I'm sure they will look great. If you are worried just stay with nice blocky letters and it will be fine. You are sure going the extra mile. Have you considered starting with a stone written with pencil? That way you can see how it looks and if it's acceptable to you. If not erase it and start over.
Cher

why did you have to soak them for a week???? .. the shape indicates to me.. that they are river stone.. and impervious to water ... otherwise they would have disintegrated in the river????

regardless .. the scrubbing sounds good..

and good luck with that hand writing ...

ken

Thanks so much for posting this! I still have a post-it note with my list of supplies needed to do this project: Krylon exterior spray paint (if wanted), paint pen to write the names, and clear spray paint for the finish. My real stumbling block is getting the stones without raiding the borders of my garden beds =)

You wrote, "...clear spray paint for the finish".

I don't recommend using polyurethane, which will turn yellow and wear off within 3 or 4 years.

You should use a clear exterior acrylic. Minwax makes it in an aerosol can (about $9). If you want it by the gallon to paint it on with a brush (which works quite well), or to put it in a pump bottle, you should purchase one of the following products, either from an online source or from a local brick supplier. I've used both of these products over the years and have had excellent results.

"DuraSheen" by Prosoco, Inc.
3741 Greenway Circle
Lawrence, KS 66046
www.prosoco.com
1-800-255-4255

"Pebblesheen" by Specco Industries
13087 Main Street
Lemont, IL 60439
630-257-5060

The thread I had gotten this idea from years ago had used a white base coat with a thick marker, and then a thin line black marker on top, giving a nice two tone look.

So thats what I am trying to do, I did the white coat with some pretty decent looking letters, and I have been working on the fine black line on top. They don't look as clean with my black line wandering over the white, but I think they will pop out and be more readable...

the grain or mottling of a few stones really don't look very good lettered, I may redo them later..

I ended up getting some Behrs sealent at Home Depot, I hope to get some clear on them later today or tomorrow.

This will make you laugh, I wanted to make sure i spelled the FRANCES WILLIAMS like the country.. not the other way (FRANCIS), I got the second coat of white on it and I sat it down.. and it dawned on me I had written FRANES WILLIAMS !!! I am cursed on that one !

I am sure I will find another spelling error or two ;)

here is a pic of some of them with the clear on...

You were worried? You did a wonderful job on them. I think they look great. Congratulations on the nice work and nice markers! I really like them.
Cher

I really like these! I'm sure they will look great in your garden and get lots of attention from visitors. Great winter project.
Jan

Beautiful! Are you going to bring them in for the winter? If I did that, they would be lost in one season.

Looking great. How many are you going to make?

Where is Franes? lol

Make sure you report in on this thread over the years so everyone can know how they hold up to Mother Nature.

I will probably have right at 70-80 stones when done.. and FRANES is on the back or FRANCES !! hahahahah

70 to 80 flat stones, you must be able to find those at a lake beach or mountain river. I would not know where to get such stones. Rocks I have to buy at 27 cents per lb, but they are not smooth and flat, though I have a lot of sand and clay.

Actually I am buying the rocks at a garden center, I haven't been able to find this type of a rock around here either...I like how they look, and I think if i don't buy them too big I can letter and clear them for about $1 apiece. that doesn't seem to out of line with some other nice markers...

I sure wish this type of stone was common around here...

I have been using river rocks, not stones, because I like more texture. Your rounded stones really look great. The ones I use are much harder to letter.

I use my rocks to assemble caves for my fresh water aquariums, so I have two uses in mind when I go collecting. While I bleach and etch my aquarium rocks with vinigar (I don't paint my aquarium rocks - bad, bad, bad!), I just scrub the marker rocks for good paint adhesion. Then I spray with clear Krylon to seal them. If the grain looks good I leave them clear. In others, I spray them with Krylon Avacsdo, and use white or black paint sticks. I like the light green because they can be found easier in the spring when doing my cleanup (why take them in - they've been in the river for more years than I have been on our planet).

I like the larger rocks because a plastic rake will not accidently move them. If I want to move them I only move them closer to the crown in fall to better locate them among leaves, etc., and out in spring so they barely are visible under the canopy of leaves. If I don't have to move them, like for my mini's, they settle into the soil nicely and are virtually unmoveable unless I want to move them.

Krylon is good indoors and outdoors and I haven't had peeling, cracking or fading so far. Most hardware stores carry the Krylon paints and paint pencils- I get mine at Ace.

Les