# Painting routed out letters



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Hey everyone!

I hope all of y'all had a great and productive weekend in the shop. I decided to try out my new sign making kit I got from Rockler as a Christmas gift this weekend. I am making a sign for my friends wedding in which I will be the best man. We are throwing them a couple's shower at the end of this month, and I figured this would be something cool to have hanging up during the party, and then give to them as a little keepsake.

I started with a 3/4" MDF panel about 38" x 10". I forgot to measure the size of the letters so hopefully you can get an idea judging by the overall dimensions of the panel.

Here, I have already primed and painted the panel with latex paint.








This is how it looks now with all of the letters routed about 1/4" - 3/8" deep.








I made a couple of test panels at different depths, and painted those as well. I started trying to paint the letters white in the test panels last night, and didn't have the best luck with it. I had a few ideas I wanted to run past those of you with more experience in finishing, and I'm also looking for other options. Of course, the MDF really soaks up the paint, and when having to apply it with a small hobby brush, it takes a long time just to do one letter. I would like to avoid applying several coats so intricately.

My thoughts are;

1) Use a spray on poly or lacquer to seal the entire board (including the letters) so that the paint won't soak in as much.

2) Paint the letters heavy several times, and then go back with the beige color to touch up around the letters afterward.

or

3) Quit being a baby and just spend some quality time refining my intricate painting skills.

I will be sure to participate in my own thread, and post pictures of my progress and the finished product. Thank you in advance for any advice you have for me!

Sean


----------



## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

I used your option #1 on my sign.

Sprayed the letters and sanded back the face.

This sign is not done yet... :smile:


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

mdntrdr said:


> I used your option #1 on my sign.
> 
> Sprayed the letters and sanded back the face.
> 
> This sign is not done yet... :smile:


Great looking sign Scotty D!

So you sprayed the letters the color that you wanted, and then sanded the face back until all the over spray was gone? 

I wouldn't be able to do that since the face is already painted. I'll have to use that method on the next sign I do!


----------



## GoIrish (Jan 29, 2012)

Glue sizing works pretty well. I diluted woodworking glue till it was thin and painted it on. It soaked in fast. Sanded the surface lightly and the finish went on fine. You should only have to do this to the edges and the routed letters. Face is usually OK.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

GoIrish said:


> Glue sizing works pretty well. I diluted woodworking glue till it was thin and painted it on. It soaked in fast. Sanded the surface lightly and the finish went on fine. You should only have to do this to the edges and the routed letters. Face is usually OK.


Thanks for the tip. I've heard of doing that for the edges, but didn't think to do the same for the letters. I will try adding water to some TBII and getting it thinned out enough to apply with a brush. How much sanding is usually involved after this? I only ask because it won't be easy to sand inside the letters without distorting the edges, and I'm hoping to get away with just a light once over with 220. Thoughts?


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I've done that by spraying the face and the letters with a sealer. Then spray the face the color you want. Then spray the letters the color you want. Then wipe off the face to the edges of the letters. 









 







.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

cabinetman said:


> I've done that by spraying the face and the letters with a sealer. Then spray the face the color you want. Then spray the letters the color you want. Then wipe off the face to the edges of the letters. .


Thanks cabinetman. You never have any issues getting the letter paint over spray off of the face? Would it help if I sprayed the sealer on there now since the face color has already been applied? I feel like the over spray will wipe off of the sealer easier than the painted face.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

I realize that you have already routed your letters, so this will not help you now.... This idea is maybe for future use.

I was wondering if someone could put a layer of blue painters tape down after you painted the surface, and BEFORE you routed out the letters. Then you could paint away, and then remove the tape, and touch up if needed?

A thought now would be to maybe tape over the letters, then use a sharp exacto knife, and cut out the tape where you routed the letters, and then go to town painting the letters. maybe use a j-roller to make sure the tape is pressed down firmly enough.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

thegrgyle said:


> I realize that you have already routed your letters, so this will not help you now.... This idea is maybe for future use.
> 
> I was wondering if someone could put a layer of blue painters tape down after you painted the surface, and BEFORE you routed out the letters. Then you could paint away, and then remove the tape, and touch up if needed?
> 
> A thought now would be to maybe tape over the letters, then use a sharp exacto knife, and cut out the tape where you routed the letters, and then go to town painting the letters. maybe use a j-roller to make sure the tape is pressed down firmly enough.


I had the EXACT same thought about putting the painters tape down before routing, but didn't go through with it! I was nervous that the tearout from routing would end up getting caught on the painters tape, and pulling up the face color when removed. It is latex paint, which I know isn't ideal. 

I've also though about getting the letter templates back out, re assembling them, taping them back to as close to their original places as possible, and then spraying the letters using the templates to block the over spray. The only issue with that would be the fact that there is about a 1/32" of the face exposed around the edge of each letter which would have to be touched up.

Thanks for the input!


----------



## htank (Oct 25, 2010)

I recently just had the same issue, since I do not own a spray gun yet, I went to AC Moore ( a craft store, I don't know if they are a nation chain) and bought a small brush and did the letters with that. It took some practice and touch up, but it worked well for me. The brush was also useful with the touch up around the spindles on the back.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

htank said:


> I recently just had the same issue, since I do not own a spray gun yet, I went to AC Moore ( a craft store, I don't know if they are a nation chain) and bought a small brush and did the letters with that. It took some practice and touch up, but it worked well for me. The brush was also useful with the touch up around the spindles on the back.


Thanks htank, and that bench looks incredible. I saw your post in the project showcase this morning. You do some great work! 

It would appear that we are using the same sign making kit. I was using a small hobby brush, but it took me an embarrassingly long time just to paint a few practice letters. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind. 

What type of wood are your letters routed into?
Did you use primer on the letters before painting them pink?
How many coats, primer and finish color, did you end up putting on it?

Thank you in advance


----------



## htank (Oct 25, 2010)

Thank you, it is poplar and I primed it twice and it took 2-3 coats of paint plus touch up. Those small brushes don't hold that much paint, so they usually take another coat or two. I also used Benjamin Moore Regal paint, which I've never used before and I was very happy with the coverage.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Well, she is all finished up and came out looking exactly like what I had pictured in my mind (which usually never happens). Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions. 

I ended up using the "glue sizing" method to seal the letters and edges. I used a pretty thin mixture and I'm not gonna lie, I had my doubts. It sealed everything really well, and I ended up putting on one coat of primer and only one coat of the finish color. That's really all it needed, and I would recommend the glue sizing method to anyone that is still wondering.

The WWT app keeps crashing everytime I try to insert a picture so I'll attempt to put it in another post.


----------



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

Apparently it was uploading the picture each time and now I can't edit it from my phone. Sorry for multiple pics... I'll try to fix it later


----------



## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

This works for hand routed letters so it should work for your sign making system. Cover the top of the board with contact paper. Route the letters then you can spray paint the letters. When your finished remove the contact paper and you can clear coat the whole thing if you want.


----------



## thegrgyle (Jan 11, 2011)

Well, that turned out awesome, CaptainAwesome. I'm sure they will cherish that for a long time.


----------



## BZawat (Sep 21, 2012)

I made this sign for a group I belong to. Sign is leftover 3/4 cherry ply with a veneered edge, lettering was cut on a CNC that I'm fortunate to have access to ;-) 
Anyway I sprayed a good heavy coat of sanding sealer on the sign before painting the letters. This prevented the acrylic black paint from leeching into the edge of the veneer layer of the plywood. It also allowed me to not have to be overly OCD with painting neatly, as I simply sanded off the errant brush strokes before finishing with conversion varnish.


----------



## Graebeard (Jan 22, 2012)

I used a similar method to Cabinetman's, except did not re-spray the face. I first stained the wood, then routered the letters. I then sprayed a Varathane coat on the whole board and when it dried, I just slopped some black paint into the letters and immediately wiped the excess off the face with a damp cloth. The Varathane prevented bleeding and yielded crisp lines.


----------



## wolfff (Jul 9, 2013)

First of all, I would say that rockler sign making tools are very effective and reliable. And I saw your sign making gift for your friend at h8is wedding. Your creativity is good. Design is perfect. In my opinion you should spray for pai8nting. And the pink color would give it more impression.


----------



## Alreadydead (Jun 22, 2021)

Im going to cheat! Im going to route my letters into bare wood then once done prime all the wood including letters and give top coats until finished then i will resin fill the routed letters as there will be no bleed i to the wood as the top coat is on.


----------



## TwelveFoot (Dec 30, 2015)

I did a similar style sign out of solid wood a while back. Routed the letters, spray painted them with no care for overspray, sent the board through the planer once to clear off the face. Worked great for me, but wouldn't work for MDF.


----------



## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

in the cnc world, a common method is to completely finish the face of the sign. then apply a mask (oramask). route out the letters. spray (or brush) the cut-out letters as much as you want. remove the mask. done. nice crisp letters.


----------



## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

probably figured it out by now, post is from 2013


----------

