So here is what I’m thinking of trying… Hoping someone else has tried this already with good results.
EPS blank sealed with spackle, lightly sanded and ready for lam
Laminate with epoxy and pigment. About 5% blue pigment added. 1 layer of 6oz. Cut lap. Going for almost completely opaque.
Once cured I plan on laying a stencil down and painting a thin layer of acrylic paint to achieve the desired logo. (The reason for trying this method rather than rice paper is because I need the logo to be white on top of a deep blue lam. I dont have a printer that prints white and I need the board done sooner than later/dont want to wait or pay for a boardlam. Also the customer wants the logo to be rather large… 14"x14"+ and I am cautious of delam / bubble issues when using too much rice paper. last bit of background info… the customer doesnt want any paint on the exterior of the board to be potential scratched as the board is used)
Once the paint has dried I figured I’d very lightly sand and continue the lamination with clear epoxy and another layer of 6oz… Maybe seal the paint prior to lam with some rattlecan clear acrylic.
After this stage the paint will be contained and sandwhiched safely in between the two layers and the board can be completed as usual.
Has anyone else here expiremented with this or have reasons that it will not work according to theory? Or better ideas to achieve a white logo over the color lam. btw I have a stencil cutter and that part will be easy.
You will have to dump a lot of pigment in there if you intend it to be opaque… You will have to at least add a little white. Also; Why do you need six ounce? Why not four?
McDing, thanks for the response. You’re saying white pigment mixed with the blue pig will help to keep the lamination opaque? I’m going for a sky blue so I’ll probably have to add white pig regardless. I’m glassing 1lb eps and it’s not the prettiest when sanded out. Figured the more opaque the lam the less anyone will notice the “beaded” blemishes in the foam.
As for the 2 layers of 6 oz… I might switch to 6oz on the first lam and 4oz on the 2nd layer of lam
i do it sometimes lay a thin filler coat sand to 180 to flatten lam texture before. i use posca or flat, mat, acrylic from art store, same paint as posca. let it dry, no sand, no seal, just lam over as usual.
if you have a true blue PIGMENT you will just have to add it until you reach your desired level of opacity. IF you have a blue tint then yes you will need to add some white pigment and most likely some black so you dont end up with baby blue(unless you want baby blue).
Its been covered here in the archives. instead of painting the lamination. I would take a foam brush and do a few coats of white acrylic on your rice paper( you can also use a white spray like montana paint in the can). Let it dry and then print your logo. Throw the logo on and laminate over it. It will look much sharper like this. Just trim up the logo nice and you are good to go. Painting the lam will end up looking not too professional and kinda cheesy. no need to seal anything. YOu are just adding things to the lam that might not be compatible with the epoxy at that point.
In my opinion it’s always easiest to paint directly on the foam and glass clear over it.
If you must paint between laminations then definitiely do a skim coat and lightly sand for a flat surface to paint on.
Whether painting on the foam or on a lam be careful not to overdo it with the paint thickness as it may cause the glass to delaminate. Multiple thin coats is the safest way.
Since the original question was regarding an opaque colored lam with a white painted logo over, then the next layer of glass (clear), I didn’t suggest painting directly on the foam, although I always prefer that to painting between layers of glass. But there are times when painting between layers has suited my goals, and I have never had any problems result. Like the client referred to in the original post, I prefer a layer of glass over my artwork, whether on the foam or on the lam.
The o.p. of course is welcome to use any approach he sees fit, and I make no recommendations, I only state what has worked for me based on my experience of painting most of my boards. There are too many options for things to go wrong to know for sure what will work best for every situation. I don’t know what the logo looks like, so even tho it is stated it would be rather large, I still think there is a likelihood that it is not a lot of surface area - most logos are linear in nature.
If I have a large painted area, I would prefer that to be painted on the foam, but if it is a smaller surface area, like a logo or lettering, I am comfortable painting between lams. If there is a big patch of white paint going on, then by all means pay attention to the advice to apply thin coats vs. a heavy coat. I do not recommend painting or sealing with anything from a rattle can. I don’t think a sealer is generally necessary, unless maybe in a trial run there is some running of the paint that becomes a concern.
If this was my project I might have a stencil of the logo cut by a sign shop, depending on the complexity of the logo, then paint with a water based artist’s acrylic. I hope the project turns out successful.
Lost track of this thread, but to clarify; You should be able to get a “Sky Blue” easily with blue tint or pigment either by adding a small amount of White. A lot of good suggestions in this thread and we do sometimes here on Sways have a tendency to overthink our solutions. Painted foam first, otherwise a sanded/painted hotcoat.
