Step Five: Perfecting The Edges
Getting a perfect edge on your homemade toys is easy, but the result will still look very impressive to your family and friends. When you painted the sides, you held your brush straight up and down to get a clean edge. Now you can perfect it even more with just a few seconds with your sandpaper. This simple, quick step takes your toys from good to GREAT!
Supply List
1
Sand the Edges
After the paint has dried, pick up the wooden block and, in a well-ventilated area, begin to sand along the edge of the unpainted surface. Use a dust mask if you are concerned about inhaling small particles.
It is helpful to keep your fingers and the sandpaper flat on the unpainted surface. Avoid folding the sandpaper over the painted edge, which will scratch the paint.
With light coats of paint, it will only take a few swipes to clean most of the paint off the edges.
Wipe away the dust to check that the border looks perfect, and continue sanding until it is good to go.
You can ‘cheat’ and rub against the grain. This will quickly create a perfect edge.
But this ‘cheater’ technique, does scratch the surface. To avoid scratching the surface, sand up and down along the long grain to remove the paint. But you can do the same thing to remove the scratches. After going against the grain to remove the paint along the edges, sand up and down along the long grain to create a smooth, flawless surface.
2
Repeat
Repeat on every edge of each of your blocks.
3
Wipe Away The Sawdust
When finished sanding, wipe down each side of the block with a dry or lightly damp rag. Also, wipe down your sanding surface to make sure it is clean and clear of all dust.
You want to remove all of the sawdust. Sawdust will gum up your paint and cause your stencils to bleed. So be sure your toys and toy-making surface are entirely free of dust.
I love this part. This is when you start seeing how beautiful your toys will be!