Better Way to Color Fill Acrylic?

[WAM]

Might try multy color layered acrylic. You burn away the top layer and expose the color beneath

[deirdrebeth]

@WAM

multy color layered acrylic

@undoubtedly.mad

two tones acrylics

Same product - different descriptions. It can be useful stuff, but often the top layer will leave a dust of colour onto the bottom layer giving you a murkier look than you might be looking for (the “finicky” they refer to). Often a high speed do-over will vaporize that extra powder so it still may be worth trying

[GrooveStranger]

I’ve also had bad luck with trying to fill in engraves. Doing a few light coats helps. And I find craft paint and a brush to work better than a rattle can.

[Tom_A]

I’ve used acrylic paint pens. In case you’re not familiar, they’re paint, but in a pen. They’ve worked for me. I haven’t tried any other methods yet.

[arh2]

I’ve used these oil paint sticks. Rub it in before your take off the masking for easier clean up.

Jack Richeson 121608 Shiva Oil Paintstik, Iridescent Gold/Silver and Copper, https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004BP85FC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_afb7Db6AE5TBG

You can get them in other colors of course.

[cynd11]

I’ve gotten great results using Vintaj paints (got them at Hobby Lobby). Check it here:

Pre Release | Acrylic Tests

Just spending a little time doing some testing on the 1/4" acrylic that I finally was able to break into usable size for the Glowforge. In the photo, ignore that deep score across the top on the back sides of the test pieces, that was just one of my unsuccessful scoring attempts, not the laser. [image] Anyway, besides the fact that engraving on acrylic is really awesome, I thought folks might be interested in a different material for color infill. What I’m using is different colors of patina…

[undoubtedly.mad]

Do you have any company suggestions that offer this type of acrylic?

[undoubtedly.mad]

Is this waterproof by chance? I’d love to paint my item before removing the tape but I always have to soak my pieces or else I’m at risk of chipping all my nails off trying to lift the tape.

[deirdrebeth]

Most places that sell acrylic carry at least some; TAP plastics, Johnson Plastics, Inventables, etc. You can do a search on here for other acrylic sources

[cynd11]

Yes it is.

[betsmo]

I’m not sure how it would work on acrylic, but I have had a lot of luck filling in wood engraving with lightweight spackle. You have to work quickly, but it fills in completely. I spread it on and let it dry before removing the paper.

[eflyguy]

It’ll crumble and fall out of non-porous material once fully dried out. It even falls out of wood if not covered/sealed and the object is handled frequently.

[ekla]

@undoubtedly.mad

but I always have to soak my pieces or else I’m at risk of chipping all my nails off trying to lift the tape.

You might like plastic razor blades

[shop]

@ekla

You might like plastic razor blades

^^ this ^^

[chris1]

I bought an acrylic model and it came with a “peeling tool”, which was itself just a stick of acrylic with a rounded end. I felt kind of dumb for never realizing that. Acrylic doesn’t scratch itself, so that’s a really easy way to get the paper off.

[dr.krawetz]

I’ve had a lot of good results with Golden High-Flow Acrylic. One dab in the middle of an engrave and it spreads out without climbing the sides. When that dries, I use a clear filler to bring it up to flush.

[flossqueencathe]

I use thinned out acrylic paints for art work (e.g. LiquiTex) . I put them in the little fine tipped bottles you can find on Amazon and flood the area with the masking on. Let it dry, take off the masking and do a little cleanup with denatured alcohol.

[ptodd]

Is your clear filler also a product by Golden?

[kittski]

Everyone has their own tricks and there’s hardly ever one “best” method, but I’ll throw mine out there too. I mask the acrylic and defocus the engraving to get it a bit smoother and I then use a quality spray paint for the coloring. I’ve tried the two-toned layered acrylic and it can be hit or miss for me . A lot of it deposits color back onto the engraved area and takes too much work to clean up for my taste.

[dr.krawetz]

I use a couple of different fillers, depending on what I need.

I’m certainly not trying to push the Golden brand here. (I don’t want to come off sounding like a salesman.) Golden sells lots of different kinds of clear fillers. Many of them just differ by the amount of water content. But for clear filler, there are lots of other brand options. (In my opinion, Golden is a good brand, but not always the most inexpensive.)

This is where you’re going to need to play around and experiment a little based on your needs. Some fillers sink in when they dry. (But even when they sink in, it’s a smooth slope.) After they dry, some kinds remain water solvable, some are water resistant, and some are water proof. (By “waterproof”, I mean I do the dishwasher test and they had no visible change after 5 washes.)

The nice thing about GF engraving on acrylic is that it leaves a rough “frosted” surface that most acrylic paints strongly adhere to. (No extra sanding needed.) You only need to worry about it coming off if you’re painting on the smooth surface. (And in that case, it makes for a great acrylic peel.)