Pine engraving

[Krešimir Vranjković]

Hello all!

I did some engraving today
This is a piece of pine, 30mm thick, i sanded it with rotational sander, 80, 180 and 360 grit.
I first made one 250dpi pass, it wasn't enough to really burn the wood, so i made a 500dpi pass again (50s, 90p), to get some contrast. Sanded it again with 360 grit only.
I think it worked ok, I was thinking of maybe coloring the letters, but there's no need (?).

What do you think?

What would you recommend for finishing this product? Wax, oil, lacquer (matte, gloss)?
I'm pretty new to the "wood stuff", but I love to try new things

[Mike Troncalli]

First off... Excellent job... I think it came out very nice... In my opinion I wouldn't do any coloring.. As far as a finish goes that really is a personal thing.. I would at least do a lacquer or shellac finish.. maybe semi-gloss...

[Bill George]

Looks pretty nice as is, but I use semi gloss spray can lacquer on my wood before and after. Some folks are using brush on Poly Urethane water based. I hope others will add suggestions.

[Bert Kemp]

I might hand rub it with BLO

[Tony Lenkic]

Pozdrav Krešo,

Good job on engraved sign. The poem is nice as well. Did you write it?
How about asking Klapa Intrade (Tomislav Bralić) to turn it into a song. I'm sure they would make great song as they always do.

[Krešimir Vranjković]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Tony, I'm sure that Tomislav sings it often, the song is about a church in our town

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQS8LhrDRY

[Mayo Pardo]

Very nicely done.
I would only protect it with a matte or semi gloss clear. Gloss will be too reflective and make it difficult to read depending on lighting. I don't think the lettering or the graphic needs any color because the over all feel is a natural look.

I know you didn't ask for advice on the layout, however I suggest having the same (or slightly more) margin of space at the bottom as you show on the sides, to make the layout less "bottom heavy".

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Kresmir;
Very nice job-especially on pine. Hit it with some matte lacquer and it should look great. I was going to suggest you use a spellchecker as I can't understand a single word.......
Best Regards,
George
Laserarts


erarts

[Mike Null]

I would use a semi gloss polyurethane varnish for a permanent finish.

Nice results especially on difficult to engrave pine.