ibanezplayer Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I plan on makin a guitar and when it comes to finishing i want to etch words into it. Now how would I do this? would this work? After i finished my colour coats and let dry for a few days. should I use a solderin Iron or a Dremel to etch in words so that the colour of the wood is showing through? After the words are etched should I sand Seal over top of it all so it is level? or would the aerosol sanding sealer, have any negative effects you could think of?, and then i will apply my lacquer... any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I would suggest doing it the other way. Make your words out of whatever solid, non-porous material you like. Very thin plexiglass would be an option you can get it at Lowes & Home Depot cheap. Attach it to the body somehow, but not with glue. Glue will discolor the wood when you put a finish on it. After the rest of the body is sprayed, the words can be removed, leaving bare wood. It might be possible to do it with blue painter's tape. I used it to mask off the sides & back of teh headstock I just painted, and the very mild adhesive left no residue on the wood. You could lay the paint down, then CAREFULLY cut out the letters with an x-acto knife. If you do this, be very careful not to gut into the body too far. After the letters are cut out, make dang sure the edges of the tape letters are secure. When the letters are removed, any paint that crept under the tape can be carefully scraped off. With either method, have an x-acto or razor blade with you when you lift the letters. First, take your time and gently peel the barrier away at an angle. If the paint wants to peel when the letters are lifted, gently cut around the lettering with the blade, then slowly lift again. I wouldn't try to rout out the letters with a dremel. It's be way too easy to accidentally take some wood out. If that happens, you're in a really bad place. If the paint job flops, you can sand it off & have another go. Once the wood is gone, it's gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooglebug Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 try artist masking fluid. so long as you spray thin colour coats and rub the masking fluid off before the paints totally cured that would work i should think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 I mask mine off with blue painters tape. I put down a block of painters tape, take a computer print out, spray mount it down, then trim it out with an exact-o knife. I have a video of it on the tube. Note: Make sure you seal bare wood first. If not you will get bleed through under your tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 what about a custom decal with your words in the wood color you like. they are really cheap and you can just clear over them until it is smooth. im just adding alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 what about a custom decal with your words in the wood color you like. they are really cheap and you can just clear over them until it is smooth. im just adding alternatives. That's certainly easier than my suggestions. A lot less room for error, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Remember the How I Met Your Mother episode with the wedding where someone says "We thought of Indian Headdress before hat?" I would find a vinyl cutter at a local sign or paint shop and pay them to cut masking vinyl for you. It would be easy enough once you found fonts/font you like to vectorize them and cut. Make sure they use masking vinyl as it is low tack and works better with fnishes. Regular vinyl has a different adhesive that is more likely to leave residue and reach poorly with many finishes and is just plain harder to remove. If you want the hand cut/done look get some transfer tape (really wide masking tape used for applying cut vinyl) or masking vinyl and mark and cut it by hand. If you use transfer tape or Automask as its sold under for masking, then you will need to apply it to your surface and cut it there and remove the parts you don't want. You can do this with a FRESH and SHARP blade and light touch and not cut the substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Remember the How I Met Your Mother episode with the wedding where someone says "We thought of Indian Headdress before hat?" I would find a vinyl cutter at a local sign or paint shop and pay them to cut masking vinyl for you. It would be easy enough once you found fonts/font you like to vectorize them and cut. Make sure they use masking vinyl as it is low tack and works better with fnishes. Regular vinyl has a different adhesive that is more likely to leave residue and reach poorly with many finishes and is just plain harder to remove. If you want the hand cut/done look get some transfer tape (really wide masking tape used for applying cut vinyl) or masking vinyl and mark and cut it by hand. If you use transfer tape or Automask as its sold under for masking, then you will need to apply it to your surface and cut it there and remove the parts you don't want. You can do this with a FRESH and SHARP blade and light touch and not cut the substrate. well the decals i was thinking of are vinyl. go to best-decals.com they have many options and colors and fonts, and you can create your own with your own text and font. depending in size, you should be able to to get it for under 10 bucks. if you want it really big, still under 20, but it is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 (edited) The problem is that material they may use and it interacting with the paint, leaving adhesive behind, etc... I've taken some kustom paint classes and they address specifically using the right materials and interactions of things like frisket and the wrong vinyls. Unless you know for sure what they are going to use you are asking for trouble. It's a regular post on the kustom paint forums of people having this problem. I wasn't trying to pick on anyone just be a little funny. Edited January 17, 2008 by syxxstring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 The problem is that material they may use and it interacting with the paint, leaving adhesive behind, etc... I've taken some kustom paint classes and they address specifically using the right materials and interactions of things like frisket and the wrong vinyls. Unless you know for sure what they are going to use you are asking for trouble. It's a regular post on the kustom paint forums of people having this problem. I wasn't trying to pick on anyone just be a little funny. well i have used many types of clear over them and never had a problem. rattle can, urathane, acrylic enamel, and some cheap laquer. none of them reacted negativley with the vinyl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitone Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 I always do my logo out of cut vinyl and it works fine under several coats of laqcuer. Though, it does take some coats to build up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted January 18, 2008 Report Share Posted January 18, 2008 Under a clear its probably fine, depending on the clear. The idea here was using it as a mask which is why the adhesive is an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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