How do you paint a sign using two different colours?

[Shane]

How do you paint a sign with engraved areas and keep it looking professional without the colours blending together? I have attached an example of sign that I'll assume is painted in two different colours.

I've tried hand painting the engraved areas but the end result is not a crisp clean edge between the colours. I've tried spraying the engraved areas and then rolling another colour over the top but this causes the roller to dip slightly into unwanted areas and also a rolled finish doesn't look anywhere near as nice as using a spray gun.

I'll be working mainly with MDF and hardwood timber. Any help would be great.

Shane.

[genek]

I AM JUST LEARNING TO MAKE SIGNS SO TAKE MY ADVISE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
PAINT THE LETTER FIRST.. LET DRY... THE ROLLER YOU NEED IS A SMALL ROLLER WITH A TIGHT MAT... ROLL OUT MOST OF THE PAINT ON A SCRAP OF CARD BOARD. THEN ROLL AROUND AND OVER THE LETTERS VERY CAREFULLY. GO TO http://www.precisionboard.com/ WATCH THEIR VIDEO'S ONE SHOWS A MAN PAINTING LIKE I SUGGESTED TO YOU.. AGAIN I AM JUST LEARNING... ALSO GO TO THIS SITE AND ASK THE SAME QUESTION http://www.3dsignforum.com (http://www.3dsignforum.com/)

[Shane]

I did an experiment this afternoon. I sprayed this slab of Huon Pine with a few layers of clear coat. Once all dried, I put engraved it using the CNC. Painted the engraved areas with black paint just using a paint brush and not worrying about putting black paint on the top surface.

Once that dried I sanded off the surface and hit it with another layer of clear coat. The clear coat did the trick and stopped the paint from being absorbed into the timber.

I should be able to use this idea to protect the top surface of other signs where it is painted.

Thanks Eugene for those links. I'll check them out.

[bobmoore]

Try shellac for your clear coat. It is a little more convenient, dries quickly, and still seals well. Bob

[joe]

Uh, I don't know!

As Everyone knows I'm a shellac fiend. However it's a poor clear coat. Will not last with any kind of heat, cold or moisture. It's strong suit is as a sealer/primer.

Try one of the many selections by MinWax.

[genek]

Joe crumley what type of paint do you recommend and what brand.

[bobmoore]

Shane clearly stated that he was sanding off the top surface so the shellac was NOT a clear coat or any kind of coat at all.
Bob

[Brady Watson]

There are several ways to do this...I am not a sign maker, so take it for what it's worth.

In the past I have pre-finished the sign blank and let it cure really well - sometimes this takes a few days depending on humidity. Then cover the face of the sign blank with GerberMask Ultra II - It is not cheap, but it works pretty well. Then carve through the GMU2 and put your design into the sign. Clean it, and then paint or size the areas you want to paint or gold leaf. It holds a pretty crisp edge with little bleed as long as you use sharp tools.

The other thing that may work for you is 'Snake Oil' as Joe C. coined - rubber cement that is applied to the pre-finished blank as above, carved through and peeled off. While I haven't tried this, I have used PVA (Polyvinyl Acrylate), like they use for fiberglass mold release. It takes time to apply in several thin coats (or it will alligator) and it washes off with warm soapy water.

I've also heard of using a white potato cut in half and rubbed all over the surface of the pre-finished blank to coat it with a film of starch. A noble idea, but I have no 1st hand experience doing it.

-B

[gc3]

ask here also...http://www.3dsignforum.com/beginners-start-here/the-beginner-board-where-the-intimidation-factor-is-low/

[Shane]

I would normally use shellac but have found it takes too many coats to get a thick covering on the surface. The waterborne urethane varnish I have started using goes on thicker so only one or two coats are needed to stop any excess paint penetrating the top surface. And being water based, the dry time is only an hour or two.

Also I was told that if I use shellac it has to be fully cured otherwise the metho will react with the water based paints and cause cracking issues. So even thought the shellac dries quickly, I would still be forced to wait for a day or at least several hours. So that defeats the purpose of using Shellac.

I will try another sign in the next few days but this will be MDF and have a painted surface and contrasting painted engraved section. I only sand back the vanish enough to get rid of any unwanted paint that was used in the engraved areas. Once that paint is removed, i will spray the whole sign with the varnish to finish it off.

[joe]

I'm completely out of suggestions. I'm amazed!

[Shane]

I'm completely out of suggestions. I'm amazed!

Is that a good or bad 'amazed' ?

[Iceman567]

I did an experiment this afternoon. I sprayed this slab of Huon Pine with a few layers of clear coat. Once all dried, I put engraved it using the CNC. Painted the engraved areas with black paint just using a paint brush and not worrying about putting black paint on the top surface.

Once that dried I sanded off the surface and hit it with another layer of clear coat. The clear coat did the trick and stopped the paint from being absorbed into the timber.

I should be able to use this idea to protect the top surface of other signs where it is painted.

Thanks Eugene for those links. I'll check them out.

I use the same method for an ENGRAVED sign. Engrave sign, spray clear coat into and around letters, paint, sand off sealer/excess paint. Seal with appropriate finish. Works well.

[genek]

mr. zoccoli: what font did you use on the sign live to ride like that font...
thanks

[letterman7]

There are several ways to do this...I am not a sign maker, so take it for what it's worth.

In the past I have pre-finished the sign blank and let it cure really well - sometimes this takes a few days depending on humidity. Then cover the face of the sign blank with GerberMask Ultra II - It is not cheap, but it works pretty well. Then carve through the GMU2 and put your design into the sign. Clean it, and then paint or size the areas you want to paint or gold leaf. It holds a pretty crisp edge with little bleed as long as you use sharp tools.

-B

This. Since I don't like carving through paint hand having the worry about the second color not having the same 'surface' as the main color (or, with gold leaf, having to try to set a gild on a new prime) I usually paint the entire sign with whatever it's going to be. Then I'll run a paint mask from FDC's 2905 series (Brady's Gerbermask works well, too) on my plotter using the same file I set up the carve file with, and reverse weed the copy to be painted or gilded. Place the mask over the carved letters and away you go. A little more work, but very little cleanup and no worries about tearing the mask while carving.

You can do the same thing if you don't have a sign plotter, but you'll need a roll of pre-mask (transfer tape). Put the transfer tape over the carved copy and run a pencil, side down, over the edges of the letters. Peel the mask up and put it on your stencil mask and hand-cut the letters that way. Put more transfer tape over the stencil to move the mask back to the sign.

[Iceman567]

mr. zoccoli: what font did you use on the sign live to ride like that font...
thanks
That is 'Airstream'. Free download from www.dafont.com

[donek]

That is 'Airstream'. Free download from www.dafont.com

I don't do signs, but we just did 125 of these boxes. We just did the v-carving 0.020in too deep, spray painted, and then planed off 0.020in.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zhVdGIHqTI4/UAtH6C2ZDMI/AAAAAAAAACY/jKQOD7dhX_0/s912/0721121822.jpg

[Shane]

I ended up making these wooden scrabble letters by the technique I described earlier. The tiles are actually 20cm square, 9mm thick MDF. Painted white and then a couple of coats of clear varnish. The numbers/letters were engraved next down to a maximum depth of about 6mm. I hand painted the letters and wiped off the excess. Once dried, I sanded back the surface lightly to cut back into the varnish and remove any excess black paint that was still left on the top surface. Two more coats of varnish applied and this is the end result.

Shane.

[brain]

has anyone tried wax? like a block of parrifin? not sure how everyone else does it, but i always run them back through the planer or drum sander. what about soap? i imagine anything to seal off the precut wood would do the job. and instead of gerbermask, what about that stuff you put over carpet during construction? seems reasonably strong, yet comes up clean. i'm completely new at this so please take it for what its worth, just a few ideas to ponder on.

brian

[chiloquinruss]

I use the same method as Brady but I add one more step. After I cut the vcarve I very lightly spray on a misting of 'clear' to seal the edge of the mask. This way any bleed will be 'clear'. Then do the rest of da' Brady steps. Russ

[gibl5s]

That looks great Shane!!!! What is the font that you used on "our Wedding"?

[Shane]

That looks great Shane!!!! What is the font that you used on "our Wedding"?


I believe I used Champignon Medium font for that engraved text.

Shane.