Material - regular wooden board from Lowe’s (probably pine)
The process:
Laser engraving
Coat of black Home Depot paint (I guess it’s called latex paint)
Sanding
Two coats of water-based poly
I’d like to add some color to it and everybody’s saying that acrylic paints are super affordable and easy to use. But is it ok to use them on top of water-based poly or just raw pine?
Pretty much all the hardcore professional artists doing something called GESSOING to prep their wood for acrylic paints which takes about a day
I’m wondering if there’s an easier way. Or maybe I should switch to a different kind of paint
Sorry if it sounds confusing or dumb. But I’m stuck in my research and would love to hear any opinions or advises
All the advice on acrylic paint can get overwhelming. And surface prep is always a challenge. On average, I would only apply poly over top of all work. It’s a protective cover, and paint on top of that is likely to come off.
There are a few things you could consider for a base coat.
Clear gesso. I use one made by liquitex. This would help keep the wood color
Matte medium. This is sometimes applied under gesso, and sometimes on its own. It is a transparent substance that you could use as the only base, and then paint on top of that.
The specifics of what under-coat you use (if any) depends on what you want your finished pieces to look like. There really aren’t any wrong answers - just variations.
I’m happy to meet you at the space with some examples of things I’ve worked on, and show you the products I’ve used.
