Help, please: HELP ALERT!! New Poster needs help with inking a bulino engraving!

feinkster

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Jan 27, 2015
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Hi. I have recently started doing some bulino engraving and I've did a lot of online reading and everything and I'm having trouble getting it to hold the ink. I'm using a Coulter precision tool that makes tiny dots and I'm doing the entire bulino in the dot style, with no cut lines. I'm also using a brand new tip so it's sharp, because at first I thought maybe it wasn't sharpened and that allowed my ink to leave the holes. Anyway, I like to ink it to bring out the details, I know after reading some true bulino purists don't, but I like it because you can see it better. Well it looks great when I rub the ink on there, but then if I rub it more, especially with a cloth, it seems the ink will start to come out of the tiny dots. I've tried regular black ink, black enamel paint and now using Caligo safe wash relief ink. The Caligo safe wash relief ink seems to give best results. I left it under a heat lamp for about an hour but it still comes out if I rub it with a soft cloth for any amount of time. Should I let the ink dry longer, or am I doing something wrong? This has really racked my mind and I looked everywhere online for exactly the proper way of inking but to no avail so that leads me here. I hope I can get the inking problem figured out. I would like to find something that would be permanent and remain in the dots with regular rubbing. Thanks!
 

Sam

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This is a common problem with bulino engraving. I don't know of any way to make it really stand out because the cuts are too light to hold enough ink for strong contrast. Lines are usually more contrasty than all-dot bulino, but as far as I know there's no miracle paint.

Photos of bulino engraving can be very deceiving when they show strong blacks and many shades of grey. This is usually the result of very carefully placed photographic lighting that enhances the engraving.
 

feinkster

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Thank-you, Sam. I think that does explain how some appear to be really dark black in places. I had thought I was doing something incorrect where the ink would wipe away even after drying. I'll work with it more and see how things go. Thanks again, I appreciate the input.
 

sanch

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I would say try Duracoat but then you'd need to sand off the surface and destroy your art...as I understand Bulino it isn't deep at all like Sam said so you would sand away your art and if you tried to wipe it off with reducer it would lift it out of the art...maybe light coats and wipe with a papertowel that has a small amount of the reducer after it has gassed off then recoat...I got nothing else...
 

Dave London

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Don't use cloth to wipe the ink, use the heel of your hand and wipe till you like the results. Thanks John B. Still may not fix the issue
 

GTJC460

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this is why i mostly use lines...its more durable, no "sweet spot" for lighting angle, and it doesn't need ink...in fact i clean it with acetone on purpose to make sure dirt isn't giving me false tones of black and grey
 

GTJC460

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these had no ink involved...24k gold is extremely difficult to get gradations in it
 

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Chujybear

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never having done bulino, please take this not as advice, but just as me jammin on the beat..
i should ay i have some qualifications, haveing carved up a small sack worth of ivory and teeth over the years. i often (almost always) finish my ivories with a knife cut, which is glassy and crisp. it also doesn't hold ink, so i can use a pen to lay out my piece, and the ink just sits on the surface, carved or scraped away easily ... that is intil one day when i layed out some bit when i had not applied a finish surface with my sharp tool.. the ink sunk in so far, that even when i took a rasp to t (wrecking everything) i couldnt get through the ink..
not to presume anything about how you tackle the job, i think i've heard some bolino guys talking about flicking out thier chip (sort of like in metal) this would give you one torn edge for your ink to soak into.. by that same measure, a super sharp point may create too slick of a dot for the paint to stick to..
 

feinkster

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Thanks, Dave. I appreciate the advice. I did try that too, but I kinda think like a customer too, and know that most will want to rub whatever they receive with a cloth. I had to be careful even with my hand, cause if that rubbed too hard out the ink would go. I'm doing some experimenting though and with all the great advice here, things are getting better.
 

feinkster

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Thank-you, I appreciate your advice and all I can say is WOW!! Those are amazing engravings. I really like them and that shows lines alone can turn out wonderful. I'm going to experiment more with lines and some other things and I appreciate all the help.
 

feinkster

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Thank-you for the advice. I know what you mean about ivory, bone and things like that. Scrimshaw I've did for a few years now and if you don't have it polished, sealed well enough, you can get ink into the material your scrimshawing and ruin it or in the least end up with a weird bluish-black spot that looks awful.
 

feinkster

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Thanks, Steve. I already tried that and that didn't seem to work either. I thought it would seal in the ink, but seemed to just pull out when I would buff the renaissance wax. I'm trying some things though and looking better, sometimes trial and error and a bit of good advice goes a long ways. Thanks to everyone here for all the help.:)
 

Dave London

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Speed ball oil base block printers ink # 3550 , drys in about 3 to 6 hours depending on climate. After it is dry it takes laquer thinner and a brush to remove, another thanks to John B.
 

Doc Mark

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Your problem stems from several sources. One, Bulino dots are very subtle and shallow. Two, you have been wiping the ink out of the cuts with soft, porous, materials. I too prefer etchers ink but good old Rustolium flat black paint is fine. It doesn't matter so much what pigment base you decide upon, it matters more that the pigment is DRY AND HARD! My advice is to make sure the paint is hard and then carefully and lightly wipe with a relatively non-porous paper. Plain typing or copy paper is good but use it lightly. The thin, rather smooth surface, lens cleaning papers also work well but this is rather dependent on experimentation with various brands. What you are trying to avoid is the paper fibers entering the bulino groves or dots and pulling out the paint or ink. That is why the stiffer papers work best. As for wiping with your palm, (The absolute BEST way to remove excess etching ink from a plate just before it goes through the press.) it works well with deeper engraved or etched lines, but not so much with the subtle bulino dots. The softness of skin enters the shallow dots and again, remove the ink.
 

zzcutter

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I have had success using a sharpie marker and lacquer paint. Then I take printer paper and back it on a wood block and burnish the excess paint or marker off. If it is stubborn and does not take it off. I lightly add a bit of thiner or alcohol and try again. Keep moving the paper on the block as it becomes filled. One word of cation is paper has a bit of abravsivness to it so check to make sure your not diminishing the cuts and dots you have put down. ZZ
 

peteb

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What are you making and what is the material? I have been experimenting with platinum clad niobium with some bullino-like designs for jewelry. After cutting I have found that I can get a very tough black on the niobium by heat oxidation. This oxide is so tough that it resists abrasion and dulls engraving tools, thus it can be useful as background and even burnished to a glow or other finish.
 

Beathard

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Try a little lamp black mixed in with renaissance wax. After you put it on wipe it off the high spots.
 

SamW

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I agree with Gerry. I use renaissance wax with just a dash of lamp black (lmii.com). I have used it on steel work, bare or "grayed". The engraved and sculpted aluminum inlays on my guitar and ukulele have this coating also and have stayed bright and properly contrasted for a couple of years now. It is also a very quick and easy way to "ink" plastic castings.
 

Southern Custom

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I recently found a commercial product that is a miracle with regard to inking shallow cuts. I haven't tried it on a bulino piece but it will fill lettering done on a pantograph engraver handily. It's called "Rub n Buff" . Made by the company Amaco. It can be purchased here:
http://www.amaco.com/shop/product-437-rub-n-buff-metallic-finishes.html
It's a wax based fill with a solvent carrier that dries very quick and so far seems to be very durable. My partner who has a computer driven drag engraver got it with his new system. I tried it on a whim in some extremely shallow engraving and I was amazed. As with all ink fill, I rub the majority out with my finger and then once dry (less than a minute) I use stiff paper to buff the rest away.
Try it. You'll be amazed. Oh, and be aware the stuff is tenacious and hard to get off fingers!
Layne
 
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