Prime, or not to prime?

[MDWine]

I have carved all I am going to carve on my first carving! I declared it "finished", so I am ready to paint. I'm not new to woodworking, but I am very green in the carving/painting arena!

I have seen several articles mention priming with a sanding sealer or a light coat of thinned "something"... some just say use two coats of your paint... so I wonder.

Seem like a primer or sealing coat would be a good idea. The wood is obichi, and supposedly is similar to sugar pine in carving quality. (It did carve well!)

I'd like to get this painted, but I want to start out right.



(This may be a no-brainer, but I wanted to check!

[Irish]

Hey MDWine,

I do prime basswood and other soft woods before I paint. Basswood is so extremely soft that it tends to soak up any color that you apply. A couple of coats of primer means that you can really work those primer coats into the wood to seal all of the detailing. Once the primer is dry the painting stage goes much more smoothly.

I seldom use white as my primer! Many acrylic colors are semi-transparent and on white primer turn out streaky unless you apply many coats. Blues and yellows are noted for this as are true reds.

If I am doing several colors, especially red, I mix up a medium gray tone for the primer. If I want something close to the wood color or wood effect it's a medium golden beige tone.

Primer is also excellent for pulling up those few fuzzy fibers that you get in carving. Once the two coats are well dried I do a light sanding to create as smooth a finish as possible before the painting. If I sand too hard in one area a little more primer color can be added.

Susan

[MDWine]

How about using something like a sanding sealer?

I use it when finishing a pen, and it helps "solidify" the surface, and when sanded can take a smooth surface up a notch.

[Mitchell]

I've used a sealer, but prefer to use the method suggested by Susan. I'd suggest making a couple of "test" carvings of the a small subject - nothing fancy - and using each prep option for your own personal evaluation.

There's nothing like trial and error to test something out.

[Irish]

Sanding seal is close to the acrylic sealer/polyurethane family in that it creates a water resistant finish. It's great when you want complete the carving in it's natural wood state with poly, varnish or wax. Of course, it's purpose is to stiffen and raise the loose fibers for easy clean up during the sanding process.

But because it does add a water resistant finish those areas where you don't sand back to the original wood surface can repell your acrylic paint. So instead of your paint soaking into the wood or soaking into a primer coat it now "sits" on top of the sanding seal. Those areas of your coloring won't have a strong bond.

Susan

[Hugh]

A further note to Susans comments. Susan is exactly right. Acrylic paint isn't famous for binding to wood to start with, thus the use of Gesso, which I don't like. My choice for sealing is the TK Sealer, it comes in a clear or white, and the acrylic paint adheres very well. The common puddling of acrylic paint is largely eliminated.

[MDWine]

OK, all points taken... I have to exercise a bit of patience, I really want this first one finished, but I need to slow down and take a breath!

Thanks for your input, everyone!

[KettleKarver]

I'm not big on priming or Gesso but Hugh and Susan are right, acrylic doesn't seem very fond of bare wood. For some projects I'll use a spit-coat of shellac (1lb. cut) as a sealer. It soaks into the wood and dries very quickly. Acrylic can be painted on top of that. The shellac allows the paint to be spread thin as a wash, if desired.
If I need moisture protection, I cover the carving with water based poly. You can put poly on top of shellac but not the other way around.

Jim