How to paint letters into wood?

[bp122]

Hi all

I have gotten a couple of house number signs made by my mate who has a CNC.

One in walnut and the other in oak.

The walnut one is for me and I intend to use white letters. And a friend of mine who the oak one is for, wants black letters.

How do I go about this?

Do I need to apply a sealing lacquer first and then paint and apply a lacquer on top? Or do I paint directly and then finish with a lacquer?

Also, what paint and lacquer (make and model) is best for this?

Thank you.
B

 

[Dee J]

Personally I'd seal before painting to prevent the paint bleeding into the grain and blurring the edges.

 

[Alpha-Dave]

Definitely seal first, otherwise the paint can bleed. However you need to be happy that you don’t have any major divots or holes, so possibly:

1) sand the top surface
2) seal with a thin, clear layer; e.g. spray-on acrylic.
3) paint by brush or spray
4) sand back
5) seal again in the same as step 2.

 

[SkinnyB]

Oramask.

 

[TheTiddles]

Ordinary gloss works fine, then once dry a gentle sand over the top gives you crisp lines. The only time I’ve had a problem is on cedar when the paint just wouldn’t harden, maybe that’s where sealing should have been done