V Cutting Tape

[Boyan Silyavski]

Boyan - Thanks for information. I have to paint the whole surface first. Then cut through with the v cutter. Then spray contrasting colour onto engraving. Then remove tape/film. I also use water based emulsions and cover with urethane after removing all remaining film.
Regards
Rod

No, what i am suggesting is more precise. There is no need for tape. Paint will go under the tape and into the wood! hence better is to impregnate wood and then paint channel. Then sand excess. I have that constant conversation with a printer guy friend of mine when he tries to teach me that i have to use tape and me that is better without tape.

Plus there's that detail that you have to sand inside channel or clean with flat screwdriver before coloring and priming. The tape will not permit that or will roughen and then coor will go where is not needed in wood.

I have tried all and what i say works 100% perfectly. I don't have more time for experiments... It works also just V cut clean and paint, but then sanding is more time and trickier if you have 1mm grooves like that on picture below. In fact on that images you will see that i used different method for each plate. result was same just i lost 2 1mm lines and had to do them by hand later.

And use bicomponent paint otherwise you could be testing the destiny. Once only i used bad paint on 30 signs and had to repaint them 4 times.

[Leadhead]

Boyan - Yes but your Z0 surface is plain. I have to paint my whole Z0 surface first and then cut in. I could then hand paint in the v cavity. But I generally like to airbrush.

[PaisleyPCdoctor]

Would it be possible to deliberately carve slightly too deep (say 0.2mm for talking sake), paint the cuts, then mill the 0.2mm off the whole surface with a clearing bit?

[Leadhead]

Yes but, this assumes that you require a natural colour surface. As my conversation with Boyan above. I need a painted surface, which is another ballgame. Currently my method is to paint or spray my base surface (Z,0 surface) then use industrial strength iron-on film over that. A good initial surface is required and a well dried polymer based paint is imperative for good film adhesion. I cut through for my lowest contour first. Iron back the edges to ensure a seal against the painted edge. Then paint or airbrush in the cut. If going for three or more colours, then I repeat the iron on film process as required. (Find a small triangular model film covering iron is very useful.)
I have tried cutting the surface back, as you suggest, and rubber rollering the topcoat. Results where not good.

[EddyCurrent]

You could use laminations.
Layer1 would be your top colour
Layer2 would be your cut layer, revealed by the cutting tool.
Layer3 would be the unseen backing layer.

Pieces of different colour could be positioned in layer2 so that many colours would be revealed after cutting.
Of course that would take planning but the machine could cut those out to fit like a mosaic.

Some type of plastic would be ideal for Layer2 or possibly thin wood that had been fully saturated right through with colour.

[Leadhead]

Problem with solid wood or MDF is that the edge of that laminate has to be painted. Also it would seem to assume that the colour differentiation was on a common x,y (lamination) level. 3D colour changes would be inefficient at best I think. Unless you have a way please?

[magicniner]

This is about paint!
You need to paint the top surface with a paint which is resistant to the solvent in the paint for the fill.
If you cannot do this then the solution (no pun intended) is not what you would like it to be.