Logo carving, still hard to see / read the text. Ideas?

[TurtleCove]

I'm carving some logo's into a carved region, and it's still kinda hard to read the text. I don't want to hand paint black, inside the letters...tho that would certainly fix the situation.

I sprayed on some clear laquer and also tried clear polyurathane, and that helped, but the text is still hard to read.

Anyone have any tricks on a way to handle this? Maybe some sort of rub on finish?

With normal lettering, using the V-bit, I spray the board black, after the carve, and then run it thru the sander, thus leaving only black in the letters, and that works great. But that doesn't work for logos or symbols.

Thoughts?

[RogerB]

I have carved with shelf paper on top. Painted and removed paper after. A little messy that way but works.

[fwharris]

Maybe a darker stain and wipe off the areas around the text to lighten it up. Maybe a picture of your carving might give us a better idea.

[Underdog]

A glaze would be ideal for this. You'd spray or rag it on til the areas to be highlighted were filled, wait til it dries (or follow the instructions) then wipe off the excess.

You'd need to seal it with a topcoat after this, so you'll need to choose your products carefully for compatibility.

[TurtleCove]

A glaze would be ideal for this. You'd spray or rag it on til the areas to be highlighted were filled, wait til it dries (or follow the instructions) then wipe off the excess.

You'd need to seal it with a topcoat after this, so you'll need to choose your products carefully for compatibility.

Dog, I know not of what you speak.
Glaze? Help me out a little more. I like the way this sounds....but need to know what you mean by a "glaze".
I'm pretty sure this isn't the same stuff my aunt puts on the turkey, right?

[lynnfrwd]

Dog, I know not of what you speak.
Glaze? Help me out a little more. I like the way this sounds....but need to know what you mean by a "glaze".
I'm pretty sure this isn't the same stuff my aunt puts on the turkey, right?

Here is an article that I quickly found doing a Google search using the words "glaze for wood":

http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/Main/Articles/Coloring-Redux-Glaze-and-Toner-3783.aspx

[lawrence]

I like the minwax water based stain for this-- just slop it in -- then after it dries a bit, scrape off the excess and then sand off over top of the letters with your fingers and a piece of sandpaper. As long as you seal it well, not much will "stick" on top for most woods (avoid oak)

http://www.amazon.com/Minwax-30808-E.../dp/B004CFLXJG

hope this helps,
Lawrence