Writing and marking on bows

[billn]

Pen-tel has a white gel pen that is supposed to be permanent and fade proof. Sharpie claims the same is true of their metallic markers.

Bill

[coaster500]

i have been using a calligraphy pen  and it works good just let it dry,plus you can get different color refills.

I just got one ...  going to give it a shot. One thing I have noticed is waiting until I have a coat or two of finish dry on the bow before I apply ink. I usually use Truoil for the first few coats and let it dry. Then I use Spar Satin (spray) over the ink in a couple of very light applications to seal the lettering. If you get it to wet it makes the ink run. Let those applications dry and then you can spray as many applications as you think you need.

[Eric Krewson]

The white ink I use is acrylic, water based, after it dries it is unaffected by any type of finish and won't run or smear.

[coaster500]

The white ink I use is acrylic, water based, after it dries it is unaffected by any type of finish and won't run or smear.

That make the most sense I've heard....  Eric is your acrylic applied in marker form or with a calligraphy pen???

[Eric Krewson]

The picture on page one of this thread shows my pen and well used bottle of Speedball ink.

One thing about this type of ink, the pigment really settles to the bottom of the bottle and takes a lot of stirring to be ready to use, just like an old can of paint.

[coaster500]

Thank Eric,,, I've got to quit speed reading threads 

[DarkSoul]

I use a black CD writer pen. Very convenient and doesn't run with the water based varnish I'm using.
No matter what pen you end up using, always do a test run on a scrap piece of wood. Check if the finishe wipes off the pen, or if the ink takes too long to dry.