Heart shaped wedding photo prop

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Turtle49
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Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by Turtle49 »

I made this for my nieces upcoming wedding. In the lower corner you can see where I got the idea from. It is Hickory, vcarved...then I used gel stain to darken the letters.
image.jpeg
Tim :D
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by scottp55 »

And again:)
NICE finish job on both!
scott
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by mtylerfl »

Wow! Beautiful work, Tim!
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rmcdonal
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by rmcdonal »

That looks awesome. Can I ask how you applied the finish? I'm having a pain getting the letters blackened without bleeding into the main wood. So far it's been hit and miss by carving deep, spraying black paint then sanding off the top.

Rich
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Turtle49
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by Turtle49 »

rmcdonal wrote:That looks awesome. Can I ask how you applied the finish? I'm having a pain getting the letters blackened without bleeding into the main wood. So far it's been hit and miss by carving deep, spraying black paint then sanding off the top.

Rich
No problem,
- First thing I do after carving is seal the grain with, at least, two coats of lacquer or polyurethane. This will clog up the pores in the wood and retard any bleeding. On open grain woods like Oak for example, you want more coats to seal the grain.

- After the seal coats have dried, I dab in the gel stain with a foam brush. I imagine you could use latex paint as well, but I have only used the gel stain because it always works for me.
Dab gel stain
Dab gel stain
After dabbing
After dabbing
- Then I wipe off the excess stain with a paper towel. During this step be careful not to force the paper towel down into the carving. There will be surface discoloration, but you will sand the top surface after the stain has dried.
Wipe excess
Wipe excess
- I usually wait over night for the gel stain to dry. Then I re-sand the top surface to get any discoloration off. Then I apply one or two more coats of lacquer or polyurethane as needed.

Hope this helps.
Tim
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www.HornshawWoodWorks.com

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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by glenninvb »

rmcdonal wrote:That looks awesome. Can I ask how you applied the finish? I'm having a pain getting the letters blackened without bleeding into the main wood. So far it's been hit and miss by carving deep, spraying black paint then sanding off the top.

Rich
Aerosol spray paint is very thin, likes to wick and the solvents too can cause bleeding. Like Tim's beautiful work, I've heard many use gel stain. For interior text fill I use Artist Acrylic in tubes mixed with a touch of acrylic gloss medium for flow.... brush fill text, let dry a few hours or overnight and sand surface clean. Colors unlimited with mixing and the tubes last a long time. I've clear coated with just about everything when dry, but generally use various sheens of aerosol lacquers.

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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by FixitMike »

To prevent bleeding, I first apply a coat or two of sanding sealer, shellac, or the finish varnish, after carving. It also makes it easier to remove the paint I didn't get into the carving.
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by glenninvb »

I assumed he (Rich) was sealing first?.... but yes you must or should with most wood specie..

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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by rmcdonal »

Thanks for the info. Judging from the gloss on your board I need to use a better sealer and more of it. I think I'll try shellac. The basswood end grain blank soaks up pre-stain sealer or lacquer or spray poly like a roll of toilet paper. Two coats of lacquer didn't seal it.
It took over 9 coats of spray urethane to get the finish to gloss up.
Off to the hardware store.

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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by ohiococonut »

Tim, I basically use the same process for filling in flat work except for wiping with paper towels. The surface is too uneven for me and doesn't leave crisp lines.
I don't like having to sand a finished project or worry about the dust discoloring the paint/stain fill so I use a different cleaning technique.
I use a lot of rattle can paint for filling and if I'm painting a small area I mask off the larger surface with wax paper and painters tape so I don't have to clean the entire surface. Once it's sealed I take a piece of cotton rag and wet it with acetone and squeeze it tightly to remove any excess and set it aside to evaporate for a minute. Then I spray my lettering or carving. Next, I wrap the cotton rag tightly around a flat piece of wood that measures 3/4"wide 6"long x 4" tall and drag it across the painted surface with the 3/4" flat surface. The damp cloth removes the excess paint without going into any of the grooves and doesn't really affect the poly finish. If your cloth is too wet the acetone will get squeezed into the carving. As the rag gets coated with paint, obviously you move it to a clean spot on the rag. I've found it works best while the paint is still wet and only drag it in one direction. If the paint dries your rag will have to be wetter to attack the paint and it will also remove some of the poly.
It took me a while to figure out how to do this but I never have to sand the surface and I'm able to apply finish soon after the paint dries.
If you're not wearing gloves your hands tend to get covered with paint. I've been meaning to make a holder for the cleaning rag but haven't gotten around to it.
I've used this technique on all of my flat carving and oak is the only wood I've carved that it doesn't work well on because of the grain unless you use a filler before applying a finish.

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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by FixitMike »

rmcdonal wrote: It took over 9 coats of spray urethane to get the finish to gloss up.
Off to the hardware store.
When I need a gloss finish on woods with large pores, I use a clear wood filler before carving. Read the directions. Much easier than 9 coats.
AquaCoat is one brand, CrystaLac Wood Grain Filler is another.
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Re: Heart shaped wedding photo prop

Post by Rcnewcomb »

I agree with Mike. AquaCoat is very easy to use.
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