# Help needed: Finish for stained wood with oil-based sharpie paint pen



## dominavini (Mar 31, 2016)

Hello, I'm looking for some help on what finish to use for two wedding projects I have just begun. I have a box and a wooden sign that I stained with Minwax oil-based in espresso (nice and dark, so no worrying about yellowing). After the stain dried, I painted some lettering on each piece with a white Sharpie oil-based paint pen.

What kind of finish will keep my lettering intact? Both will be used exclusively indoors and are mostly for decoration, so nothing heavy duty is needed, I just want some shine and protection.

Here's a picture of the box for reference: http://imgur.com/680hqsK

Any advice is greatly appreciated!


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Rather than gamble, call Tech Support at Minwax. I'm sure they will help you.
The box beautiful. I'm sure they will be thrilled to receive such a personal gift.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

You would think an oil based finish but oil based finishes tend to yellow and continue to yellow as they age so that would affect the color of the paint. If it were me I would put a single coat of Zinsser Sealcoat on and use a water based polyurethane such as polycrylic. You could use most finishes that were acrylic. Just stay away from those which contain acetone or lacquer thinner. The solvents would lift the paint.


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## jorma (Feb 24, 2016)

Mostly for decoration.....a spray can of shellac will seal and finish that just fine.
If the sheen is an issue, as Steve says, you would have the choice of 3-4 different sheens in a water borne "varnish".
good luck


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## dominavini (Mar 31, 2016)

Thank you for the help! Good call on contacting Minwax, I will do that first before trying the other options. And thank you! It's actually for my own wedding!

I think I'll do some tests with Zinsser and a simple shellac and see how those hold up.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Just don't attempt to put either water based or oil based polyurethane over standard shellac. The natural wax in standard shellac will cause adhesion problems. Sealcoat is shellac which has had this wax removed.


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