Puzzle Painting Problem - the 3 P's LOL

[new2woodwrk]

So I now have 2 puzzles, and I was originally thinking of painting them.

However, as I thought more about it, it seemed if I painted them, the pieces wouldn't fit together because of the added layer of paint - is this true?

I don't want  to ruin one by testing it out, but it seems to be true to me

I stained the Dragon last night and applied a finish this morning, so I should be able to tell if I've ruined that one soon enought

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

[Iguanadon]

Cut a couple of puzzle pieces out of some scrap and paint them as a test.

Light coatings of paint shouldn't be a problem, but you're smart to test first.

[new2woodwrk]

1 hour ago, Iguanadon said:

Cut a couple of puzzle pieces out of some scrap and paint them as a test.

Light coatings of paint shouldn't be a problem, but you're smart to test first.

Duh!

Yeah LOL Good idea - *smacks head*

Thanks

[NC Scroller]

Unless you really glob the paint on it won't be an issue.  What can be a issue is water based paints raise the grain and will even cause some swelling.  After the first cost of water based paint dries, over night, sand all surfaces lightly with 220 grit sandpaper.

[lew]

1 hour ago, new2woodwrk said:

So I now have 2 puzzles, and I was originally thinking of painting them.

However, as I thought more about it, it seemed if I painted them, the pieces wouldn't fit together because of the added layer of paint - is this true?

I don't want  to ruin one by testing it out, but it seems to be true to me

I stained the Dragon last night and applied a finish this morning, so I should be able to tell if I've ruined that one soon enought

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance

It is a puzzlement!!

[dgman]

This is why I use hardwoods! No paint, no stains. A soaking in 50/50 boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits brings out the natural color and grain of the wood. Then a few light coats of spray on lacquer as a top coat. 

Edited April 20, 2018 by dgman

[orangeman]

For my colored puzzles I use soft maple and dip the pieces in food dyes; then apply a non toxic sealer (Sherwin Williams CabAcrylic).

Normally I will use a #3 or #5 Pegas Modified Geometry blade on cherry or walnut, etc.

But when I dip and coat soft maple, I always use a #7 blade for the extra kerf width. #5 will work but it's a tight fit. #7 is better.

bb

Edited April 20, 2018 by orangeman
boo-boo

[orangeman]

9 minutes ago, dgman said:

This is why I use hardwoods! No paint, no stains. A soaking in 50/50 boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits brings out the natural color and grain of the wood. Then a few light coats of spray on lacquer as a top coat. 

I love your puzzle! Bought the pattern from Judy months ago but haven't tried it. great job!!!!

bb

[new2woodwrk]

34 minutes ago, dgman said:

This is why I use hardwoods! No paint, no stains. A soaking in 50/50 boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits brings out the natural color and grain of the wood. Then a few light coats of spray on lacquer as a top coat. 

Very nice - unfortunately, I don't feel like I'm ready to use good wood.

I still work with ply and scraps of Pine i can join for larger boards.

I have 2 boxes of good wood, waiting for the day LOL

[NC Scroller]

10 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Very nice - unfortunately, I don't feel like I'm ready to use good wood.

I still work with ply and scraps of Pine i can join for larger boards.

I have 2 boxes of good wood, waiting for the day LOL

Poplar is pretty cheap and is an excellent wood for puzzles.  It also takes paint and stain much better then pine. It is also available just about everywhere (Lowe's, Home Depot, lumber yards).

[new2woodwrk]

51 minutes ago, NC Scroller said:

Poplar is pretty cheap and is an excellent wood for puzzles.  It also takes paint and stain much better then pine. It is also available just about everywhere (Lowe's, Home Depot, lumber yards).

They don't always have poplar in my area which why pine is my go to

Sometimes they have this wood they call "white" - no one seems to know what species that is though LOL

[NC Scroller]

6 minutes ago, new2woodwrk said:

They don't always have poplar in my area which why pine is my go to

Sometimes they have this wood they call "white" - no one seems to know what species that is though LOL

I don't think I have ever seen a Lowes or HD that did not have poplar but I have not been in every one.  I know then my folks lived in Florida the ones in the Tampa area carried it.  "White wood" is spruce or fir.  It is in the same family as the various pines.

[new2woodwrk]

2 hours ago, NC Scroller said:

I don't think I have ever seen a Lowes or HD that did not have poplar but I have not been in every one.  I know then my folks lived in Florida the ones in the Tampa area carried it.  "White wood" is spruce or fir.  It is in the same family as the various pines.

Yeah, this area not big on a lot of things other areas have which is why I go on the internet for 99% of my purchases

Lowes here carries pine, the "white" wood, I'll look for poplar next time I go - they may have it in another area. I've also seen cedar planks for closets and things

I won't go to HD - they really suck in this area - worst service you could imagine, and the employee turn over is insane - every time I go in there it seems there are new employees in every dept who haven't been trained to help anyone! I once went in to buy a sheet of plywood, took almost an hour to get someone to cut it for me. Now I just buy the sheets and break it down myself - worthless!

The plywood at our lowes is all in MM which drives me nuts converting it LOL and there is nothing sanded except the small pieces 2x2, 2x4 which are really expensive

 

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by new2woodwrk

[Iguanadon]

1 hour ago, new2woodwrk said:

Yeah, this area not big on a lot of things other areas have which is why I go on the internet for 99% of my purchases

Lowes here carries pine, the "white" wood, I'll look for poplar next time I go - they may have it in another area. I've also seen cedar planks for closets and things

I won't go to HD - they really suck in this area - worst service you could imagine, and the employee turn over is insane - every time I go in there it seems there are new employees in every dept who haven't been trained to help anyone! I once went in to buy a sheet of plywood, took almost an hour to get someone to cut it for me. Now I just buy the sheets and break it down myself - worthless!

The plywood at our lowes is all in MM which drives me nuts converting it LOL and there is nothing sanded except the small pieces 2x2, 2x4 which are really expensive

 

 

At my local Lowe's the poplar is next to the Oak and other hardwoods.  I buy the 12" wide boards and it comes in either 4' or 6' lengths, about $5.33 per foot.  6' board costs me $32 and I get 18-20 animal puzzles out of it.  Cost per puzzle is around $1.75. 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Iguanadon

[Rockytime]

49 minutes ago, Iguanadon said:

At my local Lowe's the poplar is next to the Oak and other hardwoods.  I buy the 12" wide boards and it comes in either 4' or 6' lengths, about $5.33 per foot.  6' board costs me $32 and I get 18-20 animal puzzles out of it.  Cost per puzzle is around $1.75. 

I think all of the HD's and Lowes carry red oak and poplar. Iggy, I am wondering, since you lay out all your patterns on one large board , do you use a band saw to separate them or a jig saw or what? Interesting what you do.

[Iguanadon]

1 hour ago, Rockytime said:

I think all of the HD's and Lowes carry red oak and poplar. Iggy, I am wondering, since you lay out all your patterns on one large board , do you use a band saw to separate them or a jig saw or what? Interesting what you do.

Hey Les,

You got it, I use a jigsaw to cut the 6' board into smaller pieces after the patterns are mounted, 2 or 3 animals per piece.

Edited April 20, 2018 by Iguanadon

[Sycamore67]

I buy my poplar and oak from a sawmill in lower  Michigan.  The poplar is $2.50 bdf and redoak is $3.25 bdf.  I cannot stand to pay the prices at Lowe's or HomeDepot.

I also can buy quarter sawn red oak at good price.  

[new2woodwrk]

On 4/19/2018 at 12:08 PM, Iguanadon said:

Cut a couple of puzzle pieces out of some scrap and paint them as a test.

Light coatings of paint shouldn't be a problem, but you're smart to test first.

Ok, we ran some tests on painting puzzles

We've found the following (if anyone has found otherwise, I'd very interested in your results):

• Spray paint goes on thick and stays thick - hinders not only the puzzle pieces fitting together, but also sticks and swells in humidity. Spray paint is out
• Acrylic paint - while able to control the amount of paint, it has a similar affect to spray paint. Acrylic is out for puzzles for now
• Food coloring - this was the winner hands down. It seeps into the wood, but does not swell in humidity. However so far we've been unable to get vibrant colors.

We're going to be working more with food coloring for puzzles as well as using different colored stains.

Food coloring has to soak in so we've been letting it soak in for up to 8 hours.

If any one has any suggestions or formulas that work with food coloring (I've found some websites that describe the process) please post

Thanks in advance

Edited April 23, 2018 by new2woodwrk

[Iguanadon]

3 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

Ok, we ran some tests on painting puzzles

We've found the following (if anyone has found otherwise, I'd very interested in your results):

• Spray paint goes on thick and stays thick - hinders not only the puzzle pieces fitting together, but also sticks and swells in humidity. Spray paint is out
• Acrylic paint - while able to control the amount of paint, it has a similar affect to spray paint. Acrylic is out for puzzles for now
• Food coloring - this was the winner hands down. It seeps into the wood, but does not swell in humidity. However so far we've been unable to get vibrant colors.

We're going to be working more with food coloring for puzzles as well as using different colored stains.

Food coloring has to soak in so we've been letting it soak in for up to 8 hours.

If any one has any suggestions or formulas that work with food coloring (I've found some websites that describe the process) please post

Thanks in advance

I use watered down food coloring for my puzzle bases.  The more food coloring, the more vivid the color.  Here is an example of mine.  I dip it in the liquid, shake off the excess and set it aside to dry.  I used to wipe off the excess afraid of swelling or bleeding, but the colors weren't as vivid so I tried not wiping off and they come out very nice.  P.S. This is poplar.  

Edited April 23, 2018 by Iguanadon

[OCtoolguy]

I guess I'm ignorant on the subject but where do you get "food coloring"? I've heard of it for a long time but if I was to go out to buy some, I'd honestly not know where to go. Is it a market item or ???????

Ray

 

[Iguanadon]

10 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

I guess I'm ignorant on the subject but where do you get "food coloring"? I've heard of it for a long time but if I was to go out to buy some, I'd honestly not know where to go. Is it a market item or ???????

Ray

 

You're a funny guy Ray.  :-)  Food coloring usually comes in 4 tiny bottles of red, green, blue and yellow in the baking aisle at the grocery store used for coloring cookies and other baking items usually.

But I buy mine from Amazon in 16oz bottles.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GURKRK0/ref=sxr_rr_xsim_1_s_it?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3513574162&pd_rd_wg=fxrEu&pf_rd_r=5MN6V2FDJ59R8QDS3TSK&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B00GURKRK0&pd_rd_w=5uVkb&pf_rd_i=food+coloring&pd_rd_r=2c90f2b9-00d1-44de-a1de-b73cc152fb43&ie=UTF8&qid=1524503399&sr=1

[OCtoolguy]

2 minutes ago, Iguanadon said:

You're a funny guy Ray.  :-)  Food coloring usually comes in 4 tiny bottles of red, green, blue and yellow in the baking aisle at the grocery store used for coloring cookies and other baking items usually.

But I buy mine from Amazon in 16oz bottles.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GURKRK0/ref=sxr_rr_xsim_1_s_it?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3513574162&pd_rd_wg=fxrEu&pf_rd_r=5MN6V2FDJ59R8QDS3TSK&pf_rd_s=desktop-rhs-carousels&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B00GURKRK0&pd_rd_w=5uVkb&pf_rd_i=food+coloring&pd_rd_r=2c90f2b9-00d1-44de-a1de-b73cc152fb43&ie=UTF8&qid=1524503399&sr=1

Well, thanks I guess. I wasn't trying to be "funny". Just being honest. I had no idea where one would go to buy food coloring. I've never used it and as far as I can recall, the only "coloring" we have ever done was to Easter eggs and that would have been 40 years ago. Thanks for the info. 

Ray

 

[Iguanadon]

14 minutes ago, octoolguy said:

Well, thanks I guess. I wasn't trying to be "funny". Just being honest. I had no idea where one would go to buy food coloring. I've never used it and as far as I can recall, the only "coloring" we have ever done was to Easter eggs and that would have been 40 years ago. Thanks for the info. 

Ray

 

Ever seen green or red Christmas cookies?  This is how the batter is colored.  Next time you go to the grocery store, look in the aisle with cake mixes, cake decorations, etc.  

https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Supreme-Assorted-Colors-Yellow/dp/B00GNHIBZU/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1524504475&sr=1-4&keywords=food+coloring&dpID=516RHwMYqlL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Edited April 23, 2018 by Iguanadon

[NC Scroller]

You can also use a fabric dye like Rit brand.

[OCtoolguy]

45 minutes ago, Iguanadon said:

Ever seen green or red Christmas cookies?  This is how the batter is colored.  Next time you go to the grocery store, look in the aisle with cake mixes, cake decorations, etc.  

https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Supreme-Assorted-Colors-Yellow/dp/B00GNHIBZU/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1524504475&sr=1-4&keywords=food+coloring&dpID=516RHwMYqlL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Thanks Iggy, I sort of knew that but couldn't actually bring myself to think that you all are using food coloring dye. Now that you say it comes in larger quantities it does make sense. I just never thought that much about it until it came up here. Do you use it straight out of the bottle or thin it or ???? I guess by mixing it with other colors you can create the color you need? Thanks for your input. I'm really curious. I would have thought that acrylic paints would have been the answer. How about water colors?

Ray