PDA

View Full Version : Paint for filling engravings on wood



John Tolman
11-21-2012, 12:18 AM
Can anyone give recommendations on types of paint for filling engraved wood? The wood will be masked off with blue painters tape (delicate surface) prior to engraving, and the wood will be pre-finished with Polyxoil (oil and wax mixture, relatively close to danish oil). I am having issues getting dark engravings on species such as bamboo, walnut, etc., which may have something to do with the relative thinness of the wood (1/32" veneers). It seems I can't get enough power down on the wood to get a good darkness without burning through it. That may be a whole other topic, but a quick search doesn't seem to give me any hope for achieving the darkness I want.

I suppose the requirements in order of importance are:

Does not bleed through tape edges
Durable
Opaque (at least with dark colors) requiring minimal number of coats
Hand applied to avoid issues of overspray or use of equipment (I have an HVLP but these are small engravings)
Self leveling, would like to avoid brush marks

I am ok with it being relatively thick and not keeping the hard edges on the edges of the engraving bottom. I am open to a glossy finish, although matte would be better so it would hold up against scratches better, potentially.

Any ideas? I tried a search but most topics are in relation to painting acrylic.

george cashman
11-21-2012, 1:34 AM
There is a product called "Laser Dark", sold by lasersketch. Works very well for darkening the letters on wood engravings. There is also a sealer to go along with it.
Relatively easy to use. Engrave, Spray, dry, seal, dry, remove tape. Hope this helps.

John Tolman
11-21-2012, 1:42 AM
There is a product called "Laser Dark", sold by lasersketch. Works very well for darkening the letters on wood engravings. There is also a sealer to go along with it.
Relatively easy to use. Engrave, Spray, dry, seal, dry, remove tape. Hope this helps.


Sounds good. I'll give it a look.

Michael Hunter
11-21-2012, 5:18 AM
I have found stencil paint to be good for filling engravings in wood.

It is a paste (rather than being runny) so it stays put and does not soak into the grain of the wood.
Wipe off excess easily with a just-damp cloth.

Find it at up-market home decorating stores and also craft supply places.

Dan Hintz
11-21-2012, 6:44 AM
I tend to stay away from anything that requires multiple passes through the laser (e.g., LaserDarc). For wood, I mask, engrave, spray with clear to seal the grain, let dry, spray with desired color, let dry, remove mask.

Mike Null
11-21-2012, 6:52 AM
I am testing an ink made by LaserM Group and find that it brushes on and into the freshly engraved but unsealed area of the engraving. So far I have not noticed any bleeding. My testing has been on lacquered cherry. It cleans with alcohol.

It is a matt black color with good opacity.

Martin Boekers
11-21-2012, 9:59 AM
Shoe polish works, You may have to seal it after engraving so the grain doesn't bleed. I use a dark brownd
forlighter woods as it looks more natural than a black.

Jeff Belany
11-21-2012, 11:32 AM
+1 on the shoe polish. I do a lot of Maple that never lasers dark and the brown shoe polish is just a wipe on, wipe off and done. Wish I would had started using it years ago.

Jeff in northern Wisconsin

Mike Null
11-21-2012, 11:54 AM
I've used shoe polish for a long time but I've had my share of bleeding with it. It is petroleum based.

Robin Lankes
11-21-2012, 12:35 PM
I once tried to get some old pine to engrave darker so I took a test piece and treated it with all the different oils I could lay my hands on (Burmese Teak oil, linseed oil, technical oil...). The results were the opposite to what I expected - it seemed that the oil caused the wood to engrave lighter.

Duncan Crawford
11-21-2012, 3:43 PM
Can anyone give recommendations on types of paint for filling engraved wood? The wood will be masked off with blue painters tape (delicate surface) prior to engraving, and the wood will be pre-finished with Polyxoil (oil and wax mixture, relatively close to danish oil). I am having issues getting dark engravings on species such as bamboo, walnut, etc., which may have something to do with the relative thinness of the wood (1/32" veneers). It seems I can't get enough power down on the wood to get a good darkness without burning through it. That may be a whole other topic, but a quick search doesn't seem to give me any hope for achieving the darkness I want.

I suppose the requirements in order of importance are:

Does not bleed through tape edges
Durable
Opaque (at least with dark colors) requiring minimal number of coats
Hand applied to avoid issues of overspray or use of equipment (I have an HVLP but these are small engravings)
Self leveling, would like to avoid brush marks

I am ok with it being relatively thick and not keeping the hard edges on the edges of the engraving bottom. I am open to a glossy finish, although matte would be better so it would hold up against scratches better, potentially.

Any ideas? I tried a search but most topics are in relation to painting acrylic.

John,

This might be a bit off the wall, but when I make signs for the Appalachian Trail, I paint the sign blank with milk paint (Outback Brown, from General Finishes, three coats, over a base Zinser Seal Coat waxless shellac), cover with a medium tack transfer paper, engrave lettering thru that, and then fill the letters with white milk paint (Snow White). Side trails will get a Federal Blue letter fill. The milk paint is a flat finish, good for outdoors with no overcoat, is water-based, and inexpensive. You can get it on line or via Woodcraft or equivalent. It doesn't creep under the edges of the transfer paper (or blue painter's tape), needs no primer on the engraved raw wood, and comes in all sorts of colors. You can mix any of the colors you buy to get your own shade. It's fairly thick, usually applied via small brush, and dries quickly (couple of hours max for re-coat). You can build thickness quickly.

It's not a great self-leveler or cover in one coat over bare wood, but with two or three thin coats it generally looks just fine. You can also buy overcoat finishes which will provide a semi-gloss look. There's a whole lot of old red barns out there which were painted with milk paint-- and the original Mail Pouch tobacco ads look to be done (here in Maryland) with white and black milk paint. Lasts a long time...

Dee Gallo
11-21-2012, 6:11 PM
I'm partial to shoe polish too - dark brown really compliments most woods.

Mike Chance in Iowa
11-21-2012, 8:35 PM
Just a word of caution .. this may be a brand issue, but you may want to follow-up on the shoe polish and see how it looks after 6-12 months. I engraved a piece of finished alder as a test and used a tin of Lincoln Brown Shoe Wax as fill. I gave it to someone to use in the office to test it out. It did not receive natural light from a window - just your typical office lighting. After 6 months or so, the brown shoe polish faded to a brown-orange color. It was a big difference from the original natural dark brown color.

Bill Cunningham
11-24-2012, 8:34 PM
If black is ok, After you have engraved through the masking, then if you have some laser printer or photocopy toner around, you can brush it into the engraving, then spray seal it with some lacquer. What I mostly use for black, is Turtlewax Black Colour Magic. If you have a nice smooth sealed surface coating on the wood, you don't even need masking. Just brush in the turtle wax, let dry completely, then buff the excess off the surface like car wax. The only problem is, I think turtle wax has discontinued this product because it's getting harder to find..In Canada anyway..

brian fithian
11-26-2012, 12:32 AM
Try General Chemicals #5600 ($54.00 per gallon) for the mask. Engrave job, paint engraving, peel off mask