Knot your average cornhole boards! Gel stain designs with stencils.

Holy Ship! Here's a walk though on using gel stains to design your cornhole boards with stencils. Use the same techniques for any other hardwood project for that matter! Thanks for the design idea Fish Bros. Cornhole! www.fishbrothe...
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Products I use:
Vinyl Cutter with Software
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Oracal 631 Vinyl:
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Transfer Tape for Vinyl
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Rubber Roller:
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Verathane Water Based Poly Spray
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Gel Stain Java
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Gel Stain Black
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Gel Stain Georgian Cherry
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Gel Stain Gray
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[@devonhilburn7390]

Maybe one day you can do a video on just your vinyl cutter. Showing your setup and process from start to finish on a design

[@cornholecollective7116]

A good idea. The design process is different for everyone but I have a pretty simple series of steps when I design and cut.

[@rusteeznutz]

Crazy good quality

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thank you so much! With the right process and supplies, this quality is a attainable for all

[@g24force]

Awesome work 👍

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks Enrique!

[@andyman820]

Definitely a "how'd they do that" board!! Really looks superb

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks Andy! Patience and planning, tools and supplies. That’s all it takes.

[@christopherbeadle7723]

Scott, these look amazing! I have learned a ton watching you guys and just want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@cornholecollective7116]

I really appreciate that Christopher! Welcome to the Collective! If you’re working on boards, we also have a Facebook group now. Just search “Cornhole Collective” it’s very cool.

[@joecastillomovies]

Great video guys! This helps will me tremendously

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks Joe! Happy to share. Welcome to the Collective!

[@scottmaack2288]

That’s awesome! Can’t wait to have a vinyl cutter and try some of these things. Thanks so much for sharing the info!!

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks Scott. Happy to offer any tips we can!

[@joecastillomovies]

Scott Maack I just got mine this past week.game changer and another level enjoying

[@michaelmabry2034]

That looks GREAT!! Nice job...

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks Michael!

[@DIYBuilt]

WOW! 👍😍I can't believe how awesome these boards came out. You do incredible work, also really great content. Thanks for sharing, New friend here!

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks so much!

[@literalcrafter]

Fantastic video! I painted a set of boards that I now consider my "learning boards" and am onto a second, much improved set that I will be staining. I love the contrast on your boards and have two questions: 1) When you zoomed in to show stain application/wipe off it looked like the grain showed through (it looked great!). Later in the video, the colors appear to be solid. Is that just a nuance of the video image or is the grain truly hidden by the stain? 2) If I want to some elements to be the natural board color I can mask them until I do the poly layers--correct? I don't need to apply anything before the poly layers (besides the pre-stain conditioner that is applied to the entire board before the staining process begins)? Appreciate the help!!!

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks for watching Vicki! Absolutely a problem with photos and video is it doesn’t pick up the wood grain. I use stains so I can accentuate wood grain and get unique designs. Natural wood stays masked like the inside of the anchor and helmet. It’s the lightest shade in almost all my designs and just stays masked until all the colors are applied and then it comes off before poly.

[@gabegarcia1316]

I used gf black gel stain to do some letters, sprayed the water based poly and then let dry for a day. When I came back to apply the white gf gel stain, it smeared all the black! I don’t know where I went wrong and it has me rethinking how you guys make it look so easy with stains touching colors, any help would be awesome!

[@cornholecollective7116]

When you spray the stain with poly it should be cresting a barrier making smearing impossible. Did you fully cover all the black stained surfaced? You should also only have wait for it to dry to the touch before applying the next shade. Keep in mind you want the color selection to be layerable. While I haven’t tried this combo, white being wiped over black should be turning your black grey. Come join our group and post some photos of what occurred and we can get it straightened out. I believe once the confusion is removed you’ll find this method to be your favorite for staining touching colors when possible

[@cornholecollective7116]

Hey Gabe, Scott here. The poly over method only works with shades of brown. White stain, or any other colored stain, is actually water based and will definitely discolor anything it’s stained over the top of. Sorry for the mishap.

[@gabegarcia1316]

Thanks guys for the responses but I already sanded it down to bare wood and did an experiment, I tried it again with the method you talked about and it worked better but it still lightly tinted the black stain, I think we are going to use black acrylic paint abs then try again, fingers crossed!!

[@traviscox9406]

This is art that you’re making! I’ve struggle with stains bleeding on my boards in the past but I’ve never tried the gel stains. Do you have any tips or a vid on how to clean up my stain jobs? I would really like to up grade my quality to something close to your work. Thanks!

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks so much Travis! Gel stains will change your whole life if you’re using tape or stencil to get decorative stains. They go on like paint that you rub in. Don’t use too much and it dries fast so clear the swirls regularly.

[@salcamp01]

Does the spray varathane poly not absorb the stain? I notice you got right over those areas with the 2nd stain…thx nice video I plan to try it

[@cornholecollective7116]

Great question. If you stain light over dark it can smear the dark stain. The poly seals the dark stain so that doesn’t happen.

[@Stevus1]

Looks good! How do you get the second stain on without bleeding into the first, darker stain? Does the poly you spray on the first one somehow repel the second stain you used? Asking because the second stain is being applied with a rag and doesn’t look like you are worried about being precise when butting up to the dark stain

[@cornholecollective7116]

Poly prevents the first dark stain from smearing when you stain the lighter color over it.

[@optionsplaybook]

Hello Scott - What are the dimensions of the Anchor Stencil in this video? Height and Width Please... also this video ROCKS!

[@cornholecollective7116]

I’d say it’s 18” wide by whatever the height becomes. Around 20”-22” probably

[@butterwh]

Great content. Okay so what do you do after for finishing. Do you do a poly/sand combo or build up a few coats of poly before you sand? I'd be so afraid to sand through the stain.

[@cornholecollective7116]

Thanks! There’s a finishing video that goes through the poly finishing and sanding process. I’m super extra so the boards attach and have handles and stuff. The slide rate is just as important as the nice designs.

[@wcw7398]

I think I understand how the poly would seal the stain, and allow application of the new color, but I'm not sure how the stain would properly under the coat of poly.

[@cornholecollective7116]

This might be specific to gel stains but a thin coax of sprayed on water based poly doesnt interfere with the way they cure at all. You can do a stain over stain without the poly butbut takes a lot longer and the darker colors still smear sometimes.

[@wcw7398]

@@cornholecollective7116 Thanks for the reply. I'll give it go! And thanks for the video. Very informative.

[@aaronrodriguez110]

Are you peeling away those initial elements that turn out to be the java colored part (like does the plotter those elements out) or are you cutting that out by free hand? I really enjoyed your design. Thanks for any insight.

[@cornholecollective7116]

Hey Aaron, yes, the cutter cuts everything but the initial stain color sections were pulled before I transferred the vinyl from the paper backing to the wood. You could move the full cut sheet first but it’s impossible to get it placed right because you can’t see the design if it wasn’t weeded first. Thanks for watching!!!

[@cindylynn5938]

the stain doesn't bleed under ??

[@cornholecollective7116]

Gel stain is so great to stencil with. Not a lot of bleed if you get all the variables right. Better than paint and a lot more flexible with techniques like this poly-over technique.

[@Bigdog2105]

Where do you find your graphics? What vinyl cutter are you using? Circut I would assume (Last question) What is your top clear clear coat or poly & how many layers? Boards look awesome

[@cornholecollective7116]

Hi Steve. We use wide format plotters (link in description), That is quite a bit larger than a cricket. The finish of choice for us is parks pro finisher and usually takes about 4 or 5 coats. We have a video on our process and how we apply on our channel. Hope that helps 👍

[@kimberlywebb5481]

I have a stencil I was planning on using but this looks way better to prevent bleed through. Do you sell this sticker stencil?

[@cornholecollective7116]

Hi! You van find lots of builders who also sell stencils at cornholecollective.com/friends

[@jay940]

How would you make the natural part a different color, say like white? Do you just leave the vinyl on?

[@cornholecollective7116]

All the vinyl goes in the trash. White is one of the hardest and least used colors I ever do. Remasking and painting would work. There is no real gel stain that’s white. Diluted acrylic paint works well.

[@brianpeck3344]

I'm trying the same technique but the transfer tape sticks to the vinyl better than the vinyl sticks to the boards. So when I try to peel off the transfer tape the vinyl stencil comes with the tape or rips small details of the vinyl as I peel it off. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[@cornholecollective7116]

High tack transfer tape will do that. Oracal oratape ht55 is what use. If the surface is sanded and dust removed, it transfers pretty easily.

[@wendytorkelson9305]

Stunning! May I ask why you choose to use 631 vs 813?

[@cornholecollective7116]

Hi Wendy! I’ll be honest, 631!8/ all I’ve ever used. I hear on our Facebook group how other vinyl can pull up the wood grain or not stencil clean edges. Just sticking with what I know. How’s 813 for you?

[@wendytorkelson9305]

@@cornholecollective7116 I love the Oramask 813. Crisp, clean edges and nothing has ever been pulled up - neither wood grain nor first layers of paint. I've never tried using stain with stencils but I will now that I've watched your videos. I envy your cutter! I've got a Silhouette Cameo. So happy I've found your channel!

[@wendytorkelson9305]

I should add that part of what I love about 813 is it's transparency - makes layering so much easier

[@gayleostic9738]

Going back this video to actual try this project and your replies below to some questions are not showing any more. Can you turn them back on?

[@cornholecollective7116]

Happy to answer any questions. Sorry, wasn’t getting notifications about comments.