Masking Clean Lines with Dyes

[Leo Graywacz]

I really think you have to worries. The acetone evaporates so quickly it will hardly effect it. I believe your thinking is correct and that a soaking is what would be required to delaminate the work.

[Mark Crenshaw]

I tried Leo's suggestion of using a thin coat of clear, sanding, then applying the dye. It worked quite well! I was able to wipe the dye/alcohol on and I had total control over the coverage. I also added a few more drops of dye to my mixture so fewer passes would be needed. And, I am more than pleased with the depth of the grain. Thanks Leo!!! And everyone else who replied. This forum is such a great resource!



Peace,
Mark

[Leo Graywacz]

It's almost like I've done this before

["Tim Quinn"]

This might be really obvious . . . are you rubbing down the edge of the tape with your fingernail or a bone folding point? This is the secret of getting a good edge when masking on canvas with oil paint.

[Leo Graywacz]

Dyes will get soaked up by the grain of the wood and follow the grain structure.

Oil and latex paints will only lay on the surface and will not soak into the grain.

[Mark Crenshaw]

This might be really obvious . . . are you rubbing down the edge of the tape with your fingernail or a bone folding point? This is the secret of getting a good edge when masking on canvas with oil paint.

Hi Tim.
I was rubbing it down with a small block of wood with a tiny round over...it was down as tight as I knew how to get it.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

It's almost like I've done this before

Yes, and thanks for sharing with the class.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

Hello all. This is a repeat post from another forum but I wanted to share the results with those who helped me out over here in the Project Finishing Forum.

You can see the whole process here:

http://www.crenshawweb.com/texastele/ttp14.htm

I took Leo's advice and, except for the white areas which I bleached, used a thin coat of lacquer to stop any bleeding under the masking...it worked beautifully!



I ended up spraying the dyes in lacquer and I am thrilled with the results. The figure really shines thru!

These shots are with wet sanded color coats...no top coats yet.







Thanks again to Leo and others who helped with this project!

Peace,
Mark

[Larry Fox]

Mark, looks great. Can we get a closeup pic of the intersections where the dyed areas meet? I want to see how crisp the lines are as I wanted to do this before but always shied away from it due to the bleed-through.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Mark, looks great. Can we get a closeup pic of the intersections where the dyed areas meet? I want to see how crisp the lines are as I wanted to do this before but always shied away from it due to the bleed-through.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Hi Larry. Thanks!

These are as tight as I have on the site right now...I can post something tonight when I get home. The lines are every bit as clean as I had hoped for. I'm really pleased with the outcome.





There are lots of pics at the link in my earlier post if that helps any for now.

Peace,
Mark

[Leo Graywacz]

Glad I could help, and glad you were able to make it work for you.

[Mark Crenshaw]

Here's a tight shot of the line between the red and white. I haven't finished level sanding yet so the edges are off a bit in height and my masking could have been a bit better but you can see how the bleeding was controlled. I think additional sanding will help but, looking at it this closely, I'm not so sure I like it now.



Peace,
Mark

[Larry Fox]

Thanks for the tight shot Mark. That is indeed pretty good control of the bleeding. I am going to have to give this a shot for future projects.