V Carved Signs

[bud_olsen]

I just got my PRT 96 about a month ago and have had a very good time with it. We are going to start making small V carved signs out of western red cedar. We have tried painting the V carve black and the problem with it is after spraying the words black it bleeds in to the grains and does not look very good at all. No matter how much sanding I do, I still can't get the bleeding out. I was going to try to put a clear coat on it first and then try the black.

Does someone have a suggestion for fixing this problem? Or should I use a different type of material? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bud

[ron brown]

Bud,

Sealing before coating is the only thing I have found that works.

Ron

[alano]

Bud, what I usually do is leave the blank about 1/32" thicker than needed and about 4" longer, then I do my vcarving, then paint the lettering - face of the blank and all. Then I run the blank through my surface planer and it cleans everything up perfectly. Just remember to set your zzero to equal 0 at 1/32" below the unplaned surface. Also cut the 2" off from each end to remove any planer snipe.

[jay]

Bud, go to this post. There is some very good information regarding v-carving and painting.
http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=2&post=13718#POST13718

[joe]

Bud,

We use 3# clear shellac. It dries very fast and seals off absorbtion or bleed through.

Joe

[daniel]

I've had Luck painting it with clear coat first just as you suggested.

[bud_olsen]

I have tried cutting the words and filling them with a sealer, then painting them and I still get the bleeding. I have come to the conclusion that I just have some poor quality wood! ( the wood was a Woodcraft wood of the month special ) ?



Thanks
Bud

[joe]

Bud,

I don't know what sealer you are using but you should do fine with shellac. This is the brush on variety. Two coats may be necessary.

Western red cedar is very pourus. We often use the rough cut materials, sealed it off, and 23k guilded the V carv letters.

Another technique to consider is a sanding sealer. It too dries very fast and has a little more body

Joe

[fleinbach]

Bud

I was looking for some sort of sealer to seal the end grain of MDF. MDF end grain is far more porous than any wood. After lots of experimentation with primers and several sanding sealers I found something that seals far better than all the rest. It is made by Plaid and is called Folk Art sanding sealer. It comes in a spray can and is available online or from a local JoAnn's fabric. It is for hours and $4.99 a can from JoAnn's. And if you use their weekly 40% discount coupon it's only $2.99 a can. If you sand between coats you can get by with two coats. It is the only thing I have found that will make it end grain of MDF as hard as the surface.

[gene_marshall]

I have given up on MDF for a MILLION little airborn reasons.
However, this week I cut extira for the first time.

No headache, no asthma reaction, although the mess is still unbeleivable.

I only cut this after having a samble sitting in a bucket of water for 4 weeks.
My caliper says it gained .002

I have not tried to finish it yet.
I will tell you how I make out.
Gene

[fleinbach]

Boy, I gotta stop being in a hurry and start proofreading.

[joe]

Gene,

I agree with you about Extira being messy but it sure has a place in our shop.

We have had some difficulty with paint adhesion. Here are my two cents.

Water based primers aren't very good on a water resistant material. What seems to be bullet proof is epoxy that has been cut by about thirty percent with lacquer thinner. This soaks right in and provides a good hard coat to paint on.

I really like Extira for V carving.

Joe
www.normansignco.com (http://www.normansignco.com)

[bud_olsen]

Thanks to every one that gave me some ideas on this problem, I found some thing that dose work on the paint bleeding. I carved the sign and then put a good coat of Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer on it and then painted it, It worked just fine!

Thanks again for the help!

Bud

[pete]

Bud
What was your source for the Sanding Sealer pls.
Thanks, Pete

[bud_olsen]

Pete

Is it http://www.arizonasilhouette.com/. It is the place I get all of my pen making supplies from.

Bud