This post is all about how to seal wood burning art. Are you looking for the best sealant for your pyrography art? You’re in the right place!
I decided to write this post because I had one of my videos on TikTok go viral of me sealing a custom wood burned sign I did for a customer. So many people commented and asked what I was using. So here we are!
Wood burning takes hours, so when it comes to sealing your finished piece, you want to use the best so your artwork is protected for years to come.
While there are many awesome wood burning sealants on the market, what I swear by is polyurethane. My grandpa was a woodworker for many years and he told me to try out polyurethane when I got into wood burning many moons ago. Polyurethane works great for my custom signs and wood coasters.
After many years of creating wood burned art for myself and my clients, I can confidently suggest what I think is the best sealant for wood burning art!
Please note the products I suggest are what I use, and they work great for me. If you want to take a look at my wood burning art and see how my work looks sealed, check out my custom wood burning coasters.
How To Seal Wood Burning Art
Important note: I use this sealing method for my wood signs and coasters only. DO NOT USE for wooden spoons or cutting boards.
Okay, so it’s pretty easy to seal wood burning art. All you need to get started is time, a brush, sealant, and definitely gloves to protect your hands.
While this process is easy, it does take many hours or days to completely seal a project depending on how many coats and sides you need to do.
Below I’m going to share the steps on how to protect your wood burning art and then the exact products I use and recommend.
Step 1: Make Sure Your Art Is Complete
Pretty simple, but make sure your art is 100% done. Once you seal it, you cannot go back and burn any more details. Be fully certain you are done before you start to seal. Also, make sure to look closely for leftover pencil marks! I use Tombow erasers as they are great at removing those annoying pencil lines from wood.
I also want to make a note here that all the wood I use for my wood burning art is completely sanded and ready to use before I start burning it. This cuts down on time for me and it means the wood is already ready to be sealed after my art is complete. Check out what wood I use here.
Step 2: Set Up In A Warm Well Ventilated Area
I really prefer to seal my wood burning art outside, but since I live in New York, it’s not possible to be outside all year. Make sure you seal your work IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA! Sometimes I wear a mask. Make sure fans are on or crack a window. Please always proceed with caution and keep yourself and others around you safe.
If you want your work to dry properly and quickly, it must be semi-warm in the room you’re doing this process in. The can of polyurethane recommends being in an environment at least 77 degrees, but I’ve definitely done this in cooler temps. I would say nothing below 65 degrees and you should be fine.
Related post: Looking for the best beginner wood burning tools? Check out this post!
Step 3: Dust Off Wood
Wipe off your wood gently with a rag to make sure there are no eraser crumbs, dust, or anything sitting on top of your wood. Make sure it is clean and ready for the finish.
Step 4: Open Can Of Polyurethane & Mix
Open the can of polyurethane and mix it with a new clean brush. Make sure the sealant is mixed properly from the bottom to the top of the can. Wear gloves during this process.
Tip: Don’t use an old brush that may contaminate your can of polyurethane. Always use a new brush or one that is fully clean.
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Step 5: Apply First Coat
The first coat of polyurethane you apply should be thin and light. Do not put a heavy coat on. Apply light strokes to the wood and make sure the coat is even. I use cheap foam brushes that I use just for sealing. After I’m done with the whole process, I dispose of them. They work great and get the job done for the projects I do.
Step 6: Let Dry for 3-4 Hours, Sand, Then Apply a Second Coat
While polyurethane dries pretty fast, you should always make sure it sits for a few hours before touching it or applying another coat. This is important! Your second coat can be slightly thicker than the first coat.
The can of polyurethane recommends lightly sanding in between coats. This is recommended so the layers are even. I use high grit sandpaper to do this.
Sanding in between layers is a must for coasters so the layers of polyurethane are even and strong for the coasters to be effectively protected against moisture.
Use your judgment, do test projects, and learn from the process. I am still learning after doing this for years. It really takes practice to get the hang of it all. Never blindly seal a project you spent hours on with a sealant you haven’t tried before!
Step 7: Repeat The Process Until Finished
I usually only do 2 coats for signs, and 3 for coasters, but repeat the layering process until you feel your piece of art is fully protected. Two coats is usually plenty to protect your work.
I’ve mentioned the products I use for this process briefly so far, but below I’ll link them for you!
Best Sealant For Pyrography
(What I use 99.9% of the time. Comes in satin, semi-gloss, and gloss. Brings out the grains and knots of the wood beautifully.)
Non-Yellowing Sealant For Pyrography
(Keeps color true. Water-based, I wouldn’t use it on coasters as it doesn’t hold up as much as oil-based polyurethane. Great for wall signs. Doesn’t bring out the knots and grain like polyurethane does.)
Brushes For Wood Sealer
Gloves For Sealing Wood Art
Sandpaper
Want to read more? Check out all of my pyrography blog posts here!
Before & After Sealing Wood Burning Art
This post was all about how to seal wood burning art and the best products to use.
As I mentioned, this process is pretty simple. You should always test on a scrap piece of wood before you start to seal your art with a new sealant you haven’t tried before.
I also seal the backsides of my coasters and signs (even though they are blank and have no art on them). Always do one side and let it completely dry before starting the other. You need at least 12-24 hours to pass before flipping it over to start the back. Even if it feels dry after a short amount of time, it still needs time to air out properly.
I hope you enjoyed this post on how to preserve wood burning art! There are many different wood sealers out there so if you have any questions about this whole process, please leave a comment! Anytime I get messages or emails about the tools I use for my wood burning artwork, I gladly answer and help.
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Thanks for reading!
– Amanda The Green Artist
Thank you for your posting. I started wood burning in January 2021 and love it! I work full-time so I do not have much time for projects currently but have completed a few for family gifts. I am grateful for artists such as yourself who are willing to share their knowledge. Again, thank you!
I’m glad to hear you love wood burning! It’s such a fun art and I love sharing my knowledge to help others. Thank you!
Pyrography is my therapy❣️
Mine too! 💚
Thanks for your info. I started doing woodburning a number of years ago and really loved doing it. I used to use a product called “Deft” to seal my burnings because it dried quickly as it was a “brushing lacquer”. I eventually switched to thr Poly finishes. I found that sunlight eventually bleached out portions of my pieces, even though they were not in direct sunlight, and was so disappointed that I stopped doing woodburning. However, i read about some clear finishes containing inhibitors that resisted the ultraviolet rays and gave them a try on a few new woodburnings. They seem to resist the fading quite well (so far, 15 years or so). One of my older ones (done in 1997), was a carving of two boys looking through the boards of a wood fence (where I had woodburned all the grain on the boards). This carving is close to a wall of windows which get a good share of sunlight but none of the sunlight ever gets on the carving. However, absolutely every bit od woodburning has been eliminated completely. If I look very closely, I can see some of the burning indentations left by the burning tool in some areas, but no burnings have survived. I have a few other burnings that have also suffered from this fading effect and as a result I stopped burning for a few years until I came across this outdoor polyurethane. Have you come across any fading of your work pieces, and if so, how do you treat the work pieces?
Hi Robert, thanks for your comment! The only fading I’ve noticed in some of my wood burn pieces are in coasters I use every day (though the fading is minimal) and some work that I have wood burned very lightly when I first started several years ago. But honestly, most of my work hasn’t faded, (even pieces I haven’t sealed)! I try to keep everything out of sunlight and found that burns that are darker with many layers of shading and burning will last longer.
It’s always a learning process though, and I feel sometimes it may be impossible to preserve a wood burning perfectly forever. I think fading will always be something we can’t avoid, so I try to work dark so it can last for many years.
I too love to wood burn ornaments and plaques. I have been using Americana Varnish, and have had NO issues with fading. It seems to work very well. Its a product you can get at Amazon, or Michaels. I been burning for at least 10 years now and love doing it. Seem I have so many other interests going as well,I don’t always do it.
Hi Brenda, thanks for your comment and suggestion! I love trying new things, so I’ll add that varnish to my list of things I want to try. And yes, wood burning is so fun! 💚