Newbee to CW - Finishing techniques and supplies

[BSarte]

OK, I am a newbee to CW, have done some small projects so far but starting to try my hand at finishing (stain & paint).

For finishing the carvings, I have a couple of signs that I made, sanding them pretty good so far with a couple of sanding mops. Next step is to paint or stain them. Staining seems pretty straight forward, but painting them is a more tedious, so I am looking for how you do this. The first sign (see attached) for my Father-In-Law that I am doing has grooves and letters which I would like to do in different colors (red/white/blue).

• Do you tape these areas off?
• Do you use painters tape?
• What type of paint do you use?
• Brushes? Foam or bristle?

Supplies? Where do you get them? A place like Hobby Lobby?

I am going to go out and get supplies, so would appreciate input.