Writing on Bow

[Wyostikbo]

I've probably tried 50 different ways of writing or drawing a little art on a wood bow, but I haven't really been satified with how it came out. Any methods that you guys use would be of help to me. How do you seal the wood before writing on it or do you? What kind of ink or paint have you used? That kind of stuff.
Thanks,
Brent

[Pat B]

I now use India ink to write on bows. A quick spray of satin pole will seal the area you want to write on. Let it dry completely before you do the writing and let the ink dry completely before adding your finish. I use Tru-Oil and never had a problem with it smudging or running.

[legends1]

I use paint pins or india ink.I spray on a sealer of a satin finish.Then use the above over that.The sealer will keep it from bleeding into the wood.

[jess stuart]

Sakura pen touch come in white and gold, possibly other colors.  Found mine at a art store. Very happy with them so far.

[Wyostikbo]

Can you get India ink that's already in the pen or do you buy the ink and dip the pin into it?
Brent

[tenbrook]

You dip it.  

Also I hit the area with a little 0000 steel wool first to roughen up the finish.  The India Ink seems to stick better this way.

Good Luck and post some photos!

Tenbrook

[Pat B]

You can buy a small bottle of India ink and a simple pen at Walmart for not much money.

[Bradford]

I use sharpie paint pen.. it is oil based paint and I go right on the wood..

 

Then I use tung oil over it when dry.. I like it.  Works good and easy to use.

[Murkar]

I'm not a bowyer (yet), but some guitar builders put a logo on the headstock by silkscreening. On another forum a guy I saw did a damn good Les Paul logo on a guitar headstock using an inexpensive silkscreen kit bought online...with that method you can design the logo in photoshop or something and use the screen you generate to put the logo on as many bows as you want (until the screen wears out anyways).  

[Wyostikbo]

Thank you to everybody who chimed in. Got some good direction and a few new ideas.
Thanks,
Brent

[Ranger44]

I just researched this same question about a week ago.  I used india ink after a couple of coats of wipe on poly and then more wipe on poly on top of the ink.  It worked well.  I bought the ink and pen at Hobby Lobby and spent about $10.

[JJB]

I've used india ink and a couple different types of pens.  Most recently I used a sharpie paint pen that I was very happy with.  I used several coats of tru oil before and after using the pen.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I haven't gotten all that fancy yet, I'm still using a fine point black sharpie to sign my bows. Then I use either poly over that or Tru Oil and finish as usual. The thing you have to remember with sharpies is that they will bleed if you stay in one spot too long. As long as I keep moving along they do a fine job.

What I thought would really be cool that I'd like to have someday in the future is my own brand that you actually burn into the wood.

My dad has one for his woodworking and it looks downright professional. He's got the wood burner and all you have to do is swap heads from one tip to another. They are fairly expensive to have made though, I'm thinking like $75 bucks or so from Rockler? But they will last indefinitely.