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Lettering on cloth

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

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David Slade
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Location: Osaka, Japan
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Lettering on cloth

Post by David Slade »

I tried to letter a T-shirt with One Shot today. At first the paint was to thick and kind of skimmed over the surface. Thinning seemed to work at first. I went over the top of the "B" several times and it seemed ok. But soon the paint started bleeding. The shirt was 100% cotton but not new. Is there a coating or something that can be used?
Thanks!
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Anthony Bennett
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Re: Lettering on cloth

Post by Anthony Bennett »

You need to seal with a clear coat, over in the UK they use GAC 500 and then again with the same stuff to finish, I don't know if you get it in the US of A.
It's use is to seal the material and prevent bleed as the clear coat will already have done it. You might also consider using it when using colours primary colours to stop the edges becoming secondary colour or giving the appearance of changing.

I have never heard of one - being used on a T-shirt, you must have thinned it down somewhat as, once dried straight 1-shot would become like a thick plastisol.

Good Luck with it.
Lee Littlewood
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Re: Lettering on cloth

Post by Lee Littlewood »

You might try getting the tee shirt damp with water before lettering with 1Shot. The 1Shot should be thinned a bit. I like white gasoline aka camping stove fuel - it seems to make the paint watery but not runny, sort of. The theory is that the water will fill the 'pores' and the oilbase paint won't be sucked out from the strokes so much. It actually works on big raw canvas banners, but I don't know about small letters.
Best bet is to use acrylic paints and a synthetic brush, and stretch the shirt tight. And expect to double-coat no matter what.
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Joe Morreale
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Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:32 am

Re: Lettering on cloth

Post by Joe Morreale »

It's tedious but whenever I have to letter on cloth i use a coat, sometimes two of blockout as prime. I'm pretty sure you can use poster color as well. It dries faster and doesn't want to bleed. After your n first coat the other go easy. The cloth will be stiff when you are done. I've used this procedure on hundreds of cloth awnings.
pat mackle
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Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2012 5:35 pm

Re: Lettering on cloth

Post by pat mackle »

A friend of mine puts art and letters on his T shirts by applying computer cut or hand cut stencils(for that freehand look) onto the shirt, and then lightly spraying them in multiple stages with spray can paints. They are very crisp and the spray paint stays solid after many washes. Great for small runs.
Kent Smith
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Re: Lettering on cloth

Post by Kent Smith »

A few thinned coats of ti-cote will seal the fabric, applied with an airbrush is best. Of course airbrushing the lettering is a good option too.
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