Another sealing before finishing question

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DanB.
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Another sealing before finishing question

Post by DanB. »

I cannot seem to get the wood to seal properly before painting color into the carving. I am using a spray can of Bulls Eye Shellac and spraying several coats, letting it dry well between coats. The color always seems to bleed under the sealer. I would really appreciate any suggestions. I will try to post a picture of my problem.
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Strat
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by Strat »

I use high performance water base by general finish, I spray it and it works very well for me.

DanB.
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by DanB. »

Thanks for the info on General Finish but no one handles it in Yuma or the surrounding area.

signmarketingman
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by signmarketingman »

think about using a technique that seals end grain. That is what you have there. The cut creates an end grain.

Seal, stain and then sand..

glenninvb
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by glenninvb »

Dan,
I assume your sealing before carving?
I use shellac or lacquer sanding sealer, on tight grained wood and using a fairly viscous paint it works fine with no bleeding. In your case I would simply seal the carved areas (lightly, like with lacquer sealer or thinned shellac), to prevent the bleeding. It won't affect the adhesion enough to be a problem, specially if you topcoat after.

Not sure what type wood that is but if the fill paint is to thin and slow drying it could bleed w/o sealing after carving , try using a artist oil or acrylic paint from a tube. I use acrylic with a little polymer additive and it doesn't bleed. If your spraying the text or design fill use very light coats that will flash quick and they shouldn't bleed.
I use an airbrush for some things, the paint flash dry's quick, specially with a hair dryer between coats.


Actually, I just looked at your photo closely and it looks like it wasn't sealed before filling and not a bleed issue? What are you using to paint fill?
Last edited by glenninvb on Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

KENYPETE
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by KENYPETE »

Here is what has been working for me:

I carve the letters then brush on a coat of zinsser shellac using a foam brush and getting it down into the carved letters. Let it dry then use acrylic paint in the carved area then sand off the shellac and apply whatever finish I'm using, currently using spray on lacquer.

Ken

glenninvb
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by glenninvb »

If you seal before carving I think you get less chipping and fuzz around the carving, At least I seem to, using lacquer sealer or thin shellac.

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FixitMike
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by FixitMike »

I've used shellac, water based acrylic, and wipe on poly to seal. All seem to work well.

I agree with glenn's post about sealing before carving. But I also seal (almost always) after carving. Sometimes, when I'm using a fine grained wood like maple, I don't bother to seal after cutting. I will often apply a wood filler to open grain woods (and sand) to achieve a smooth surface.

After carving and lightly sanding to get rid of the worst of the fuzzies, I coat with the sealer. After I apply it, and while still wet, I use compressed air to blow excess sealer out of fine lines and into the pores.

I mask around the letter area, and then apply the filler paint (acrylic) and wipe off what I can. After it dries, I sand off the mess on the surface, and then apply the finish coats.
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glenninvb
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by glenninvb »

Mike,

I agree with all you said as well, it looks like the OP's problem is using a thin paint like spray paint or stain that is penetrating his sealer, I noticed color in the grain outside the lettering.

I know from reading some of the sign makers using very rough grainy woods go as far as using a rubber cement based product to seal the wood before carving

http://www.3dsignforum.com/index.php?to ... xY42o2YbIU

DanB.
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by DanB. »

Thanks to everyone for all the replies.
glenninvb: I am not sealing before carving. I used several coats of the Bullseye Shellac after v-carving. It is from a spray can so maybe the coats are too thin. The wood is common pine. The fill paint this time was Rust-Oleum gloss protective enamel in a spray can, is enamel the wrong thing to use? Perhaps I did not spray a light enough coat each time.

KENYPETE: Thanks for your suggestion. I have not tried brushing the shellac on just spraying, my spraying may be not allowing enough coverage. I will have to purchase a can of mixed shellac.

FixitMike: Thank you for your info on this problem also. I will try the sealing before carving. I would prefer a water based sealer but most of the sealers I have found here are oil based, only have 2 more paint stores to try.

Dan

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FixitMike
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by FixitMike »

I use a water base acrylic finish, not a sealer. It is Minwax's Polycryllic which I bought at my local Ace Hardware. The acrylic paint I use for fill is also water base, sold at hobby shops. Both are brushed on. I use the stiffest brush I can find to fill the lettering.
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by COWBOY1296 »

Seal seal and then seal again. I typically do two or three brushed on coats of diluted poly. On one of my last signs in poplar I wanted to experiment with stencil ink. I sealed the board, set my v-carving to cut .03 below the surface of the board, did the carving, sealed the letters, sprayed the heck out of it with stencil ink, then did a .03 pocket cut on the surface of the sign. If there was any bleeding I cut below the surface. Just another way of doing it.

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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by bgriggs »

Danb,

I did a series of blog posts about a year ago that dealt with exactly how I sealed the wood and finished it. Part 7-9 of my CNC sign Project deal with the actual finishing of the sign including some methods I tested that worked and some that didn't work.

Here is a link to part seven. http://www.makermasters.com/cnc-sign-pr ... yng-finish

Hope this helps.

Bill
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DanB.
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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by DanB. »

Another thanks to all who replied.
FixitMike: My Home Depot carries the Minwax Polycrylic so I will give it a try.

COWBOY1296: I will also have to try your method if I still have problems.

bgriggs: I went to your site and read the entire article, very well done, I enjoyed the information. Signed up for the e-mail. Is it still possible to get a PDF of the article?

Thanks again,
Dan

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Re: Another sealing before finishing question

Post by antennasDIY »

I know this thread is a bot old, but, I wanted to ask a question. I have been trying to carve some pine boards. I used Krylon clear on the boards before carving, then mask then carve and then more Krylon in the letters and paint. But I am getting bleeding into the wood. So I used sanding sealer on the wood first and in the letters, same thing.
So I tried just sanding and it makes a mess. I don't know if it's the Krylon but something gums up everything and puts goo all over the boards.

Please what have people been successful with on pine? I'd love to make the letters nice and crisp and when they bleed , even a little it looks like crap.

What's your process that's worked??
Please help me out.

Thanks.

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