Raw Notes #

This is a temporary page containing raw, unedited notes on this subject. This page and the information here is incomplete, and may be inaccurate.

• I use a very simple screen printing setup to get a logo on to my veneer top sheets.
• I don’t print directly on the raw veneer. Instead, I print during finishing, after a couple of layers of poly.
• I use a simple screen printing kit I got from an art store. I used photosensitive mask and a transparency to make my little logo following the instructions in the kit. I need to dig up the info on this.
• Ink is a water-based ink.
• I lightly sand the area to be screened with 220grit, screen, and let dry.
• I very, very, very lightly sand the screened ink with some steel wool before the next layer of poly.
• A few more layers of poly and the logo is well protected.
• I also get my wife to paint on a serial number with the same ink. She’s better at maxing nice numbering by hand than I am.
• The only limitation to screening this way is that you have to stick to the rather flat portions of the board. The screen frame can’t hit the nose/tail rise, but everywhere else is fine.
• Get pics of my setup and results. This has been working well for me for about 10 years now.
• Warning about screening on the veneer directly before layup: I have seen a case where someone screened a nice logo and other graphics directly to raw wood veneer, which failed horribly. They also placed a clear topsheet over the veneer, and the epoxy bonded the ink to the topsheet very well, but the bond from ink to wood was weak and the topsheet peeled away everywhere there was ink, taking the ink with it. It’s not clear what ink was used, except that it was certainly not an epoxy-based ink. It’s possible that an epoxy-baed ink would be fine, but I’ve never tried it.