# help! carved lettering staining?



## EJTibbetts (Jan 29, 2011)

Hello all!

I am brand new to the world of woodwork, its something I have wanted to get into for years. Here I am 25 and recently married and my wife and I bought a dremel a week or so ago and I decided to do small crafty things since we live in a tiny apartment right now. So not a whole lot of room for anything more than a dremel. 

On to my question. I carved a sign for my parents. Other than a little standing, I'm pretty happy with my first project. My question (or I am open to suggestions), how can I make the lettering "pop" more? I was thinking maybe make the letters black or dark brown with a light stain on the rest. Keep in mind I do not know anything about these processes, when you respond.

Thanks in advance and I am looking forward to this new found hobby that will hopefully grow into furnishing my home one day!


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.

Try this,

Stain your letters dark, it will bleed on the surface, sand down till dark is gone.

You can then color your surface lighter or not, without affecting the dark. 

Some brush poly, will make it pop! :smile:


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

Another take on that would be to spray the lettering with a can of black spray paint. You dont have to be real careful just make sure you get into all of the carved areas. Then sand the top surface and the paint will come up pretty easily and the black will remain in the carved area. Then go ahead and stain the whole thing. When you wipe up the stain, it will come right off the painted area. When finished and stain is dry, go ahead and brush Poly or Varnish on the whole area. If this is going to be an outdoor sign, I would use a marine varnish from a reputable marine store such as West Marine and not that Helmsman Spar Varnish which is a joke.


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## craftsman jay (Jun 26, 2010)

Tony B said:


> Another take on that would be to spray the lettering with a can of black spray paint. You dont have to be real careful just make sure you get into all of the carved areas. Then sand the top surface and the paint will come up pretty easily and the black will remain in the carved area. Then go ahead and stain the whole thing. When you wipe up the stain, it will come right off the painted area. When finished and stain is dry, go ahead and brush Poly or Varnish on the whole area. If this is going to be an outdoor sign, I would use a marine varnish from a reputable marine store such as West Marine and not that Helmsman Spar Varnish which is a joke.


That's pretty much how I've done and seen done. If you used a template then set that over to lessen the sanding. 

Welcome to the forum! You've just taken your first steps into a much bigger world. Either way, you did a nice job carving, but being new, if you did that free-hand then very nice.


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## focker65 (Jun 8, 2019)

Before engraving put a good coat of wax on wood or material, engrave letters/design then paint or stain the lettering....wipe off paint/stain before it dries, it will soak into machined surface but not through the wax.


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