You found the perfect slab of wood, turn on your pyrography pen, and 83 hours later, you have an amazing showstopper, right?
WRONG.
Well, not completely wrong…the 83 hours part is accurate. But before you get to the art part, there's some prep you need to do, and if you want your piece to last for years to come, you'll need to finish it after you're done burning.
Before You Start
Choose your wood carefully.
What kind of wood should you choose? That depends on a lot of things, but let's start first with what to AVOID.
MDF - from Google, "MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) is an engineered material made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into fine particles, combining it with wax and a resin binder and applying high temperature and pressure". This stuff is full of glue/resin and is TOXIC to burn so DON'T USE IT!!
Wood that's been painted, stained or sealed - paint, stains and sealers are all toxic chemicals and when you burn over top of them, you're seriously risking your health. If you can sand off the paint or sealer completely, you still need to proceed with caution - burn in a well-ventilated area (like, outside!) and wear a mask. You're best to AVOID anything that's been chemically treated in any way.
Treated leather - I've recently been burning some leather pieces so I felt this needed to be mentioned here. Unfinished vegetable tanned leather is fine to burn (but the SMELL y'all...just be prepared) but AVOID chemically treated leather! Talk your leather supplier before you order; tell them what you're doing so they can ensure you get the right product.
When in doubt, research! I'm not an expert about types of wood, so if you encounter a piece that you're unsure of, please research it first!
Here's a list my favorite woods to burn:
Basswood
Birch
Walnut
Light-colored, soft wood with minimal sap rings is the goal! Light colors will show details better than dark.
If you're doing cutting boards/butcher blocks, look for harder (less-porous) woods.
And a list of my least favorite woods:
PINE - yuck. You can find it in pretty much any craft store and it's dirt cheap, but it's such a pain to burn. Those sap rings are the most frustrating thing EVER. If you've never burned pine, just imagine drying to draw a straight line on a piece of paper that's laying on a grill. Up down up down up down.
That's it, just pine. I really despise it.
Sand baby SAND!
Ask any woodworker what their least favorite part of woodworking is and I guarantee their answer is SANDING. It's awful, it's boring, your arms will ache afterwards, and it'll absolutely ruin your manicure.
However, this is such an important step to get a beautiful burn! If your wood is already pretty smooth (ie: a basswood slab from a craft store), you may just need to hand-sand a bit (I start with P220 then finish with P400). If you've got a rough cut piece from a sawmill, you may need to break out the rotary sander for a while and start with a lower grit (P80 or P120).
If you're like me and had no idea about sandpaper before I started this crazy pyrography journey, the lower the number, the rougher the grit, and the higher the number, the finer the grit. Start low (P120-P220) and work your way up (P400-P600, or higher if you're a glutton for punishment). The goal is to have it as smooth as glass!
Also, here's a handy little guide I found for you:
Now that you've picked your wood and
sanded it 'til your arms fall off,
burn to your heart's content and
FAST FORWARD 83 HOURS...
After You're Done
Sign your art!
Y'all, I can't tell you how many times I've finished, sealed and shipped a piece before realizing I forgot to sign it. This part is so important - this is a work of art that you put heart and soul and so much time into. You deserve for everyone who sees it to know exactly who created that beautiful art. Whether it's your full name, a fancy scribble, your initials, whether you include the date or location, whether it's in the bottom right corner, incorporated into the design, on the back, or however you want, just don't forget!
I do a lot of smaller pieces that I don't typically sign, but I do use my custom rubber stamp when appropriate (ie: the back of coasters). Some other pieces I don't sign at all (ie: really small stud earrings because, where on earth would I sign those?!), and some I'll just put my initials (ie: the back of dangle earrings). Here's my cool stamp (with my old logo):
Seal It
Your project and type of wood will determine what kind of sealer you should use, but this is a very important final step to keep your piece looking great.
If your piece is meant to purely be on display indoors, you can use pretty much whatever clear topcoat you want.
If you made coasters that will have wet glasses put on them regularly, you'll want to do several coats of your topcoat.
If it's going outside, use a topcoat that's meant for outdoor spaces.
Here's some things to consider when choosing your topcoat:
Oil-based topcoats (ie. polyurethane) are great, but have a tendency to yellow the wood. If that's not your desired effect, look for water-based topcoats. My all-time favorite that I use on 99% of my pieces is Minwax Water-Based Polycrylic. I prefer the spray because it's convenient and I'm lazy with cleaning my brushes, but it's kind of hard to find in-store. Semi-gloss is my favorite, but depending on your piece, you may want a full gloss, or a matte, that's up to you!
Sunlight fades burns! Even if it's indoors, unless it's in a museum, it will get some sort of sun exposure. Outdoor pieces are especially prone to fade so look for products that are UV resistant.
Always test new products before committing it to the whole piece. If you have scrap that's the same wood as your piece, test it on that first to make sure the color stays true. If scrap wood isn't available, test it out on the back side.
Special notes about cutting boards, butcher blocks, wooden spoons, wood plates, or anything that might come in contact with food
***I'm going to jump on my soapbox real quick and
give my 2 cents about this super hot topic.***
If your product will be touching food in any way, you MUST use a food-grade sealer! This is a common topic in my Beginners Pyrography Facebook group (wanna join? Just ask me!). There's lot of different opinions and debates about it, but my rule of thumb is if it hasn't been approved as food-grade by the FDA, don't use it. S many products will say "food safe" but who deemed it safe? Err on the side of caution and just use some butcher block oil or food-grade mineral oil.
Epoxy resin. I have a love-hate relationship with epoxy resin. It's very expensive and very finicky. I've completely ruined pieces I spent days on because my epoxy didn't cure right. If you can get it right though, you'll have the most beautiful high-gloss topcoat. If you choose to use it, read the directions at least 5 times, use a scale to weigh it vs measuring it, watch several Youtube videos before you start, and wear gloves! Also, pure acetone will help remove it from hair...please don't ask how I know this.
***DO NOT USE epoxy resin for cutting boards!!*** This is another hot topic since the internet is full of epoxy cutting boards but think about this...while epoxy is extremely hard, it can still be chipped. If you chip it while cutting food, that epoxy is going in someone's food. If you're selling this to anyone, do you really want that liability?
Adding color. Since I personally haven't found any topcoat that's FDA approved to be food-grade, I do not add any color to my cutting boards/butcher blocks/wood spoons. If you add color and then seal with food-grade oil, the color will bleed, be washed away or be easily chipped off (if it's chipping off INTO FOOD...that's also a really bad thing!). Just embrace the natural burn for these pieces!
***Jumping off my soapbox now, thanks for bearing with me!***
Key Takeaways
Don't use MDF or chemically treated wood/leather
Sand until it feels as smooth as glass (start low around P220, work up to around P600)
Sign your art!
Seal with appropriate top coat (Minwax Water-based Polycrylic Semi-Gloss Spray is my go-to!)
Only use food-grade oil on any piece that may come in contact with food
How do you sign your art?
0%Beautiful, full signature
0%Illegible scribble
0%Just my initials
0%I always forget!
You can vote for more than one answer.
I'd love to hear your suggestions on future topics! Leave a comment or send me a message with your thoughts, comments or questions.
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