engraving a photo into wood, finishes?

[benjamint76]

I am able to engrave photos into wood, I am just trying to figure out how to get the picture to actually show all of the depths. Can i stain it or do i just finish it? any ideas

Thanks

[steve323]

I am at the same stage, but have read that many people have good results by sealing the wood with a clear sealant, then add a dark color paint into the grooves. Sand lightly to remove paint from the top surface. Add more clear sealant over everything.

The dark paint soaks in to the wood of you don't start with the clear sealant.

Steve

[CJL5585]

I have had the best success with the following method using Photo-V-Carve software.

(1) Sand the wood to be used to remove all surface defects.

(2) Spray medium coat of clear Lacquer (can or spray gun) and let dry for approximately 2 hrs.

(3) Use steel wool to burnish surface after drying and add another coat of Lacquer. Repeat this process until four or five coats of Lacquer are applied.

(4) Route out image in wood.

(5) Lightly sand or burnish surface to remove any roughness from routing, and apply another MEDIUM coat of lacquer over complete surface. This coat is to seal the pores of the routed area so that the stain in the next step will not soak into the wood and make light streaks in the wood UNDER ALL THE LACQUER THAT HAS BEEN APPLIED.

(6) Use a medium dark wood stain (I use MINWAX GOLDEN OAK). Cover the entire routed area with the stain and allow to dry a few (4) hours. One can darken surface with additional coats of stain.

(7) Once the stained wood meets your approval, seal the entire piece with a few additional coats of lacquer.

This proceedure has worked well for me on POPULAR and on WHITE OAK photographic carvings. One can reverse the process by staining the background a dark color and have the routed area natural wood color. This does not work too well for photographic carvings, but could be used when it does not interfere with the subject matter.

I recommend using wood stains in lieu of paint. Stains give better results in my opinion.

Hope this helps,
Jerry