How to paint clean, crisp lines when using a vinyl stencil on rough pallet wood.

Do you love the look of pallet wood decor? Do you covet those beautiful clean, crisp lines and wonder how they did it? Have you ever tried to use a vinyl stencil on pallet wood? If you have, you know that it doesn’t stick very well. And it doesn’t stay exactly where you want it to. If you try to apply it like normal, it just doesn’t seem to work. Once in place, have you noticed that the paint bleeds under the stencil, giving you a finish that looks like your toddler helped you paint it? If you would like to learn how to apply a vinyl stencil on pallet wood? Do you want to know how to paint those clean, crisp lines? If you’ve already done that and want to know how to get those clean crisp lines on such rough wood, then, read on, my crafty friend. I will tell you the secrets of how to paint clean, crisp lines when using a vinyl stencil on rough pallet wood.

This post is meant to follow, how to apply a vinyl stencil to rough pallet wood. So you should have already applied your vinyl stencil, removed the transfer tape, and re-pressed all the vinyl to the wood. Now that you have done this, it is now time to reveal the secret to the clean crisp lines that everyone wants! Ready?….wait for it….MOD PODGE! What? Yep you read that right, Mod Podge. You are going to paint your sign first with Mod Podge.

Did you know that Mod Podge dries clear. Yeah, so what? Well, remember how the paint bleeds under the stencil looking like your toddler helped you? What if the paint that bleeds under the stencil is actually clear? And fills up the cracks or leakage spots with clear. That’s exactly what this step does! It still bleeds under the vinyl and fills the leakage spots. But you actually can’t see it because it’s clear! YES! SCORE!

Step one:

Paint a coat of Mod Podge on your project. I like to paint the whole thing. I’m not sure how it affects the color of the paint once painted over. Nor, do I want a texture change under my paint. I would hate to just paint the edges, then paint my sign and have a color shift or texture change at the edges due to the Mod Podge. So it’s up to you, but I prefer to just paint the whole thing.

When painting the Mod Podge on, because it’s rough wood and hard to paint, I kinda glob it on. I glob it on by dabbing it or squishing my sponge brush on the project.

Once I have done that in a small section, I go back over it with a smooth brushing technique,which is pretty much just making the surface smooth.

When I’ve done this all over my project, I let it dry. The dry time on the label says it will dry in 15 minutes. I find that by the time I’m done painting my project, where I first started is already dry. It’s pretty quick to dry. But you want to make sure it’s dry before you paint so don’t get impatient.

Step two:

Once the Mod Podge is dry, begin painting your sign. Because you painted the Mod Podge on your sign with a smooth finish, it will be much easier to apply the paint. And to get a smooth finish. When painting your sign, you want to use the same smooth technique that you did when you smoothed over the Mod Podge.

Now that you have painted your project, it is time to remove your vinyl stencil and reveal the clean, crisp lines you were aiming for. This is probably my most favorite part of the process. It’s always nice to see what your hard work has actually done!