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SouthernSigns
04-28-2014, 01:20 PM
I am getting ready to finish some plaques that will have a combination of acrylic paint and stain.
I read somewhere that it is ok to use Acrylic Paints OVER top of a stained / finished piece. Is anyone familiar with this technique?

It would make my life a little easier to just go ahead and stain my entire piece first, then allow it to dry and set up for a day or two, then come behind and apply my acrylic colors to the text and logo part of the piece. Will be using a light colored "Pecan" stain on Premium Pine and then a Navy Blue and White Acrylic...

Any advice is valuable advice.

Thank ya'll!!

mtylerfl
04-28-2014, 01:27 PM
That would probably work just fine. However, what I generally do is go ahead and apply a light coat or two of clear coat over the stain (could be spray shellac, SealCoat brush-on shellac, or Krylon clear acrylic) before painting with the acrylics. OR...I will paint with the acrylic paint BEFORE staining, if I want to "antique" the painted areas with the application of stain overall. After all is dry, then apply the final clear coats.

CNC Carver
04-28-2014, 01:54 PM
I've applied paint over stain and worked fine. Also clear coat after paint.

SouthernSigns
04-28-2014, 02:33 PM
Thanks alot guys!! I will be trying these techniques. I will post pics when it comes out to my satisfaction!! I have 13 plaques I need to paint / stain!!!

FWMiller
04-28-2014, 06:08 PM
I always shellac before the acrylic and also on top of it if you want to put varnish or lacquer as the final coat.

dehrlich
04-29-2014, 06:27 PM
I have done it a few ways... stain, shellac, paint, shellac. I have also on stuff that's like vector carved text shellac, paint, sand off all except paint in lettering, stain then shellac again. Only recommended on dark painted lettering. Also iffy on open grained stuff like oak and walnut.

TerryT
04-29-2014, 06:57 PM
That would probably work just fine. However, what I generally do is go ahead and apply a light coat or two of clear coat over the stain (could be spray shellac, SealCoat brush-on shellac, or Krylon clear acrylic) before painting with the acrylics. OR...I will paint with the acrylic paint BEFORE staining, if I want to "antique" the painted areas with the application of stain overall. After all is dry, then apply the final clear coats.

Yep, this is the way we always do it.

Ton80
04-30-2014, 12:12 PM
Acrylic paint in either order is fine.. just let your stain cure if you stain first... the top coat can be trickier and info is varied on what's appropriate. Any finish that is a solvent based should be avoided generally speaking... this would be lacquer and even shellac which is alcohol based. NOW, having said that, I have used shellac over acrylic paint but it does soften the paint and if you rub one to many time, or stroke one too many times it will start to smudge and ruin all your hard work. I would advise using something like Zinsser spray shellac over acrylic paint and only after a few days to assure it's completely dry.

I called DEFT today because I have a current project that I just finished painting a portion of with acrylic and they advised against using it because it could cause softening and wrinkling of the acrylic paint... the tech rep advised lacquer over any paint should be avoided.

As another note to avoid - Shellac over black sharpie markers. On occasion I've used a black sharpie to "touch up" black areas of acrylic paint. I sprayed some shellac over this a day later and it caused the sharpie ink to melt and I had to repaint my entire project... big mistake and lesson learned.

In practice, I really like to use shellac since it dries so quickly compared to polyurethane or other oil based varnish but I just make sure to give the paint at least 24 hours minimum and only use the spray shellac over the painted portions so I can avoid problems. Best finish would be a water based poly but I don't like the look of that when it dries, and you have to sand in between coats which could be problematic over the painted areas also.

dehrlich
04-30-2014, 06:49 PM
Reference the sharpie marker, you can use poly over it to seal, then shellac over that. I have an ink stamp I use on most projects with my logo and I have to do a quick squirt of poly over it before shellac.

One fact some don't know that I had to learn the hard way years ago; blue tape and lacquer don't mix. It basically melts the tape and makes a huge mess.

aokweld101
04-30-2014, 07:01 PM
I just bought some sander sealer in order to use stain and acrylic paint so it wouldn't bleed on the wood I have held off on buying the sander sealer because of the added cost but know I wish I would of used it earlier it saves on paint and stain and polyurethane

gwizpro
04-30-2014, 07:19 PM
We use water based lacquer over Acrylic paints and have absolutely no problems. It is not solvent based.