When I try to blacken my backgrounds it doesn't stick, I use Rustoleum and a nitrile glove, I wipe it on and off then rub with a rag or paper towel and ALL of it comes off. What am I doing wrong?
First, make sure it's completely dry. Then wipe with a stiffer paper, like newsprint or copy paper. The softer papers will "pull" the paint or ink from the engraved lines. The stiffer paper will only remove the paint from the raised surface.
Do not WAD the paper or cloth. Use a single layer tightly around your your index finger. I use old T-shirt material.
And it won't stay black if you don't have a good relief and complete stipple.
1- You need to have enough dept so black paint can stay in them,
2- engraved surface must be very clean, you can drop some acetone on it and try to clean the surface with it, when you do it wait a few minutes so aceton can evaporate, I also use some air to clean the surface.
3- Don't apply the paint directly from its box, put a few drop on a clean surface and add very little acetone to make the paint thinner.
4- when you put paint on your engraving, wait a little bit, ( I wait approximately 30 - 60 seconds )
5- Don't use paper towel or cloth, for me the best thing to remove the paint is my fingers, do it very gently and slowly
OK, Thanks, I see some things to change. I have gotten my best results with deeper relief but I see pictures of highly detailed scrollwork with fine shading in the leaves, I always thought that type of shading would have to be pretty shallow, a V point graver gets wider lines as it goes deeper, right?
I never considered thinning the paint, I did think about adding powdered black pigment to thicken it.,,,?
I don't know how I could stipple any deeper, I let the stroke out pretty far, sometimes turn the air up and go for maximum coverage and penetration. I'll go over it several times and inspect it from all angles, even hold the point in place for a second or so all over.
while the paint is still wet, freshly applied, i wipe with 2-3 layers of newspaper to remove the bulk of the excess. i think doing it right away while the paint is fully liquid (sometimes i put a drop of acetone on the Q-tip i use to apply the paint, to thin it even more) leaves more in the cuts. waiting until it's sticky, more viscous, tends to pull some back out. then after it's dried for a few minutes, i clean off the smeared remnants with another 2-3 layers of newspaper, very slightly dampened with acetone. i put a few drops on the paper and wait until the acetone has soaked in/evaporated before wiping.
I wrap a single layer of paper around a plastic hotel key card or old credit card and then use it to “scrape†off wet paint. This removes 85 to 90% of the paint ... remainder is removed with a little more rubbing with paper (or flexible nail buff) once paint has dried a bit more. I have removed paint with heal of my hand tho that is a bit messy ... does work really well tho.
Rub it off with your finger like others say. For some things like practice plates, I keep a mix of inletting black with Renaissance Wax and some Tap Magic. Rub it in with my finger and buff.