Engraving before or after

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
R

renowb

Member
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
2,241
Just wondering, this may be a dumb question, but I am dumb so please bear with me! Can a pen be engraved over the ca finish? Or should it be engraved first, then apply ca?:embarrassed:
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
i would think before the finish then put the finish over it but then it might mess up because the glue will fill in the cracks
 
If you check out some engravers websites they say to completely finish the pen before engraving . Laser engraving is done by burning the engraving into the pen , if you don't seal the wood with a finish , the wood can be stained by the burning process and you will have to sand the wood , possibly damaging the engraving .
 
If I intend to use a colorfil, I engrave before the finish, and before the final sanding. Allows me to put a protective coat over the colorfil, and the CA finish over it really makes it "pop". If no colorfil, I do after finishing.
 
In line with Butch's post, I only do the colorfil and engraving before finishing on stabilized or MMM (man made material) blanks. trying to clean colorfil out of wood pores/open grain is really not feasible.
 
Here is what I have found works for me. I finish the pen all the way out, and add two coats of car polish (the hard kind). When I get the pen back, I use "Rub-n-Buff" to fill in the lettering. Then wipe the excess right off. The wax keeps the Rub-N-Buff from clinging to your pen, while filling in the letters very nicely. Hope that helps someone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom