I think this will be great for things like jewelry, but at the rate that I want to produce and paint the other items it would quickly become cost prohibitive. The benefit of the Draftboard is that it’s so inexpensive.
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You could go really old-school (think AD 145O to 1600) and seal with egg yolk!
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I don’t have much to add, but wanted to mention I’ve had a bit better success using oil paint pens with the MDF. If you haven;t tried them it might be worth a shot. Also consider experimenting with other media and using acrylic for the backing etc. It would probably work well in application like the transformer pens. You can get it in matte which hides smears etc really well and makes for a really nice backdrop.
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That sounds both stinky and dangerous :>
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I’ve used super glue (water thin) to get a very smooth high-gloss clear finish, maybe try that as a first layer?
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@Xabbess, your work is sooo professional looking. The colors are beautiful. 
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have you tried aerosol gesso?
https://www.dickblick.com/products/krylon-gesso-spray/
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Ahhhh, I didn’t even know this exists! Definitely going to get some of that and give it a try!
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I don’t think you’re going to get good results with draft board if you don’t sand it first. I tried staining draft board and yuck - it was so bad I concluded it wasn’t worth further experimentation.
The three colored gift tags are draft board that was sanded, painted with cheap spray paint (I’ve since moved on to better spray paint), masked and then cut and engraved. I’ve also made draft board boxes that I painted after assembly, but do not have pictures handy. Note that in all cases I removed the glowforge masking, sanded and then re-masked. It doesn’t take much time to run some 220 grit over the draft board using a random orbit sander and then re-mask it. When I peel off my masking I don’t raise the fibers; it is as smooth as before I re-applied masking. The masking I use is lower tack than what comes from glowforge. If I had to sand the individual pieces, umm yeah I could see where that would consume your time. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the laser-cut edge is a black hole for paint. It just disappears. Using a primer helps, but it is a challenge.
The white spots on the red tag are my bad - not-quite-dry paint transfer. The finish is glossy and smooth enough. I don’t know how high of quality you need, but I would say it’s above average. Note I don’t use a lot of paint in what I’ve done so far, so maybe I’m not calibrated to the quality-level you require.
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That’s interesting to me. I’ve had the opposite experience…seems like the MDF just soaks the paint up like there’s no tomorrow…and sometimes leaves a fuzzy edge.
My husband had some spray-on black Plasti-dip that he used for a costume a couple years ago. I ended up spraying one of the pieces, letting it dry, and then giving it the lightest pass ever with 220 grit snadpaper. The result is a baby-smooth surface with no detectable tooth.
I haven’t tried painting on it yet, but plan on doing that tomorrow, and grabbed a can of the white while we were out. I’ll report back on how it paints and varnishes.
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Hi! Could you tell me what you used to stain the draftboard? I made a set of coasters and I’m at a loss as to what to try and seal it with. These are really cute!
I’m a little confused. As per my post, I don’t think draft board takes stain very well. The red, yellow and white gift tag are painted draft board. Just spray paint. The other four are walnut, maple, maple and cherry proofgrade plywood. No other finishes.
If you don’t seal draft board coasters they will quickly deteriorate. It is a must to seal them. Personally, I would use a spar polyurethane. You can search the forums for other ideas. Earlier today I saw @jamesdhatch recommend Epifanes marine finishes, Spraymax 2K clearcoat, if money isn’t an option Deltron DC3000 which is an automotive finish or an epoxy finish like West System. Again, I think a spar poly like you can find at Home Depot, Lowes or Menards will be fine for draft board coasters.
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Okay, I will try one of those. I also did a set on the maple plywood PG but I like the look of the draft board much better with the design I have. Thank you for responding. Enjoy your day!
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Gesso or Modge Podge as a sealer?
I’m new to Glowforge by only about 2 weeks. I was very happy to see how this glaze stood up to the draft board. However, acryllic paint is very readily absorbed by any engraved surface, stands up ‘okay’ to untouched surfaces.
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Nice effect! Might need to pick some of that up!
It sure is.
You can score the masking, peel off the scored part and then paint. Wicking under the masking can be an issue. (see below)
You can take off the masking, paint the whole board, re-mask it and then engrave for a two-color (paint color and engrave) effect.
Before you remove the masking, but after the engrave, float acrylic paint in there like it is a concrete pour. You will want to “seal the edges” to prevent wicking so try spraying some clear Krylon before the paint pour.
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I think if it were me I’d try:
- A coating of thin CA glue
- Automotive high build sandable primer
- Mod podge
- Wood glue
In case you’ve never used it, the sandable high build primer is basically spray paint that is used to fill cracks in car paint. It dries very fast and can be wet sanded with 600 grit paper within an hour or two of application. It leaves a perfect finish, and is easy to use.
I saw plastidip mentioned - it’s awesome stuff, but can it be lasered safely?
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You can also spray on some clear coat, so it will do the wicking invisibly, before you apply the color. Works great for perfectly clean paint lines.
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