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Douglas J Miller
06-11-2011, 3:07 PM
Here's a newbie question if there ever was one. Sorry if this seems too simple, but I haven't got it yet, so here goes:
A local group had me engrave names on the sides of pen boxes for some hand turned pens the groups leader spent the last few weeks turning. I put blue painters tape on them before I did the engraving. Now they want it gold color filled. I picked up some rub-n-buff after reading about it on here. Simple, right? Not for me!
Never used it before. I put the stuff on, and buff it out. I tried it out while it was still a bit wet. But during the buffing it pulled out of the letters. It also pulled the tape out of the centers of a few letters, like a 'O'and a 'D', and smeared the stuff all over. Okay, so I let it dry overnight. Now when I pull the tape off it looks flat, like somebody did a bad job color filling it (that would be me, I guess). Do you buff this stuff out wet or dry? How long do I need to let it dry to get best results? And finally, if you do screw it up, how do you get it off the surface where it's not 'posed to be?
I have one (read that ONLY one) extra box to play with. And it's only two weeks until these will be handed out to the top volunteers of the year. And here I am getting my knickers in a twist wondering how many I'll screw up!

John Noell
06-11-2011, 3:54 PM
I have found that there is an "ideal" window for buffing. For me it is about 12-18 hours after application (depending on the weather). Before that it is too wet and pulls out. After that it gets really hard to buff. That said, a bit of denatured alcohol dissolves it easily and if it is a smooth surface, the "mistakes" come off easily.

Rodne Gold
06-11-2011, 5:32 PM
It comes off with turpentine , let it dry and wipe off excess with a VERY lightly turps moistened lint free cloth (t shirt material wrapped over a flat piece of pex works,) try not to scoop out large area fills , easist to apply by using a toothbrush to rub it into the engraved areas.
Gilders paste is about 1/10th of the price as rub 'n buff and is not as runny , its a wax base and is a lot easier to work with.

Mike Null
06-11-2011, 5:36 PM
You can also use odorless mineral spirits as a solvent.

John Noell
06-11-2011, 6:29 PM
Yes, turps and mineral spirits work, but DNA evaporates so much quickly and there never is any oily residue to deal with. Unless you are doing lots of surface the extra cost of DNA is worth convenience for me. And I have tried gilder's paste but find is is not as easy to work into the engravings I do. The paste makes a nice gilding sheen on things, but when I want to FILL letters (esp. in coconut shell) the RnB is worth the minimal extra costs for the ease and look.

Douglas J Miller
06-11-2011, 8:03 PM
Thank you all!

I just headed over and put some on a piece. Now, to start the count down... Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Knowing it can be cleaned up is a load off of my mind.

Again, thank you! I can't afford to mess this up, and it's something I need to learn to do right. For my own projects, if nothing else.

Bill Cunningham
06-11-2011, 9:14 PM
If the boxes are wood, you would be better off masking, and using some gold metallic paint.. Neither product will 'gold fill' (in the true sense of the term) the engraving if it's deep..

Mike Null
06-12-2011, 7:38 AM
There are a lot of good answers here but color filling wood is always a hit or miss project until you gain some experience with various finishes and woods. Rule number one is that the engraved area should be sealed so that the fill doesn't spread by capillary action into the grain of the wood. A finished surface also makes it easier to remove paint which has seeped under the mask.

I prefer to use a good quality gold paint to R&B. My perception is that R&B is easy but rarely the best result that you can get.

Larry Bratton
06-12-2011, 11:11 AM
There are a lot of good answers here but color filling wood is always a hit or miss project until you gain some experience with various finishes and woods. Rule number one is that the engraved area should be sealed so that the fill doesn't spread by capillary action into the grain of the wood. A finished surface also makes it easier to remove paint which has seeped under the mask.

I prefer to use a good quality gold paint to R&B. My perception is that R&B is easy but rarely the best result that you can get.

I have never achieved a decent result with that product. Gold paint works better.

Dan Hintz
06-12-2011, 6:04 PM
I have never achieved a decent result with that product. Gold paint works better.
Nod to this...

Terry Swift
06-14-2011, 6:55 PM
Agree that R&B is a tough product to get the "right" results. Color filling is as all mentioned - a learned science - if one. My shop is filling with different filling materials and no one works best on any given material. With wood, if you don't seal - watch the viens run deep with color and your project shot. I've used shellac and poly; with no real winner - but price for either. Acrylic is a totally different beast that I'm still trying to get right. Sometimes paint fill works great and with ease - others it's like wet R&B - fill comes out and leaves a mess. An acrylics supplier showed me that he doesn't even use tape / mask. He lasers, paints (fills), then takes a sanding block with a paper towel and some Lift Off / Goof Off (petrol product - no plant based) and wipes paint away after the sheen is gone. Of course he has his lasering down and consistent - so he can do that. I tried and maybe my lasering was not deep enough, etc. - but fill came off too (not all, but enough to have to redo over again).

Haven't tried gilders paste - not sure if I've ever seen it. U.S. products can be so different than all you in other parts of the world and vice-versa.

Douglas J Miller
06-14-2011, 7:44 PM
Well, here's the verdict on the color fill: I'm not going to do it. I engraved the pens and the display cases, and the color fill was never part of the deal. I could give it a shot and make a bit extra if I cared too, as they put it. As of tonight, I don't care to. I just can't get it to look right.

I'll do a lot of practice on my own projects and give it a go for others in the future. Right now I just need to recognize that I'm just not experienced enough to do the job justice. I'm sure they will be a bit disappointed, but better that than a really ruined job and an unhappy customer.

Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions. I'll be trying them all, just on my own stuff for now....