Chalk Pen Tips/Tricks?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 12:38am

Ok, so after badly botching the chalkboard signs at work (b/c I'm the only artist, and the one in charge, this task falls to me) does anyone here have any tips for coloring with them?

I sort of can, but it usually ends up like when you use a dry-erase marker...it erases over itself.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 1:14am

Sadly, I can't offer any helpful tips here but I do offer my sympathies. Until my most recent career shift to academia, I was ALWAYS the one in charge of the chalk pens and signage. Those things can be a real pain in the butt. The only thing I can say from my experience with them is that there is a "sweet spot" somewhere in between being too dry (erasing itself) and too wet (unsightly globs running all over the place), but finding it was somewhat of a Zen exercise. Good luck!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 1:24am

Thanks..that actually does help a little.

I got rushed out tonight before I even got a re-attempt...I really *hate* how they look now.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 1:37am

What are you working with? There's the typical pack that every place can order through Hubert, or there's the really artistic brand that you can get through Washington Poster. I once had a coworker who would reproduce famous works of art but incorporate slogans for our products on an A-frame chalkboard with the WP pens. If you can convince your corporate overlords to order them, they produce some fantastic results.

http://www.wpsignsystems.com/liquichalk.php

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 1:42am

I think ours are literally called "Chalk Pen." It's whatever Starbucks approves...so changing to another is gonna be very very difficult.

They also neglected to send a stencil kit this time around, so not only am I battling pens but freehanding it, too.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 1:57am

Yeah, I think that's the standard Hubert basic order pack. When I had to use those I kept an extra chalkboardey surface handy (I was managing a WPB Starbucks in a Marriott, and we had counter signs for days), and would test on that to get the marker just right before using it on the surface where I would actually work. They're good, serviceable, affordable pens and you should be able to do a lot with them, but they lack the nuance and sophistication of the WP pens. (Gods of higher education help me, I'm pushing 40 and a discerning critic of CHALK PENS!)

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 9:31am

LOL. If I had the extra surface to spare, I would.

I think part of it is they're also dying.