Air brushing vs engraving

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

Ric Taylor

Doug,

I used to have a laser engraving business. I would go with the laser engraving, and yes, you do want to put the finish on before having the engraving done.

I would go one step further. Take a photo of the baby and have it laser engraved in the middle of the platter. For this you will want to use plain wood without distracting character (you don't want streaks passing through the image of the baby).

Not all engraving shops are equipped or have the knowledge to engrave photos, you may have to shop around for that.

If you google "laser engraved photos" you will see many examples.

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

john lucas

Here's what I would do. First is I would have them laser engraved. Talk to the engraver to get the in's and out's of how to do this. I would think unfinished would be better and you can clean off any residue with alcohol. However I have not done this so I'm guessing. My friend has a laser engraver and she does pens and I don't think she does any finishing before hand but I can try to reach her today.

Cutting out letters for airbrushing is not that difficult but does take practice. There are several ways to get the letters. Print them out on the computer. If you don't have the skills to do the letter layout then there is a learning curve and possibly some software for that. Then you can transfer them directly to the wood using carbon paper or you can print them in reverse and then transfer the ink to the wood using lacquer thinner or Naptha or other chemicals that melt the ink. Then you lay a piece of Frisket material on top. This looks like clear shelf paper. It has a sticky back. Once it's stuck down you cut out the letters using a razor knife. That part takes practice and some skill.

So all In all it each step takes some practice and is a good thing to learn but will take some time.

Another option is to wood burn the letters and then color inside the letters with markers, colored pencils , or dyes. Again that takes practice and some skill.

All of the above is why I recommend laser engraving.

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

Ed Davidson

Most trophy shops will do laser engraving...check Google or your yellow pages for one nearby.

If you put a heavy/thick coat of varnish finish on the piece before engraving, the laser will burn through the finish down to bare wood. By doing it that way, you can then color the lased areas without having the color medium bleed into wood parts outside the design...like this:

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

Ed Davidson

Another option that I've used a lot...design your artwork, print it out, then encase it with an epoxy dome. I always use a design that can be cut round 0.75", 1.00", 1.25", 1.50" or 1.75" in diameter, so you can then use a Forstner bit to make a shallow counter-bore for the art to fit into...like these examples:

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

David Walser

Doug -- A lot depends on the look you're going for. As has been suggested, the laser engraving may look best on plain wood. This way, the grain won't compete with the engraving and make the engraving difficult to read. One way to deal with that problem is to fill the engraved area with a color that contrasts well with, yet looks good with, the wood. The person who does the engraving may be able to do the color filing for you. If not, Rub 'n Buff and similar products allow you to do it yourself. Then, you could use a nicely figured wood and the grain pattern and engraving wouldn't compete.

Here are two more options:

* Have the engraving outline the letters only. Then, you can go in with a brush and add the desired color with paint. Each letter will be nicely outlined by the engraving.

* Use the a laser engraver to cut stencils out of clear label material. The label material come in 8"x11" sheets and larger sheets. This should allow you to create a single stencil that would have all your lettering aligned for the entire platter -- assuming it's not too dished in the middle. That would make airbrushing fairly easy (if you prefer that look).

HTH

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

Doug Dubowski

Thanks for excellent advice and support! This will certainly help me make these platters live up to the occasion.

Doug

Re: Air brushing vs engraving

mikeee12345

Since you are making platters the base or foot will most likely have a recess in it that you could use

to insert any of the above ideas into that area. You could laser etch a wood or metal disc or color print a disc and insert into the base of the platter. All depends on how pronounced you want the message on the item to be. You could also turn a recess on the top side of the platter and insert a laser etched message or image.