DECORATIVE PAINTING / WHAT PAINT ?

[legend]

Hi All ,
I am thinking of lightly decorating my Flat bow with some sort of indigenous / Native American art design on part of the limbs . Question If after applying the first two or three coats of Tung Oil , is it possible to paint over this ?  and if so which is the best paint to use ? Can I then continue to apply another few coats of tung oil ?
Anyone got any simple Native American art I can copy ?
Thanks .
Mike

[ntvbowyer1969]

if you are alright with nontraditional paints I find acrylic works great. there is a variety of colors to choose from.goes on quickly cleans up easy and takes a clear coat nicely.

[Pat B]

I've had good luck with craft paint from WalMart. Lots of colors and they can be mixed to make your own color.

[High-Desert]

Acrylic works great and is about the easiest paint for this purpose, but.....it looks like acrylic paint. Depending on how authentic you want to go. I really like the look of earth pigments, which are pretty inexpensive, but are much more work to use depending on what you use for a binder. I've used hide glue, shellac, egg yolk as binders, and prefer shellac, but have never used it on anything flexible, just arrow cresting, but have used pigment mixed with hide glue for bow back, which works great. As far as how well this will bind with your previous coatings of tung oil, I'm not sure.

[Hawkdancer]

Try an art supply store for info and paint, they should have an idea .  I would think  the paint, whatever type should go on first, then the tung oil since it polymerizes.  It may dilute the paint, though, haven't worked with it except as a wood finish, a bit.  Let us know what you come up and how it works.  Do a test run on a similar piece of wood though!
Hawkdancer

[bradsmith2010]

the paint should go on first,,
if you have tung oil on,, then spray with poly or some type of sealer,,sand lightly and apply paint
you will have to mix the paint a bit to get an earth pigment tone,( add just little grey or black),maybe even dilute it a bit,, and put several layers,,
I have found that sanding lightly after applying the paint gives a nice "aged " look,,

maybe experiement on a scrap piece of wood to you get the effect you are looing for,,

[jaxenro]

Oil paint is compatible with tung oil under and over it sometimes uses or mimics natural pigments but it can take ages to dry

[bradsmith2010]

you are right about the oil paint, it has a rich natural color,, you could mix with a drying agent ,, if you are patient, the oil is very beautiful,,