I put down a layer of flex coat. Sanded it with 400 grit. Wrote my inscription on it with acrylic ink. Can I just brush a coat of Flex-coat over it after it dries, or do I need some sort of intermediate coating over the ink to keep it from running under the flex-coat?

My humble and inexpert opinion is that you can go direct to flex coat once that ink is good and dry. The only time I've ever run into trouble is when applying heat to the finish in order to burst bubbles as I occasionally do. If you're not careful it is possible to overheat things and believe it or not, you can cause the acrylic ink to run.
If you're not using heat (and probably even if you are) you should have no problem if the ink is dry. It dries to the touch very quickly, but I am cautious and I'll usually wait about 12 hours to make sure, though I have coated it after an hour with no trouble. There's one other potential pitfal to avoid--don't brush your flex coat on agressively by stroking back and forth--you can wreck it if you're too heavy handed and "scrub it" with your brush. It will blur if you swab the brush through the finish enough. Just gently put the coat of flex coat on, monkey with it as little as possible, and it will work great! Acrylic is all I use now for inscriptions, though I wish I had better writing skill!

CH

Bill & Charles (or anyone else for that matter), I usually write my inscriptions directly on the blank. Have you done the same in the past and switched to writing on the flex-coat instead, or have you always done it that way?
I am curious to know if you found it easier, or if the inscriptions turn out better by laying a coating of finish on it first. I guess if I ever really make the effort, I have enough scrap blanks hanging around that I could try experiementing.
Just wanted some feedback on the process though.

By the way, I learned that lesson the hard way sometime back. I always found it prudent to lay a seal coat over the inscription, and allow it to completely dry for at least a day before I applied a final build over the inscription. I avoided smearing the the writing and am able to use the flame to pull off the excess and create a really flat finish.

Thanks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2007 01:50AM by Patrick Vernacchio.

I put down coat of finish and then apply the inscription to that.

The inscription I like the look as it is kind of suspended. Plus if it ever needs to change or come off, you don't have to go all the way down to the blank to do that.

After I inscribe I give it a light coat of spray fix. Available at drafting/art/craft stores. That'll make sure it doesn't run or bleed.




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Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

I apply the ink directly to the blank (force of habit, mostly) unless I intend to make it as part of the butt wrap. For example, I have used a butt wrap that is a larger version of the guide wrap, for example, and on the large expanse of thread (coated with flexcoat, of course) written my inscription.
So, my habit has been to write directly on the blank unless the inscription goes over thread, in which case is use one or more coats of flexcoat before I write. There is probably one very good reason to write on a thin coat of flexcoat, though, rather than bare blank, which is that if you use a metal pen (what I'll call the "quill" type) you can scratch the paint off the blank if you're not careful if you don't get the writing correct the first time and have to wipe it off and reapply the writing. Thus, it's probably better to scratch up flexcoat than scratch up the blank.

CH