Dark Stained Wood Engravement

I engraved a piece of birch that I stained a Jacobean color. Unfortunately, the engravement did not contrast well and I could barely see it. I only left the stain on the wood for 5 minutes then wiped the excess off and let it dry before engraving it.

What tips/tricks do you all have when it comes to engraving dark wood and having the engrave come out light?

Thank you so much in advance!!

1 Like

I don’t think there’s a way to make dark wood engrave light. You’re pretty much limited to dark and darker. :slight_smile:

1 Like

You can fill the engrave with paint

2 Likes

Stain before engrave should allow it to stand out more.
I say should, but as always, a test piece will show for sure.

1 Like

It can definitely be done,

I’ve never tried it but it’s doable. Engraves get darker as speed goes down and/or power goes up. So faster and less power is the way to go here. It might take multiple passes to get good depth, but it’s attainable.

4 Likes

Stain your wood first, mask it, engrave it and then spray the engraving with paint before removing the masking.

1 Like