Marker under finish


Jerry S

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Ok, quick question.

Is there a "correct" combo of marker/sharpie and finish? I have tried sharpie under shellac (spray and wipe). It dissolves the sharpie. I would imagine poly would do the same? The project I am working on is a gift for my nephew's baptism. I made a simple cross with oak and walnut. We a writing a little message on the back. (along with To, From, Date type of stuff) (Just for the curious mind - cross is about 8" tall and 4" wide. oak is 3/8" thick and walnut is 3/16".)

P1050059.jpg

All I am trying to do is protect the message a little bit. The obvious easy way to avoid the issue is to just not have the issue. Do not put the finish over the marker. But I could have sworn I've seen it before (and maybe years ago, actually did it. I just can't remember what I may have used.)

Any ideas or known solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jerry S

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I'm completely speculating here. The solvent for a sharpie IS alcohol. I know this because I've marked up many a laminated map, and used alcohol so I could wipe it off and start over...

But that doesn't tell you anything you don't already know, right?

Given the problem set, what I personally would do is trade in the sharpie for a soldering pen. Then, whatever message you have would be burned in, and the solvent wouldn't be an issue.

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Without having tried it, I'm thinking a water-based clear coat could top the writing and lock it down then you could apply further coats of shellac for your final finish (or at least a little so you can rub out the shellac on the writing to get it to all match).

General Finishes has a number of good water-based clear coats you could use like PolyAcrylic. Brush it on lightly. If you don't want to go with that finish, you could consider "clear faux protectant". I used it on faux painted interior walls. It comes in gloss and dries clear. It's water-based as well. I find it at Lowes, not Borg. The stuff is handy for top coating painted walls of any kind to add protection.

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