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Lettering on Acrylic

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

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Mark Felder
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:02 pm
Location: Gardiner, Maine
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Lettering on Acrylic

Post by Mark Felder »

I've decided to use acrylic enamels as background paint on my MDO and solid cedar signs, but I'm not sure if I should go to acrylic paints for lettering, I've been using One-Shot for over 30 years and I hate to switch. Right now I'm testing Aquacote, but it doesn't seem to have the coverage or control that One-Shot offers. Has anyone had bad experiences with One-Shot not adhering to acrylics?

Thanks,

Mark Felder
The Sign Shop
Gardiner, ME
www.thesignshopmaine.com
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Doug,
You should be fine painting OneShot over latex. It will certainly stick.

When painting oil over latex, you have to be more careful as you cannot wipe off drips or mistakes as easily as on a slick enamel surface. Also, we noticed OneShot dries a lot slower over latex than over enamel.

Latex paints are good for a lot of reasons, but you have to get used to them. They typically dry darker than they appear when you mix them and are still wet.

Good luck,
Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

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Dale Feicke
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:07 am
Location: Mississippi

Post by Dale Feicke »

I think you're right about not wanting to commit to using acrylic paints to letter, Mark. I've never had much luck, unless I wanted to double-coat, which I usually don't.

I've got several quarts of Aquacote that someone gave me several years ago, but I've resigned myself to using it for painting posts, backs of boards, etc. In its defense, it has held up Ok on the poles and stuff I've painted.

I'm just not a big fan of acrylic paints. I use them a lot for the peripherals, but I tend to stick with the enamels for lettering. And forget about trying to pinstripe with acrylics.
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