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Hello Everyone: Not sure if I am posting in the right place...what do you all use to seal or protect your wooden blocks before mounting the rubber stamps? In the Buy/Sell thread, a few folks have advertised in their posts that some of their stamp sets were sealed with polyurethane (I believe that is some kind of clear protectant - what is the best one to use????). I am new to stamping so anything to keep the wooden blocks from getting stained is a BIG PLUS especially when I am ready to resell (hehehee). Any advice would be appreciated.
I've used clear nail polish to seal my wood blocks after i have mounted the rubber. Avoid touching the rubber or foam with the polish. it helps to keep the wood from staining. have fun!
do you use the polish on just the underside or the whole block? I have thought about doing this but I want to play as soon as I get them so waiting for sealer to dry is out. But I would think that nail polich would be quick right?
do you use the polish on just the underside or the whole block? I have thought about doing this but I want to play as soon as I get them so waiting for sealer to dry is out. But I would think that nail polich would be quick right?
Once I adhere the stamp and the label, I apply the polish on the exposed wood block. I do apply it near the rubber, I am just very careful not to get it on the rubber or the foam. Hope this helps!;)
Oh and it is fairly quick to do. You just have to wait for it to dry just like you do when you polish your nails. Unless you get the quick dry kind of polish. I just buy the cheapest form of clear polish I can get. Has worked for me for years!
Thanks much for the advice...will have to try that. But a few more questions:
Does the clear nail polish leave a build-up? And how long does it last - would you have to re-polish after awhile? Does the ink come right off of the wood if you accidentally tocuh the inkpad?
Hello Everyone: Not sure if I am posting in the right place...what do you all use to seal or protect your wooden blocks before mounting the rubber stamps? In the Buy/Sell thread, a few folks have advertised in their posts that some of their stamp sets were sealed with polyurethane (I believe that is some kind of clear protectant - what is the best one to use????). I am new to stamping so anything to keep the wooden blocks from getting stained is a BIG PLUS especially when I am ready to resell (hehehee). Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks - Alma
When I first started SU, I sealed my wood blocks with Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane sealer. I don't do it anymore. It took too much time. I now want to mount them and use them right away! <grin> And my unsealed wood blocks still look good - even considering that I occasionally have not-so-careful customers use them.
A friend of mine used to do this to all of her stamps... She said that she found it really didn't make much of a difference anyhow so she quit doing it. I've never done it myself either. (And since I'm switching over to the EZ Mount system, I'm just tossing all the wood blocks anyhow.)
I seal mine with a spray polyurethane sealer. Matte or Satin finish. I also sand the rough cut edges. I have noticed a difference with my sealed blocks vs. unsealed. They will still stain, but not as easily or as much. Personally I think it's worth the extra time (considering how much we spend on our stamps!). I will sand the blocks first and then take them outside and spray them. While they are drying, I trim the rubber. It really doesn't take that much longer than just mounting the stamps if you do it in that order. Of course you don't have to sand the edges, but I'm anal that way ;)
My friend told me about this one. That is before you mount your stamp to
the wood block you get out yor packing tape and wrap around the block
and then mount you stamp. It works great keeps the wood clean.
I'm with Ginger - I used to coat all my stamps (over 2500 BEFORE SU), with poly... but then I had to wait to play. Of course, I'd wait to get a few to do, so then the wait was even longer. Years later, still doing it, the friend who told me about it (she worked for Hero Arts), said - I don't do that anymore - I dig right in and play. So, hard as it was, I stopped as well. Hey - they stamp the same, and they look almost as good. I, too, have a couple not so careful stampers, but if you're going to fret you're not going to have fun. So I gave in!!! Although, I still remember the first time I saw someone totally "stain" my pretty new stamp - with BLACK no less... Cindy
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Don't throw those blocks away!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KimberlyinMN
A friend of mine used to do this to all of her stamps... She said that she found it really didn't make much of a difference anyhow so she quit doing it. I've never done it myself either. (And since I'm switching over to the EZ Mount system, I'm just tossing all the wood blocks anyhow.)
Kimberly
Post them for sale or trde.. I see people looking for them on the forums all of the time. :}
I use a cheapo sealer aerosol I bought at the local Home Depot. I did about a dozen sets then got really sick of it.... waiting and turnning the blocks...I now just mount and play :} I still can't stand to see ink on wood but it doesn't make me throw up either :}
Kim
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Alma~
I use Krylon Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze. It is a brush on clear coat. I put on two coats. It does take time, but if you want to protect your wood blocks, it is well worth it. Classic inks wipe off right away for the most part, but the permanent black can stain. I suppose if it really bothers you, you could sand through the clear coat to remove the staining, then reseal. I also use some of my stamps with acrylic paints, they clean off the sealed wood nicely - more difficult to get the rubber stamp itself clean ! So far there has been no reason to recoat them, the finish is lasting well for my hobby use of the stamps. Best wishes !
I really enjoy staining and sealing my wood blocks. I use acrylic stain and a matte sealer. It does take a little time. But I really like the benefit of very little staining from my ink pads and like I said, I enjoy the process of doing it. It has nothing to do with resale. I have not sold any of my sets! I just like them clean!! :-) Ok, so maybe I'm a little silly about them being clean, but since I don't mind the process of making them easier to clean, I guess it doesn't really matter!
;) When I mount my own stamps, I use Delta Sealer (you can buy it at Michaels) and it is low odor. I generally put on 2 coats. Then follow that with Minwax Clear (2 coats). They turn out really nice.
__________________ Have an awesome day!
Loretta Rathert~
I read all the post and sometimes I too am anxious to use my set. However I use the cheapest, quickest and easiest method I have found. I dunk them! One coat usually works and it makes a tremendous difference. Open a quart can of clear poly and drop in four or five block at a time. Use a brush for background stamps. I use disposable gloves to grab them or bamboo tongs. I lay them out to dry on a big piece of an old $1 shower liner. (I change my liners about once a month.) If you place them on the curved side of the block it will dry faster because you may get a little puddle. I move them after an hour to a dry spot on the plastic. They dry to touch in several hours unless it is rainy.
FYI- I tried to put the picture label on the block so I wouldn't mix up the sets. The plastic label buckled a little on the edge.
I read all the post and sometimes I too am anxious to use my set. However I use the cheapest, quickest and easiest method I have found. I dunk them! One coat usually works and it makes a tremendous difference. Open a quart can of clear poly and drop in four or five block at a time. Use a brush for background stamps. I use disposable gloves to grab them or bamboo tongs. I lay them out to dry on a big piece of an old $1 shower liner. (I change my liners about once a month.) If you place them on the curved side of the block it will dry faster because you may get a little puddle. I move them after an hour to a dry spot on the plastic. They dry to touch in several hours unless it is rainy.
FYI- I tried to put the picture label on the block so I wouldn't mix up the sets. The plastic label buckled a little on the edge.
The reasons I coat my wood are (a) I'm not an artist so stains clutter my mind as to what the stamp can do -- as if the project is messed up before I even start; (b), much more importantly and practically, if I get ink on the wood, it gets on my hands and I accidentally transfer it to the project and ruin it so it's vital to see where stray ink is so I can clean it off -- hard to do if there are other stains around; and (c) I'll be able to get MUCH more money out of them if they're in good shape if I must sell them.
If the ink does penetrate the varnish and stains the wood, it won't have penetrated nearly so much as if it weren't varnished; I just sand the edge or wherever and revarnish.
In addition, I consider it a nice ritual when I get new stamps. I apply matte or satin water-based varnish or sealer for indoor and outdoor use (for surfaces that will get wet -- such as ink!) with a small nylon-bristle brush to non-SU! stamps to work around the rubber and a bigger brush or sponge brush to cover SU! wood -- two coats. (You know people laugh at us, don't you?) Steps are alternated: varnish half of the wood blocks, set aside wet side up, cut rubber, intermittently varnishing the other half of blocks and doing second coat. When varnish is dry (which is quickly), I apply the SU!'s clear image on wood, and then the rubber so registration is correct.
Last step is stamp and label the images in my Stamp-A-Log, clean the stamps, and put them in the box and away -- with a big grin for my fabulous new images!
I sure am glad I'm not alone being so particular about our tools.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laurakj
I seal mine with a spray polyurethane sealer. Matte or Satin finish. I also sand the rough cut edges. I have noticed a difference with my sealed blocks vs. unsealed. They will still stain, but not as easily or as much. Personally I think it's worth the extra time (considering how much we spend on our stamps!). I will sand the blocks first and then take them outside and spray them. While they are drying, I trim the rubber. It really doesn't take that much longer than just mounting the stamps if you do it in that order. Of course you don't have to sand the edges, but I'm anal that way ;)
Hey Laura...ditto for me...I spray with poly, and then trim the rubber while the wood blocks are drying. (I do draw the line at sanding them though)
I have a few sets that I never sealed, (from when I first started stamping) and there is a big difference. I definitely think it's worth it.
I used to use the clear packaging tape, as that's how my upline did it. After awhile I found it to be too time consuming, and I hated trimming the tape after wrapping. I decided to move to using clear poly (Krylon matte sealer). I use the brown paper that comes in the SU box as a liner underneath some hard cardboard (large priority mail boxes work well for this), then spray away! I leave it to dry while I cut the rubber. Like someone said above, it really doesn't add to the time much at all if you do it this way.
Wood Block Sealer
sealing wood blocks-SU
