Painting on the Glowforge Wood

Can someone help me out on what type of paint to use when painting on the materials purchased by Glowforge with the coating on it?

The PG material is already sealed - so paint really won’t stick and definitely won’t soak in unless you sand off the coating first. If you know you plan to paint or stain you should probably get unsealed wood to work on. Baltic Birch (not just birch) is lovely stuff you can get from a lot of wood sellers and even on Amazon.

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You can use alcohol ink on the Proofgrade varnish, but it is hard to get a even coat. Lightly sanding it to give it tooth is another option, say if you wanted to paint it with craft paints?

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I would recommend you only use draftboard for painting. Proof grade is expensive and there is a reason it is expensive because it is already beautifully finished.

If you decide to paint your proof grade— I highly recommend a light sanding and primer.

After applying the primer you can use regular acrylic paints. Go to Walmart and get a dozen bottles. To protect your paint finish you will want to put on a clear coat. There is clear coat for things that will be inside and a clear coat for items that will be outside in the elements.

Now this is very important use a separate brush and can for the edges. The char on the edges will soil a new can.

I always transfer the clear coats to separate smaller containers. Someone at The Home Depot and Lowes can help you with the different types of clear coat sealers.


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This is also true with glues.
No matter which you use, scratching/sanding past the sealed surface will give sticking power.
I tested this to death back in the day and was amazed at how many glue types just released the next day without hardly any resistance.

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