A resource for using iron on vinyl on wood. Comparing different types of vinyl (including iron on foil, glitter iron on vinyl, & iron on lite) on different wood surfaces (unfinished, painted) plus recommended settings.
Does iron on vinyl work on wood? Which sticks better to wood- adhesive vinyl or iron on? How do you get vinyl to stick better to wood? Since sharing my giant installation using my hand lettering and iron on vinyl on a wood backdrop, I see these questions in my inbox constantly. So today, we’re going to test and share all of the results.
Using heat transfer vinyl (HTV) or iron on vinyl (the same thing, just different names for different brands) is my favourite way to add vinyl to wood. It just looks so much nicer and less like a sticker. I find the iron on vinyl adheres better too!
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With this post, I’m SO excited to be announcing a new video series to you all! I’m teaming up with my friend Alexis from Persia Lou to bring you a Silhouette Vs. Cricut challenge series. We’re going to be sharing these videos over on YouTube (and I’ll be posting them here for all you non-video fans) showing how we use a material with our individual machines. I’m team Cricut (of course) and she’s a Silhouette fan. In these videos, we’ll be sharing not only the differences between the machines, the products (vinyl mostly… and tools), and also the design software through screen recordings.
The first challenge is LIVE and it’s all about iron on vinyl on wood! If you’ve been reading Lemon Thistle for a while, you might remember last year when I made this GIANT installation using this technique. That was back before the EasyPress (and before my iPad Pro… which would have saved me hours and hours). BUT I got a ton of questions after I posted that so was excited to make this the first topic we addressed.
I get asked why your vinyl isn’t sticking, how hot your iron should be, if this works with glitter vinyl or foil or some other kind of vinyl I’ve never heard of. All. The. Questions. And I love your questions, SO we thought this was the perfect opportunity to test out some of those variables.
In the video, I shared tips and snippits on weeding the heat transfer vinyl (also known as HTV or iron on vinyl) as well as using the EasyPress instead of an iron. You can watch for those, but as a summary…
Here’s what I tested out:
- Cricut Iron on Lite (standard heat transfer vinyl which has been rebranded as Everyday Iron On) on unfinished wood
- Cricut Foil Iron on on unfinished wood
- Glitter Iron on Vinyl on painted wood (MDF actually)
- AND sanding Iron on Vinyl for a distressed look.
Here’s what you should know about iron on vinyl on wood:
Before I share about each of these little test projects… I thought I’d give some thoughts on the basics. Like WHY you would even want to try this.
- Iron on vinyl and heat transfer vinyl (HTV) are the SAME THING just different names (Cricut calls theirs iron on)
- Iron on vinyl rocks the printable iron on material out of the water. There is NO residue where your design isn’t (you know the stuff I’m talkin’ about, we all made shirts with it in 2001).
- Regular ol’ adhesive vinyl on wood can have trouble sticking (unless you use outdoor vinyl also known as permanent adhesive vinyl, which is super glossy) and it LOOKS like a sticker is on there. Iron on vinyl has a more matte finish and allows the texture of the wood to show through (especially with a thinner iron on vinyl). This looks more like a painted wood sign.
- The finish of a heat transfer vinyl wood sign will look way cleaner/sharper than using vinyl to stencil your signs (crisp lines), PLUS it will take you a fraction of the time.
- For all of these projects, I used:
- My Cricut Maker to cut the vinyl
- My Cricut BrightPad (it’s a lightbox, Cricut discontinued theirs- this one is similar from Amazon) to help with weeding
- My weeding tool (from this set)
- My Cricut EasyPress to apply the vinyl
- You can use an iron as well- the biggest advantages to the Easy Press are that it’s a larger surface that distributes the heat evenly and that you can set the time and temperature exactly.
So how did each of the vinyls do on wood? Here’s the video and all the description is below!
Regular Iron on Lite Vinyl on Unfinished Wood
Supplies used: Walnut Hollow Wood Slice, Cricut Iron on Lite in black
I’ve used this material on unfinished wood quite a few times now. For my sign in my bathroom, for a birch plywood Canada Day sign, these plant picks and for this cake topper.
I love how the thinner heat transfer vinyl almost melts into the wood and gives a smooth finish. It isn’t shiny- it’s more matte. I would 100% recommend giving this a try!
First off… excuse the picture. I had a wee bit of a tripod accident and am looking at buying a new camera now. Goodbye autofocus… *sigh*
I didn’t share this in the video, but this stuff also works great on stained/sealed wood. You can see that in this post here.
The recommended application settings for iron on lite / every day vinyl on wood is 300 degrees for 40 seconds, but I added an additional 10 seconds. Make sure to let this one cool before peeling back or you’ll risk stretching the lighter material and getting some wonky designs (like that sad U in the word ‘tub’, whoops).
Glitter Iron on Vinyl on Painted MDF
Supplies used: Glitter Iron on Vinyl in Multi, Krylon Chalkboard spray paint, Piece of MDF cut to size
Okay, MDF isn’t technically wood… but it’s what I had on hand and it’s painted, so it’s pretty much the same thing ;)
I’d been asked about glitter iron on vinyl AND painted wood specifically. And guess what? It worked just fine for me! BUT it did take way more time than it suggested. I probably doubled the 40 seconds it recommended at the 300 degrees.
I would actually say this was the easiest iron on material to work with NOT because it went on super quick… but because there was no wrecking it.
Foil Iron On to Unfinished Wood
Supplies used: Foil iron on in pink, Blank wood heart- from Michaels, pink ribbon (older, but also from Michaels)
I’m all over this one. It really looks great and I can’t wait to create more projects with this technique! I’m thinking of one for Saint Patrick’s Day, maybe. I followed the directions, again adding a bit more time but YES, it works beautifully.
Since it’s coming up on Valentines Day, I made this one a whole post of it’s own. If you’re lovin’ it too and want to make your own (and grab the free design), you can hop on over and do that RIGHT HERE.
Sanding Iron on Vinyl on wood to Distress
Supplies used: Iron on Lite in Black, Blank Wood Round from Michaels, 200 grit sandpaper
I’ve read that you can sand iron on vinyl to distress it to look more like a painted sign. Virginia over at Fynes Designs shows that she’s done it but didn’t go into too much detail so I had been dying to try it.
I don’t know what vinyl she used but I will say that the technique was not impressive with the Cricut iron on lite. I did use a super fine sand paper because I didn’t want to sand down the thin wood too much. But it kind of peeled up the edges instead of distressing.
This first picture on the cake is before sanding. You can see the full post on the cake/topper right here.
If I were a fan of distressed finishes (honestly, it’s not my thang), I would probably try this again with a lower grit sandpaper and a different brand of iron on vinyl on wood. But yes… it can be done, it’s just not my favourite.
Alright… this was such a freaking long post! I’m going to leave it at that! If there are materials you’d like to see us take on in the challenge be sure to comment and let me know!
Looking for more Cricut posts?
LIKE IT? PIN IT!
DIY Love Wood Sign
So I was all excited to try the iron on with wood— I have Cricut and the Easy Press— I could not get it to stick— the wood did have a coat of poly on it but then I tried one with lightly painted and one unfinished and I could not get it to stick??? Any idea what I was doing wrong? Also I’d like to try the Oracle brand— any opinion there?
Thanks so much
Peggy
I haven’t ever had that issue! I’m so sorry I don’t have any advice. I have tried it with poly but it has always worked for me. Did you warm peel?
Hi, I my first time trying on wood I ran 300° for 30 seconds and the vinyl stuck fine but when I peeled back the top it left a sticky residue around the letters. Have you come across this?
I would heat a little bit less! It’s just the adhesive seeping out :)
If I am going to put a wood sign that I have used the HTV on outside in the weather do I need to put a protective layer of something over it?
I would seal it with a waterbased poly!
Hi Colleen – can you apply vinyl to untreated mdf
I want to add iron on some names onto a piece of wood that already has writing on it. They are small letters so thinking of using my easy press Mini. Will the easy press ruin the other letters on the sign. It’s a sign that I bought but has room for me to put names on it.
I’m not too sure maggie! You could try it on a scrap piece first!
I’m looking into buying cutting/charcuterie bamboo boards with a beeswax/mineral oil finish and putting a little personal touch on them. Have you had any experience with iron on vinyl and this kind of finish?
Would purchasing them unfinished be a better option? And then finish them myself.
Colleen has never tried, she thinks she would probably finish them herself but she’s not sure about the food safety side of it :)
I purchased a cricut mini press to use on wood. I set it to the first setting but every thing I ironed on left the adhevise around the letters which looks horrible. I tried 40 seconds, 20 seconds and even just a quick iron of about 5 seconds and they all came out the same. Any suggestions?
Hi, probably a stupid question but can HTV wood signs be varnished or seal over for pitting outside?
Karen
I would definitely go for it!
The Cricut Everyday Iron On Lite doesn’t seem to be available anywhere, especially not in the colour that I need. Can I use Everyday Iron On with good results anyway?