How do I paint-fill carved lettering? The mask, carve, paint, weed workflow

The workflow

1. Finish/seal the face FIRST. Sand the blank, and apply your background finish (stain + a seal coat, or just sanding sealer/shellac) before masking. A sealed surface is the secret to crisp results, because raw wood wicks paint under the mask.
2. Apply the mask: paint mask stencil vinyl (e.g., Oramask 813) squeegeed down bubble-free. Wide painter's tape works for small jobs; real mask film is worth it beyond that.
3. Carve through the mask. V-carve as normal. The bit cuts mask and wood together, leaving every letter perfectly outlined in mask. A sharp bit matters: dull bits lift/tear the mask edges.
4. Seal the cut edges (the pro step): spray/dab a light coat of the BACKGROUND finish (or clear shellac) into the carved letters first and let it dry. It seals the knife-edge where mask meets wood so the color coat can't bleed under.
5. Paint the carve: brush/roll/spray the letter color into the carved areas. Two light coats beat one flood (flooding swims under masks). Acrylic craft/sign paints are fine; spray cans work great.
6. Weed while barely dry: peel the mask when the paint is dry to touch but not fully cured (cleaner edge than bone-dry). Pick trapped bits (letter centers) with a pin/tweezers.
7. Topcoat everything (poly/lacquer) after full cure to level sheen and protect.

Fixing bleed

Minor bleed: scrape with a card/chisel, touch-up marker, or a careful 220 pass on the sealed face. Chronic bleed means you skipped step 1 or 4, or flooded the paint.

Pro tips

• Order matters: always finish/seal before masking. Masking raw wood is the #1 rookie error.
• Deep v-carves shade themselves attractively, so sometimes stain in the carve (instead of paint) is the classier look: same workflow, wipe stain in the letters.
• MDF: prime the carved letters before color or they drink it flat (see the MDF entry).