Anyone have settings for engraving spray paint off metal?

I want to coat flat 20-24 ga. metal with semi-gloss black spray paint, and engrave away artwork (the white stars on the 2-color acrylic sample).

Anyone have ideas on settings before I start trials? I struck out on a search.

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I swear someone else engraved a piece exactly like that :thinking:

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I would follow manufacturers recommendations, I use CerMark Ultra which has given me great results

Jonathan

Use any of the Proofgrade settings for blasting coatings off metal – e.g. choose “Black iPhone”, "Black Pixel, “Black Microsoft Surface”, etc from the material list. I believe it’s just 1000/full/450. Since the laser beam isn’t going to do anything to the metal, you’re just blasting it at full power to make sure all the paint is vaporized.

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Thanks @dan84 , I didn’t think about that option. I’ll give it a try.

Maybe paint the inside and test there?

Oh I have spares, so I have test space. Just want to get as close as I can first. :slight_smile:

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Did you get this from osh cut after all?

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Yes! They came out great and the price was super reasonable.

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Awesome. Thanks for being a Guinea pig :slight_smile:

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Another approach might be:

  • first mask everything (eg w/ tape)
  • cut through the tape
  • peel off the portion you want to paint
  • spray paint
  • peel off the remaining tape

Depending on the size of the piece and quantity being made, cutting just the outlines of your shape plus the time dealing with the masking process, might be faster than engraving. Depending on the type of paint and masking used, the line edges might be not quite as good as the engraving approach you’re currently doing though.

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That’s a great technique for other materials, but since a CO2 laser can’t mark metal without some sort of marking spray, it’s not necessary in this case. :slight_smile:

Not necessary, sure, but potentially faster. Doing stuff with masking adds time over not masking, but engraving takes longer than cutting.

I thought about that, but given the number of tiny bits in this particular design that would have to be weeded before painting, I think engraving is probably the faster option. :slight_smile:

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I did find good settings. I started with the black Surface preset, saw evidence of overcooking, and cut the power down. It looks great.

Ignore the lint, I let this sit for 12 hours before handling but it was still tacky and I screwed up the finish.

image

Unfortunately I do not love the look of spray paint itself. It looks cheap even if the engraving is good… even before I screwed it up with fingerprints and lint. I’ll look at other options. I know 1/16" 2-color acrylic will work well, I was just hoping for a much thinner solution. (I know they are out there, like Flexilase or Cermark.)

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Definitely wipe it down with alcohol after engraving the paint away. It looks way better

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