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.
Related:
Favorite Wood Burning Supplies
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.
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, along with this sealing process. Always test new sealants on scrap wood before use.
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 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. Check out my wood burning safety tips for more info.
If you want your work to dry properly and quickly, it must be semi-warm in the room where you’re doing this process. 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. 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 are usually plenty to protect your work.
Sealing Supplies
I’ve mentioned the products I use for this process briefly, 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 the 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!
Thanks for reading and if you’d like to see my artwork, check out my shop website here. 🙂
– 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! 💚
Hi, what type and brand of food grade sealant do you use for cutting boards?
Thanks!
Hi Michele,
I personally have never sealed a cutting board before (and the sealing process is different than I mention above in the post), but I know several other people who have and they use a food grade mineral oil like this one here: Cutting Board Oil
Creating and sealing a cutting board is on my to do list though, so hopefully someday I’ll have a post up with my favorite sealants to use for it. 🙂
Hello there!
Thank you for the informations!!
I wonder if you know how to seal woodburning Arts for using in kitchens, as cutting Boards or spons for example?
Thank you very much!
Daniel
Hi
I am fairly new to wood burning and am having some issues with sealant s. I am using an oil based polyurethane. I have found that it starts to get tacky before I am finished. I am wondering if I should be mixing a little turps for the first coat.I am also thinking about trying water based sealants. What are your thoughts on this. I am using different types of wood and find that darker wood comes up better and very light colored wood seams to stay light even with 2 coats. How can I make it darker. My last question is using color in my wood burning designs. I am wondering what should I use for coloring…color pencils, paint, markers? Etc.
Hi – thanks for your comment! You may be doing too heavy of a first coat which is making it tacky. I would try doing a very light first coat and building from there. Unfortunately with this craft there are many trial and errors until you find what works for you. Polycrylic (a water based sealant) is another great option but it doesn’t really darken the wood.
Some types of wood may hold on to the sealant better than others, but with oil based sealant on lighter wood it usually darkens it a little. You may have to try different kinds until you find what you like. Minwax brand has several different types of polyurethane and finishes and some come out darker than others.
For your last question, there are several ways to add color to wood burning art, and it simply depends on preference! Ive used acrylic paint, watercolor paints, colored pencils, and markers… all turn out differently. If you have a scrap piece of wood lying around I would experiment with different mediums to see what you are most comfortable with. Best of luck! 🙂
-Amanda
Can you seal wood burning art that has been painted the same way or do you seal around the color or use something different?
I have used polyurethane and polycrylic for paintings (acrylic and watercolor) on wood as well! But always definitely test on scrap wood to see how it looks first going over paint.
Hello. I really appreciate this article! What would you say the biggest mistakes to avoid are when sealing with the Miniwax Polyurethane? Have you used the semi-gloss and satin? Thoughts there? Finally, for that set of high grit sandpaper you linked, which grit is best for using during sealing? Tips for sanding between coats? Thanks!
Hi there, thanks for commenting! I’ll try my best to answer your questions.
I’ve used semi-gloss and satin but I can’t think of big differences to be honest as it’s been a while. I always lean towards the gloss because I like more of the “gloss” look. But they are pretty similar. For the biggest mistakes to avoid, it would probably be using too much sealant. It can lead to stickiness and therefore not sealing properly. I always do thin coats to be safe. Other than that it’s a pretty straightforward process.
For the sandpaper, I’ll admit I’m horrible with that and I grab the pack of sandpaper from my toolbox and run my finger across it and grab one of the ones without much grain (higher grit). I never usually use the lowest grit or the highest. I’m not sure which number off the top of my head. But I definitely like having a wide range of grits available depending on which wood I’m working with and how much of a sand I’m trying to do.
I’m very careful with sanding between coats. Use a high grit and lightly sand and see if it does anything. You can always use a lower grit and go from there. You don’t need to go crazy with the sanding because you really just need a little brush of it to help bind the sealant layers together nicely.
My biggest tip would just be to practice, practice, practice. I’ve experimented a lot on scrap wood to get it just right. Usually you’ll learn pretty quickly what works for you and what doesn’t.
Hope that helped a little bit for you! 🙂
-Amanda