Oil polyurethane

[midnightmadman]

Has anyone put an oil poly over cut vinyl. I’m something that is a stained wood and will need oil poly over it but will have some cut vinyl decals. I’d like to keep them under the clear. Has there ever been any long term problems doing this? Does cast vs calendared make a difference?
I could possibly use a water based poly but would need to allow the oil stain to dry much longer

 

[Gino]

Clear before you put the vinyl on. If you clear over top cast, you'll need 10 to 15 coats to do it right. Calendared is just a bad idea, altogether.

 

[midnightmadman]

Ok. It needs to go under the clear though
So I’m not sure what I’m going to do
I may mask and paint it instead of vinyl

 

[midnightmadman]

When you say I’ll need 10-15 coats are you saying just to hide the height difference?

 

[Gino]

Usually, if ya wanna hide the height, you'll be doing a lot more coats. You wanna try to keep any vinyl movement from taking place as the two will expand and contract at a very different rate, thus causing cracking and looking like crapolla. Calendared is just not used for this process.

 

[midnightmadman]

I also failed to mention this is an indoor application.

 

[Gino]

Vinyl continues to shrink inside as well as outside, just not at the same rate. All ya need to do is prep and treat your wood however you want, then apply your vinyl on the finished piece and presto, you're done. No final clear needed..... especially for interior work.

 

[midnightmadman]

Thanks. This particular project they must be under the clear.

 

[Gino]

Then, you're screwed. Why did you originally say...... you'd like to keep them under the clear, but now ya change horses in the middle of the stream, back-pedal and change the parameters ?? This is why nobody wants to help anyone aanymore.

 

[midnightmadman]

What do you mean. I have said from the beginning and last post the vinyl must be under the clear.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Why does the vinyl have to be under the clear?

 

[midnightmadman]

The look I need to achieve is to have a coating of clear over it with some depth
Would I have better long term effects using a water based clear ?

 

[Gino]

What do you mean. I have said from the beginning and last post the vinyl must be under the clear.

Check out your opening post. It states you would like to keep it under and then later you say it hasta stay under the clear. Either way, do what ya want. Noone can help someone like you. If this is being mean, so be it. I'm growing tired of people giving partial information, we drag it outta them and there are no reasonable explanations on your end, let alone anything that makes sense. Then, you switch to water-based clears. You don't seem to care what takes place, just so long as you get an effect. That's stupid. Good luck midnight.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

The look I need to achieve is to have a coating of clear over it with some depth
Would I have better long term effects using a water based clear ?

It's not going to give it depth. It's gonna look like something you bought at the flea market. To get graphics buried like I think you want, you need to build a damn and pour in clear surfboard resin. Polyurethane has an amber hue to it and the more you put on, the darker it's gonna get. Water, oil, solvent based doesn't matter, the vinyl can take it.
It would be helpful if you explained the effect you were looking for.
Also, like Gino said, it's gonna be raised where the letters are. From my experience though, that raised area will remain no matter how many coats you put on unless you put a bunch on, sand it flat and then put more on. We have bolts we thread into parts to hang to paint and they will get 1/4" buildup of epoxy on them and that epoxy carries out the threaded profile, it never levels out.