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View Full Version : Finishing Lettering to Stand out



Aaron B
07-28-2006, 06:18 AM
Have any of you tried to make Lettering stand out, be seen from farther away? I have some lettering that is carved in with a V-bit (phone number) and other lettering where the background is carved away and the lettering stands proud.

1.)what might my best options for finishing it to make the lettering stand out?
2.)What size have you made signs? 14x36? Its sometimes hard to visulize on a computer what size something is compared to something that would be hung on the side of a house or something to be visible. Just seeing what others had done.

Thanks for any suggestions

cajunpen
07-28-2006, 01:33 PM
Aaron, I have used a product called Inlace to fill in the Vs. It works like Bondo and finishes quite nicely. You can find it at several online woodworking sites - one of which is Grizzly - http://www.grizzly.com/products/searchresults.aspx?q=inlace&submit.x=0&submit.y=0

Aaron B
07-28-2006, 01:50 PM
Thanks Bill I will have to look at those. Not sure I want to fill in what I carved out but I assume I wouldn't have to fill the lettering up. Ever used any of the "dust"? Have to think of something else for the lettering that stands proud.

Old Salt
07-28-2006, 09:17 PM
To make letters stand out stain backgound a darker color keep letter face light.
to make centerline number stand out I use a cotton swab with darker stain paint inside letters sand top an clear coat . make number darker. I have also used thin gold & white paint that also works well. You don,t need a sever chang in color , to dark it will look out of place for a wood carving. unless you pant every thing to make it look like plastic. Give it a try good luck

Ron Smith
07-29-2006, 02:40 PM
A friend of mine has a berry farm and wanted some signs to put up. I did these out of oak, painted the outlines and put poly on the surfaces. The small ones are 6" x 24" and the larger two are 12" x 48". The machine handled them without a hitch.

Aaron B
07-30-2006, 06:36 AM
A friend of mine has a berry farm and wanted some signs to put up. I did these out of oak, painted the outlines and put poly on the surfaces. The small ones are 6" x 24" and the larger two are 12" x 48". The machine handled them without a hitch.

Ron, thanks for the pics they help a lot. I am going to make a sign for my friend for his computer business, but I am not sure where he will put it so I was worried about the size. Right now I am looking at making it 14"x36 or 12"x24", so those pictures help give an idea and the lettering looks great.

ditchdoc
08-04-2006, 01:24 PM
I have used gold and silver leaf to make some text stand out. I have mainly used it on lettering carved in the raster mode. I think one could do it for center-lined text. It would be more labor intensive. You can buy leafing kits at most large hobby/crafts stores. There is a learning curve involved, but with practice it looks really rich. 8)