Acrylic pigment grips porous and non-porous materials alike, but each one wants slightly different handling. Here is what changes, surface by surface.
The classic. Wash and dry the stone first — river silt is the usual reason paint lifts later. Smooth stones take detail better than porous ones; if the surface is grainy, lay a white base coat and work on top of it. Two thin passes beat one thick one. Seal outdoor stones.
Sand lightly and dust off. Raw wood drinks the first layer, so expect the colour to look thin until the second pass. Work with the grain for fills and across it for outlines. On sealed or varnished wood the ink sits on top and behaves like glass.
Wipe with alcohol and let it flash off — fingerprints are invisible until the ink refuses to stick to them. Ink sits entirely on the surface, so it is bright but scratchable; keep decorated glassware out of the dishwasher and off the lip of anything you drink from.
Glazed ceramic behaves like glass; unglazed bisque behaves like stone. Mugs, tiles and planters all work. Decorate the outside only if the piece will hold food or drink, and hand-wash.
Slide card inside the garment so the ink cannot bleed through to the back. Natural fibres take colour best. Let it dry fully, then heat-set with an iron over a cloth. Wash inside out, cold, and skip the tumble dryer.
Degrease first. Clean, unpainted metal holds the pigment well; powder-coated and oily surfaces do not. Tins, bottles, keys, tools and lockers are all fair game.
Primed canvas is the friendliest surface in this list — no bleed, no soak, and the brush nib behaves closest to an actual brush. Ideal for layering, because each pass dries fast enough to work over within minutes.
Test first, always. Smooth, slick plastics can resist the ink or stay vulnerable to scratching. Phone cases, storage boxes and toys generally work; anything greasy or flexible is less predictable. A sealant helps a lot here.
Use heavier stock — 200 gsm or more — because the ink is wet enough to buckle thin paper. Opacity is the payoff: light shades sit cleanly on black card, which no dye-based pen manages.
Wipe the skin dry and work in short strokes; the waxy surface takes ink better than it looks like it will. Far cleaner than carving, and the pumpkin lasts longer because you have not opened it up.
Seal anything that will live outdoors, be handled daily, or hold water — garden stones, mugs, tumblers, keyrings. Do not bother sealing paper, canvas or a framed piece behind glass; a sealant on those adds sheen and risk without adding life. Full detail in the sealing guide.
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