Alright, let me tell you what I got up to the other day. Been seeing that slick 49ers black logo popping up more often. You know the one, just the clean ‘SF’ oval, but blacked out. Looks pretty sharp, gotta say.
It got me thinking. I wanted something with that logo, but not just another hat or shirt you buy off the rack. Wanted something a bit more personal, something I put together myself. Decided I’d try making a small wooden sign, maybe for the garage or the den. Something simple.
So, first step was gathering the bits and pieces. Went digging through my scrap wood pile out back. Found a decent little plank, nothing special, but solid. Gave it a quick sanding just to smooth it out a little. Didn’t want splinters, right? Then I needed paint. Obviously black for the logo. Thought about adding red or gold, but decided against it for this first try. Keep it basic: black logo on natural wood.
Next up, getting the actual logo design right. Hopped online and found a good, clean version of the black ‘SF’ oval. Printed it out on plain old printer paper. Nothing fancy needed there.
Now, here’s where the real work started – making a stencil. Yeah, I could probably find one to buy somewhere, but that takes the fun out of it. I grabbed some thicker paper, like cardstock, that I had lying around from some other project. Carefully traced the logo from my printout onto the cardstock. Then came the fiddly bit: cutting it out. Used my trusty craft knife. You really gotta take your time with this, especially around the curves of the ‘S’ and ‘F’. My hands aren’t as steady as they used to be! Made a couple of wobbly cuts, almost messed up the ‘F’, but managed to salvage it. Ended up with a usable, if not perfect, stencil.
Okay, stencil ready. Placed it carefully onto the sanded wood, right where I wanted the logo. Used some painter’s tape to stick it down firmly around all the edges. This part’s important. If you don’t seal it well, the paint seeps under the stencil, and you get messy, fuzzy edges. Learned that the hard way on past projects.
Time for paint. Just used some basic black acrylic paint I had. Didn’t want to fuss with spray paint inside. Got a little sponge brush – those cheap ones work great for dabbing paint into stencils. Loaded it up, but wiped off the excess. Didn’t want big blobs. Just dabbed the black paint into the cut-out parts of the stencil. Went for a thin first coat. Better to build it up.
Let that first coat sit and dry for a while. Maybe half an hour? Came back, took a look. It was okay, but a bit faded. Definitely needed a second coat to get that solid black look. So, repeated the process – dabbed on more black paint, making sure to cover everything evenly inside the stencil. Waited again, but this time not until it was completely rock hard. You want to peel the stencil when the paint is mostly dry, but still a tiny bit pliable.
This is always the moment of truth. Heart pounds a little faster, you know? Carefully peeled back the painter’s tape first. Then, slowly, lifted the cardstock stencil straight up off the wood. And… not bad! Seriously, it came out pretty clean. The ‘SF’ was sharp. There was one tiny spot near the bottom of the oval where the paint bled under just a smidge, but honestly, you’d barely notice unless you were looking for it. I could touch it up later with a tiny brush if it bothered me.
So there it was. My own little custom 49ers black logo sign. Just simple black paint on wood. Took me maybe an hour or two, not counting drying time. But it felt good, making it with my own hands instead of just buying something. Hung it up on a nail in the garage. Looks pretty good, I think. Sometimes these little DIY things are the most satisfying.
