Engraving inlay?

[khaos]

:confused:
I want to create an engraving on a wood surface, fill the cut with a colored liquid/semi-solid material that will cure/dry/harden machinable and then surface the engraved material to create a crisp finish with an inlay appearance. Preferably something impervious to stain. But beggars can only choose so much.

[bleeth]

Epoxy with powder dye color is commonly used. There has been a lot of discussion on this in the past. Some make their own with West system or one of the other popular epoxies and there are also products special made for it. The dye is typically powder. Art supply stores usually carry it and a couple of the regulars on the forum have their own "pet" brands you can get online.

[billp]

http://www.inlaceonline.com/index.html

[khaos]

Sweet. The inlace product looks nice too. I will have to test the stain resistance of the differing products! I hope more folks post a link and a blurb to their favorite polymer

-My Thanks in advance botters

[curtiss]

For some non-wood items you might like Minwax water soluable stains that will stain grooves/ line work very well.

Lots of colors about $9 a quart. Any excess cleans up very well with 320 grit wet /dry paper

[ckurak]

Joe,

I have done that with Famowood wood filler in the past. From a technical standpoint, it worked well. It did take some sanding to even the surface again, as I had applied too much. But, the end result looked pretty good. It comes in a variety of colors. I selected a contrasting color so it was easy to see the pattern.

The problem was...

I showed it to someone and they said it looked fine. I explained the process to them. They then replied that they thought it had been "painted" on. All that carving work was wasted on them.

Evidently the Famowood was too consistent in its color, so one could mistake it for paint.

Now, Bill's idea of Inlace should not have that problem from what I remember about Inlace. That product should not have a pure consistent color that looks like paint.

Good luck!

[widgetworks_unlimited]

My experience with Inlace was terrible.

The folks that sold it to me provided some of the best customer service I've ever received - they seemed to have lots of experience with the product and they spent a long time giving me tips and tricks over the phone. If I was able to get the stuff to work I would have rushed to share news about this product here on the forum.

Unfortunately, my Inlace project never fully cured. The sections that did cure looked like amber resin with a small amount of metal powder mixed in, not like solid metal as the online pictures and description advertised. And, the polyester resin used in the product wreaks! I wouldn't recommend trying this product indoors - even with windows/doors open and fans blowing.

It wasn't my first time using epoxy/fillers and I was careful with my measurements, temperatures, used brand new material, etc. I don't know what went wrong.

This technique could be a great asset so I'm sure I'll try something along these lines again someday. Next time I'll do a test batch first. Best of luck with your project...

[bob_s]

I agree that inlace and wood do not seem to be a good combination. Inlace did send me a full refund, and luckily my problems were on a test piece.
I did have great results with their metal flakes and dust mixed into system three epoxy called Mirror Coat.
I did find that you need to hand sand it, too much heat with a sander. I went to 400 and got a perfectly clean surface.

[gripus]

I have used the InLace products for about five years or so with great results. Often, I do not need to mix a full ounce so there is some guess work in how much hardner to use but there seems to be a good bit of latitude. I have used five or six of the different colors as well as the mother of pearl dye. The mother of pearl works best on larger areas. I have filled in some letters 3/8" tall and it looked pretty much white/gray but in larger areas it is quite passable as MOP.

I use a table top belt sander to get most of the excess off but, as has been mentioned, you have to be very careful not to overheat it. I sand a little on one grip, then set it aside to cool while I sand on the other.

When setting inlays, I will often use the clear to secure them because, unlike most epoxies, it dries clear.

I have used it successfully in Corian and several species of wood.

Joe