Sealing ans sikkens

[cowboy1296]

I know the answer is on here somewhere, but I found myself in a bind for time and the weather is not helping. I have a large 3-d sign that I am making for our local park out of Perfect Planks western red cedar. I plan on painting the letters with stencil ink. So the letters need to be sealed to prevent bleeding. Then i will spray with the stencil ink and sand off the excess ink. I am thinking that i want to sand off the sealer entirely so that the sikkens will stick/adhere. Any suggestions on the sealer that i should use or does it matter or will the sikkens adhere to what ever sealer that i use.

Thanks in advance.http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=28033&stc=1

[joe]

Rick,

Congrats on the beautiful panel.

You'll not have any problem getting Sikkens to stick. I've even painted it on PVC and it adheres perfectly. I've not used stencil ink so I don't know how thin it is but under normal circumstances a spray can of shellac will provide an excellent barrier. Sands like a dream.

As you know Sikkens comes in several shades. On Western Red Cedar it can quickly go dark making black letters hard to read. Off hand I'd suggest looking at the "Blond" color. You can always go over it, in a few days, with a darker color if you like. You'll need a good two full coats.

If your panel looks dark, from the start, you could bleach it a little with laundry bleach. It make a couple of soaks to get the depth you desire. Be sure to give extra coats to seal off the edges of the wood. In a couple of years that's where you'll see the first signs of age.

To give a little extra class you could use two colors of Sikkens. The border could have a "Natural Cedar" with a background of "Blond"

Good luck with the project.

[cowboy1296]

Thanks for the reply Joe. Let me pick your brain a little more. About 4 years ago i bought this western red cedar from Perfect Plank. It was enough to make this Bar sign and the plaque that i am working on now. As you can see the plank has a streaked effect caused by color differences in the laminates. Should i finish the plaque steaked like this (which does look good) or try and color the blonde only pieces first followed by a second coat over the entire plaque. Any how thanks for the advice.http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=28034&stc=1

[James M]

Rick,

When you cut Western Red Cedar do you cut it twice to get rid of the fuzzies?

Thanks,

J

[cowboy1296]

I was fully expecting fuzzies, but there were virtually none. Its still on the bot and i will inspect it more later. The plaque is roughly 20x21 and i used a 1/8 ball nose for the finishing and 8 percent step over and i cut with the grain.

[joe]

Rick,

That panel has lots of color in it. Not sure how to overcome it unless you use one of the semi-opaque stain. The advantage is it will outlast Sikkens. Even when I apply a heavy, heavy coat of Sikkens it will begin to show weathering in three or four years depending on the direction it faces. I probably should mention a transparent coating is faster to apply.

[cowboy1296]

Gotcha. Now that i have slept on it i think that i will not try and change the streaks. A gallon of sikkens Log and Siding costs about 90 dollars where i live. Thank goodness it goes a long ways and i have some. The environment here in Colorado can be damaging. I will suggest that they dont point it to the south.

[joe]

Sikkens now comes in quarts which will go a long way. They also have a That's what I buy now because it doesn't last all that well once opened. It's a disappointment to open a can to find it's separated and won't go back in solution.

sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&FORM=IGRE (http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&qpvt=sikkens+log+stain&FORM=IGRE)

[cowboy1296]

I did not know that, thanks for the info

[cowboy1296]

Joe when you are talking about separation are you speaking only of the colored sikkens. Would the natural suffer from this problem as well?

[joe]

Not sure. Don't think it makes any difference since there's a varnish, thick coat which forms on the surface. I guess this is their hardening agent.

They also make "Door & Sill" which is a little thicker and more glossy. I think it's made with more moisture resistance. I've only used it twice for a color fades. All their products are excellent for blending. That's because if you don't like the effect it's easily removed with a rag.

www.normansignco.com