Wood prep before painting

[FrankEV]

This question if for those that will often add color to a cutting by painting specifically with Acrylic Art Paints. 

Wondering if you prepare the wood in any way before painting?  

I sand my panels real well with 1500 Grit paper to get a nice smooth surface.  However, I'm not truly happy with how th Acrylic Art Paints flow and look when applied to the bare wood.

Any suggestions welcome. 

Thanks in advance.

[Bill WIlson]

I sometimes apply shellac Seal Coat before painting.  Acrylics raise the grain so much that it really kind of defeats the purpose of sanding to 1500 grit in the first place.  It will still take a couple coats to get complete coverage, but it will be much smoother.

[FrankEV]

I really should have done some appropriate Google research on this subject instead of bothering y'all.

This is what I found in very simple terms and steps:

1.  Sand wood and remove all dust.
2.  Seal the wood with an appropriate sealer.  Any lacquer based sealer will work.  Krylon makes a sealer but any of the other spray brands make both a spray or brush on sanding sealer.  The sealer should be applied to all surfaces to prevent panel worping. Aplying the sealer will rasie the grains.
3. When the sealer is fully dry a light sanding with minimum 220 grit will be required to smooth the panel once again, only on the side to be painted, is necessary.
4. Once smooth the area to be painted with the  Acrylic Art Paints should be coated with Acrylic Gesso (comes in both white and black), which is an acrylic  primer, for the paint to adhear to.  A light grey primer such as made by Krylon or any of the many orther brands will also work.  Only the area to be painted needs to be primed.
5. These steps is supposed to make the Acrilic Art Paint flow more easily without leaving brush strokes and the paint colors will be more true.

I love the scrolling work, but often adding color to the underside of the cutting just makes the panel come alive.  I'm no artist, in the pure sence as I can't draw to save my soul, but I am having fun adding color to my projects when appropriate.   Just like the scrolling, it is another learning experience.  And, applying the proper mechanics, processes and techniques do make a difference in the final product. 

  

Edited March 2, 2021 by FrankEV

[flarud]

Let us know if doing the above process works better.  I rarely use paint but my wife does. 

Barry

Edited March 2, 2021 by flarud

[Dave Monk]

I always sand the paint after I give the first coat. After I give the final coat glue my scrolled piece on and spray the whole thing with lacquer.

[FrankEV]

16 minutes ago, Dave Monk said:

I always sand the paint after I give the first coat. After I give the final coat glue my scrolled piece on and spray the whole thing with lacquer.

I like that work.

Basicly I do the same except I ws haveing some difficulties with the paint flow onto the wood. I also have been doing more than just applying a uniform color.  I'm trying to add shading and highlighting which  makes the paint application a little bit more challenging.  

And, I also protect the assembled panel with multiple coats of clear gloss lacquer, front and back to insures the panel doesl not warp due to moisture.

[TAIrving]

10 hours ago, Dave Monk said:

I always sand the paint after I give the first coat. After I give the final coat glue my scrolled piece on and spray the whole thing with lacquer.

Interesting piece Dave, and beautifully executed!  Did you design this yourself?  Can you share the pattern?  

[Dave Monk]

13 hours ago, Algae said:

Interesting piece Dave, and beautifully executed!  Did you design this yourself?  Can you share the pattern?  

It was designed by Neptun. I believe I got it from the pattern catalog on this site.

[Dave Monk]

23 hours ago, FrankEV said:

I like that work.

Basicly I do the same except I ws haveing some difficulties with the paint flow onto the wood. I also have been doing more than just applying a uniform color.  I'm trying to add shading and highlighting which  makes the paint application a little bit more challenging.  

And, I also protect the assembled panel with multiple coats of clear gloss lacquer, front and back to insures the panel doesl not warp due to moisture.

Your painting work is awesome. I know nothing about shading.

[flarud]

On 3/2/2021 at 8:57 PM, Dave Monk said:

I always sand the paint after I give the first coat. After I give the final coat glue my scrolled piece on and spray the whole thing with lacquer.

Nice Dave!  I've seen this pattern before.  I love Eagle's but hate cutting stars.  I think I'll go try to find it, print it out and give it a try.  

Edited March 4, 2021 by flarud

[FrankEV]

American Eagle - Jenevski.pdf

5 hours ago, flarud said:

Nice Dave!  I've seen this pattern before.  I love Eagle's but hate cutting stars.  I think I'll go try to find it, print it out and give it a try.  

If you did not find it: 

Here is an 11X14 PDF.  Looks to be an easy cut.American Eagle - Jenevski.pdf

Edited March 4, 2021 by FrankEV

[flarud]

7 hours ago, FrankEV said:

American Eagle - Jenevski.pdf 51.28 kB · 2 downloads

If you did not find it: 

Here is an 11X14 PDF.  Looks to be an easy cut.American Eagle - Jenevski.pdf

Thanks Frank,, I did find it and printed.  Now to find a time slot to get it cut out.  This thing called work keeps getting in the way!  3,270 more days and I can retire!

Ah, just noticed that you enlarged it and have it in red outline, very nice!  I will use your copy, thanks!

Edited March 4, 2021 by flarud

[FrankEV]

47 minutes ago, flarud said:

...This thing called work keeps getting in the way!  3,270 more days and I can retire!...

I've been technically retired for 25 year after 36 year with the same company.  Of course, for the first 19 years of those 25,  I worked doing consulting more hours a week then when I actually worked full time.  Now that I'm really retired,my MC and the Scroll Saw keep me busy.

I got a bunch of projects lined up but when I get them out of the way, I'm gonna cut that Eagle also, just because!

Let us know how yours turns out.

[Roberta Moreton]

I just ordered the gesso. Thanks for that write up. 

[FrankEV]

25 minutes ago, Roberta Moreton said:

I just ordered the gesso. Thanks for that write up. 

I've been doing some painting and have used the Gesso, the Krylon spray.  It is very chalky and does not lay on smooth.  You need to sand the Gesso smooth before applying the paint.  The smooth Gesso does make applying the paint much eaiser and also eaiser to blend to create shading and highlighting.

[Youngster]

Hi Frank,

I love your question!  I've been "tole" painting for 25+ years.  It is very important to "dress" your wood before you paint it. 

Here's my technique.  I like to pre-sand my blanks before I cut them out; graduating up to 180 grit sandpaper before I scrollsaw. After scrolling my project, I sand off all burrs and spot sand any rough areas/edges.  I wipe off my project with tack cloth to remove all dust left from the sanding process. You can also use an air compressor, but I can still find lingering dust. I prefer using tack cloth.

Once my project is free of dust, I apply a coat of wood sealer (you can find an all purpose wood sealer/finisher in any craft store). Paint on sealer is better than spray on sealer; better coverage, less waste. Once the sealer dries (usually 10 minutes), I lightly sand with 600 grit sand paper (it smooths out the finish - you can feel the difference). Usually one coat of sealer does the trick. If I'm painting on pine wood, I might apply a second coat.  Pine likes to bleed sap.  A second coat stops any bleed out long term.

Once the sealer is completely dried and lightly sanded, that's when I would draw the pattern onto the wood so I can see what and where to paint. You can freehand, or lay the paper pattern on top of the wood with a piece of transfer paper in between; then trace the pattern onto the wood.

Your wood is now "dressed" and ready for a base coat of acrylic paint.  You really don't need to paint on a primer coat unless you are painting on Poplar wood and you don't want the green or purple hues to show through.  If you add a primer and then one coat of acrylic paint, you've just added extra expense. Save yourself the expense of the primer and paint the acrylic coat twice (since you would be painting twice anyway) to get complete coverage. Some acrylic paints are more transparent than others and the primer color will show through anyway. Skip the primer. The sealer will make the acrylic paint spread on smooth and go further (because you've sealed up the pores of the wood).

If you want to do decorative painting on top of the base coat (meaning you add shading and highlighting for depth and contouring), you will want to make sure your base coat is completely dry.

Once you are done painting, let it sit overnight to completely dry. Spray with a finish of your choosing to seal in the paint and leave a beautiful professional finished look. It will be dry in 24 hours but will take 3 days to cure.

P.S. Acrylic paint and spray paint don't mix......unless you use a painting medium that you mix into the acrylic paint, then you can paint acrylic paint on top of spray paint. The plastic in acrylic paint doesn't adhere to the chemicals in the spray paint.  They don't like each other. This can be remedied by using an all-purpose painting medium that you mix into a sample of acrylic paint. (You don't need to add it to the whole bottle just to the amount you think you need).

I hope this helps.  Happy painting!!

 

[FrankEV]

21 hours ago, Youngster said:

Hi Frank,

I love your question!  I've been "tole" painting for 25+ years.  It is very important to "dress" your wood before you paint it.... 

 

 

I would not be cought dead with "un-dressed" wood .

The information you provide was much appreciated and very informative.  It was much in keeping what I found doing some Google research.

I have recently tried using the Gesso before applying the Acrylic paints and the results was much better.   I did find I do not need to seal the wood first if I'm using the Gesso.

I like the Gesso because it fills in the grain well resulting in a smooth, but with some tooth, surface for the Acrylics.

Thanks