Question: digging out, shading and inking

[ETHELBERT]

How do most of you folks deal with inking your engravings? When you hog out what you want, do you then ink (flat black) the hogged out areas, then clean up the part in question of the excess ink, then shade (no heal)...... or do you hog out shade and then ink all of your scroll or what ever type of engraving you have. I realize that it may be personel preference and it would depend on what you are trying to achieve. (Gun engraving) is mostly what I am interested in knowing what others do...thank you all in advance. and all have a happy and prosperous New Year!:

 

[SamW]

My usual sequence is to cut all the borders followed by the scroll and then remove background with the same square graver I use to cut the scroll. I will then stipple the background with a single point tool. If I want a very fine stippled background I will go over it with a very small flat punch prior to stipple work. I then shade the scroll and cut scenes. I don't normally ink my engraving except on guitar parts cut in aluminum. Never have inked gun engraving but the inking process would be the very last thing I would do.

PS...I sometimes blacken a french greyed scene with a quality wax with lampblack mixed in. Works well, helps protect the greyed area and is easily redone if and when needed. When I lived on Kodiak Island, hunting in that salt water environment, I would always wax my rifle both metal and wood with Johnson's paste wax and never had any problem with rust.