Preparing wood for Chalk Couture

No matter if you are cutting your own, scavenging a great upcycle find or purchasing retail, properly preparing your wood surface will make your project results amazing!
Many of these tricks I picked up prior to adding Chalk Couture into my arsenal of creativity- so even if you are creating stencils on your own these tips will be handy  in your wood sign projects.

---

Your goal is a nice smooth surface to work with- this can be the make or break of your project-- rough wood often = stencil/transfer leaks.  No matter the wood I am working with I always sand.
Sand paper comes in a variety of grit ... this is the aggressiveness that the paper will attack your wood with.  A lower number is more aggressive (this is great for shaping, taking off old paint, smoothing out bumps). A Higher number is less aggressive (this is where you fine tune and really smooth out your project).  Personally I use a 3 sandpaper process, I have read sign makers who do as many as five steps-- find your happy spot.  

---

My system is a 60 or 80, 150 and followed up with a 220 grit.  Yes it appears smooth after the 60/80 but you will have very fine lines from the sand paper in your wood. These fine lines may result in fine leaks of paste/paint under your stencil/transfer.   Use the higher number grits to make it smooth as a babies bottom!

Working with a wood like ship lap? Clearly you want the grooves to stay.  How do we deal with the leaks into those grooves though?  A quick and easy way to work around those gorgeous details is to slip a tooth pick into the groove, create your project & then pop out that tooth pick! It acts as a temporary gap filler. 

Now bust out that sander and have fun creating custom pieces with your Chalk Couture! For more tips and tricks working with Chalk Couture join our Email list and VIP Facebook group.

---

Back Home

Archives

March 2021
November 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020

Get Weekly Inspiration