Painting engravings and carvings and whatever.

[Cicli]

So,
I see alot of parts with what appears to be logos and designs engraved into the alloy surface. Even some headbadges. How does one paint the recessed areas cleanly? Maybe some One Shot sign paint and wipe when still wet? How do you wipe the raised surface without getting into the recesses?

Thanks.

[ultraman6970]

You can use a toothpick and drop drops of pain in the carving to fill it up. another option is with a super thin brush and paint and then with a rag or your finger (wet) just clean at the top of the carving.

Basically you pass the finger on top of the carving quick enough so it just stays at the surface and doesnt touch the paint that is in the carving itself.

As for paints i would (I have used) try to use tamiya, water based paint, easy to clean and cheap too. Oil based paint and polyurethane are IMO hard to work with IMO.

[William]

A lot depends on whether the surface is flat or curved. There are also a number of techniques to employ: A toothpick or very fine brush can be used. A syringe may also be another option. Masking and spraying may also be employed. Also, if the surface is flat (or flat-ish)a firm squeegee can be used to remove the excess paint on the raised surface as well.

Bike specific: I did this on one of my old Serotta's. In filled the stamped Serotta "S" on the fork crown and bottom bracket by using a fine brush and thinning the paint just enough that it would run and infill the depression and used a damp cloth stretched very tightly to run over the surface to remove the tiny amount of excess paint. It came out very nicely.

Here's an example I made using the same process...






William

[William]

Same process but a little more intricate...