uncarved areas (I suck at painting!) and spray a couple of coats of polyurethane . My results were fair at best. With oak being porous there were often areas on the sign where some of the excess paint did not sand off completely. The waxless shellac just did not seem to seal the piece well. The paint would adhere to the shellac requiring quite a bit of finishing sanding.

On the last few signs I've made I changed my modus operandi. I sanded the work piece, brushed on several coats of polyurethane, carved, painted the lettering, sanded with 400 grit paper, and sprayed one coat of poly. I sanded with 220 grit paper between the poly coats. When I painted the carved areas I wiped off the excess paint with a lint free cloth within a minute or two of painting an area. Having prepared the piece with enough coats of poly to create a smooth surface (about 6) the excess paint wiped off easily. After the paint dried I wiped the entire piece with a damp cloth.

It's more work but the results are a lot better.

[vgraves]

I like the look of this plaque, very nice work.

It sounds like you don't use your router to flatten the top surface...do you have any issues with thickness variations such that the small characters (or tree branches) don't carve deep enough in some areas? After carving, you've got unfinished edges. Do you try to "catch them up" with the top surface before applying the post-carving finish coat? Or do you just include them in the final coat of poly or leave them unfinished?

Van

[glenninvb]

Looks great,

Re: Shellac....That's why I prefer to spray on a couple coats of lacquer sanding sealer which will dry in minutes (after surfacing if needed) then carve, spray carving w/ same sealer, paint fill, let dry and sand off excess paint fill.
The lacquer sanding sealer is completely sanded off anyway........ of course this wouldn't work if using lacquer based paint for fill and generally use acrylics (exterior for outdoor) which won't react.....also find that fairly heavy bodied brush on fill paints work best (no bleeding). Good quality artist acrylics for small indoor plaques.... Finish w/ desired top-coat.

But I would stick to what works for you! ...everyone has method to madness......yours looks very nice.

[Dadof2and2]

I was originally buying the S2S oak by the board foot and had a few issues with uneven thickness. I also had a lot of waste with flaws, cracks etc. Last year I started buying it as dimensional lumber from a local lumber yard. It was considerably more consistent. With the reduction of waste and the fact the thickness is consistent it is actually more cost effective. I have to make sure I eliminate any bow in the boards with aggressive clamping. I've done a few motorcycle signs were the depth on the details is .035 and they have come out ok.

I spray a coat of clear matte on the back and hit the edges at the same time. I hit them again when I spray the poly on the front.

[Jane Ndungu]

This looks very very nice, what bit have you used to do this work?

Kind regards
Jane.

[Dadof2and2]

On the family sign I used a 60 degree vbit for the word "Family" and the tree. I used a 22.5 degree engraving bit for the small text. On the motorcycle sign I used a 22.5 degree engraving bit for the motorcycle and the text. I used a .25" downcut endmill to cut out both of the signs.

[Jane Ndungu]

Good morning Vectric
Thanks Dado for the info

Kind regards
Jane.

[glenninvb]

Dado,
What fonts on the family sign?
Thanks,
Glenn

[Dadof2and2]

"Family" is Great Vibes font. http://www.fontspace.com/typesetit/great-vibes
The small lettering is Script 1L. It's installed with Vcarve Pro.

[ecurb5]

Dadof2and2,

I use to do the same, but have simplified the process to doing the vcarving with a starting depth of 0.03, then hitting it with a sealer or heavy poly coat. After that drys, hit it with black stencil ink in a rattle can followed with a plaining step (I setup a pocket toolpath over the entire piece) to shave off that 0.03 which takes care of cleaning up and flattening the surface all at once. Hit it a bit of sanding then finish off with the final coats of poly.

-Bruce

[CaesarS]

Bruce,

What bit do you use for the planing step? I've used a 0.5" bit and I can see striations following the toolpath.

What is the process you do to plane the surface?

Thank you, Caesar.

[woody53]

I really like the Family sign. I like footprints in the sand too. I may do both, if its ok to use your design ?

Dave

[Dadof2and2]

I really like the Family sign. I like footprints in the sand too. I may do both, if its ok to use your design ?

Dave

Feel free to use it.

[Ms Wolffie]

Where did you get the tree from, please?
I have been looking for something like that.

[Dadof2and2]

Where did you get the tree from, please?
I have been looking for something like that.

I have no idea where I obtained the file. Attached is the JPG file. I modified it in Vcarve. Also attached is a CRV file with the edited vector.

tree.crv

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