Looking for an ink that does not bleed or migrate

[Joe Cornell]

Does anybody have experience with fountain pen or dip pen ink on wood? I am thinking of trying a few ink on wood embellishment pieces but so far all the inks I have tried bleed a lot. I currently use pigma micron pens for their permanence and lack of migration.

 

[Charles Cadenhead]

To keep the ink from bleeding trying spraying your piece with something like this Krylon Acrylic Coating. It has a mat finish and dries nearly invisible and create a barrier behind the ink and the grain of your wood. This spray was recommended by turners in my local club.

 

[Joe Cornell]

Thanks. I will give that a try. I'm concerned that if the ink does not stain the fibers, it will not be permanent. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Achieveal pens work fine and don't bleed
The picture below is the base of a segmented ash bowl that was signed on the raw wood then finished with spray lacquer.

 

[John K Jordan]

I'm concerned that if the ink does not stain the fibers, it will not be permanent.

I know several who use india ink for turnings, often in a variety of colors. They say it's permanent, made with pigments so it doesn't fade, doesn't bleed if the wood is sealed a bit. I use the archival pens with india ink. Dick Blick is a respected brand. For local, check artist supply and hobby stores.

 

[Charles Cadenhead]

Thanks. I will give that a try. I'm concerned that if the ink does not stain the fibers, it will not be permanent. Any thoughts on that?

Once you're done you can spray another layer of coating over the ink to help protect it.

 

[Curt Fuller]

The Faber-Castell Pitt pens that are hard nibs make great drawing pens on wood. They're india ink, dry almost instantly without smearing, come in a lot of colors, and can be finished with about any type finish without bleeding. And if you want to fill in areas they also come in brush nibs that work very well for that. Most of the other alcohol based pens will bleed on bare wood.

 

[Ed Davidson]

I've used these markers on wood for quite a while. They do not bleed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPMFV2ZF?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Dave Bunge]

I've used these markers on wood for quite a while. They do not bleed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPMFV2ZF?ie=UTF8&th=1View attachment 71593

Do you use the brush or the bullet tips?

 

[Bill Blasic]

I've used these markers on wood for quite a while. They do not bleed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPMFV2ZF?ie=UTF8&th=1
Ed how are these for light fastness. Years ago when I did a light fast test I used 3 colors of sharpies and they were not very light fast.

 

[Peter Vines]

The Faber-Castell Pitt pens that are hard nibs make great drawing pens on wood. They're india ink, dry almost instantly without smearing, come in a lot of colors, and can be finished with about any type finish without bleeding. And if you want to fill in areas they also come in brush nibs that work very well for that. Most of the other alcohol based pens will bleed on bare wood.

Yeah, I’ve been signing work with Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen for years, works well.

 

[Ed Davidson]

Do you use the brush or the bullet tips?

I use both styles, depending on how wide/thick the line is I'm drawing.

 

[Ed Davidson]

I've used these markers on wood for quite a while. They do not bleed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPMFV2ZF?ie=UTF8&th=1
Ed how are these for light fastness. Years ago when I did a light fast test I used 3 colors of sharpies and they were not very light fast.

I think it depend on whether you put any finish on top of the ink. Most of the time, I put sanding sealer on the piece after inking and then 3-step Beall buff. No fading issues that I've seen so far.

 

[John Whitley]

Years ago when I did a light fast test I used 3 colors of sharpies and they were not very light fast.

I’ll note that regular Sharpie “permanent” markers are some undocumented (but alcohol soluble, per the MSDS) ink, but the set that Ed linked above are specifically called out as acrylic markers. I wouldn’t try to extrapolate between the two, since the only relationship appears to be the branding.

Interestingly, here’s a site that did some testing of acrylic paint markers and found that it can be hit-or-miss across colors of even one brand (including the Sharpie acrylics) if they’re not specifically formulated for lightfastness.

 

[John King]

Does anybody have experience with fountain pen or dip pen ink on wood? I am thinking of trying a few ink on wood embellishment pieces but so far all the inks I have tried bleed a lot. I currently use pigma micron pens for their permanence and lack of migration.

Sakura Pigma Micron pens with archival ink. Check them out at https://www.dickblick.com/products/...R9vmi2jXtU_E_uNNrkFOqq3-3ykRUpREaAtXREALw_wcB - J

 

[Odie]

I've used these markers on wood for quite a while. They do not bleed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CPMFV2ZF?ie=UTF8&th=1

I've been looking for an extra fine tip paint marker that I could use for marking inventory numbers on my bowls. Thanks for your post Ed, and because of it I found this set of graduated grey markers. We'll see if they work out for me......fingers crossed! 🙂

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[Rusty Nesmith]

The Faber-Castell Pitt pens that are hard nibs make great drawing pens on wood. They're india ink, dry almost instantly without smearing, come in a lot of colors, and can be finished with about any type finish without bleeding. And if you want to fill in areas they also come in brush nibs that work very well for that. Most of the other alcohol based pens will bleed on bare wood.

I use the Faber-Castell India ink pens.