Sealing wood before using markers

[Kmucha16]

Hey all, I'm working on a project for my kid's school auction. Large Jenga type blocks that the kids will be decorating in class. The wood is pine and I'm worried about marker bleeding when applied. I'm sure maple would have been a better choice, but someone bought these blocks online and gave them to me. What sealer would work well to seal the wood and still allow the markers to be applied. I figured I'd do a final coat of poly or some other appropriate finish. I figured markers would be easier for the kids to use than paint, and certainly less messy in the classroom. They'd also have less buildup than paint, allowing the blocks to still slide smoothly when using.

I'm not overly experienced with different finishes and this needs to be fairly quick and simple. I need to get all 56 blocks sealed so the kids can do their thing next week. Not overly worried about the weather, as it's supposed to be 70 here the next couple days.

I've seen the Zinzer seal coat, General Finishes seal coat, spray shellac, and some have mentioned just using a first coat of the final finish. So many choices.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Willyou]

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but here are some thoughts: I think what ever works best will depend on what kind of markers the kids will use. I assume that they will use the water based washable markers that are made for kids. I'm not sure what they will and won't stick to or whether the color will wipe off after application. I guess the suggestion I've got is to first find out what kind of marker will be used and then make some samples and try them out on different finishes. My first thought is that you want to apply just a light seal coat to keep the color from bleeding without a full film finish. I also wonder if something like a glue sizing would work; thin down some white glue and brush it on.
Final idea, can you talk the school into having the kids use colored pencils or crayons rather than markers?

[Kmucha16]

I don't have a definitive answer for you, but here are some thoughts: I think what ever works best will depend on what kind of markers the kids will use. I assume that they will use the water based washable markers that are made for kids. I'm not sure what they will and won't stick to or whether the color will wipe off after application. I guess the suggestion I've got is to first find out what kind of marker will be used and then make some samples and try them out on different finishes. My first thought is that you want to apply just a light seal coat to keep the color from bleeding without a full film finish. I also wonder if something like a glue sizing would work; thin down some white glue and brush it on.
Final idea, can you talk the school into having the kids use colored pencils or crayons rather than markers?

Good thoughts. I actually did some tests on a scrap piece at home yesterday. Bare wood with several different types of markers from permanent to the crayola washables and none of them resulted in any bleeding.

I the sprayed a scrap with a light coat of poly and the only ones that didn't wipe off were the permanent markers. Based on that alone I think I'm going to say no initial finish needed and just write on the bare wood. Light poly spray coat when done to seal it in and a quick swipe with some 400+ grit to make them smooth enough to slide in Jenga mode.

I fear pencils or crayons would muck up the surface too much to be used as Jenga blocks.

Kevin

[lift mechanic]

My wife wanted a pinecone craved cove molding above the kitchen cabinets. The cove molding was, I think, made by a CNC machine. She wanted to use colored sharpies to make the pinecones and needles stand out. I coated the maple cove with Watco wipe on poly ,2 coats. Then she colored in what she wanted with the sharpies. Then I carefully wiped on another 2 coats of poly. They came out real nice, but they are not handled once they were cut and put up.