I made this on Blue, using the 1/4" baltic birch plywood that Asmbly stocks. It’s intended to be a sign that we put up at our campground when we go camping, so I’d like to weatherproof it. The contrast between the lightest etching and the base plywood isn’t very strong, so I’m a little worried about a sealant that would obscure it, but otherwise would be open to something that adds or brings out the wood’s coloring.
Any suggestions on what to use?
Spar urethane, perhaps? I used a spray on version for some outdoor wooden signs. It didn’t appreciably change color upon application
Yeah, spar urethane if it’s going to be used outdoors.
Next time- check out spraying a baking soda/water solution on the wood and allowing it to dry. It creates much greater contrast- ie , these signs were cut with the same power but one without the darkening solution-
baking soda or borax solutions.
we have both in the laser cabinet. Tarkin’s chiller will dry it really fast. there are plenty of other fans around. it only needs a few minutes to dry well enough
you need to get complete coverage. it tends to absorb into the wood wherever a droplet lands, without spreading out, and spotty coverage really messes up the final appearance. i would spray it enough that water was sheeting off the face, make sure it’s all wet, wipe the extra off with a paper towel and then dry it
baking soda yellows the wood a bit, borax doesn’t change the basic appearance as much. baking soda makes a deep brown burn, borax is more black but in my experience borax was more of a loose black soot than a color change in the wood itself
if you give it a deep burn, it will burn through the contrast agent surface layer and mostly go back to the original burn appearance
