Dry Moly

Can someone explain how to do the marking on metal with dry moly. I’ve done it 3 times and it just seems to burn off the dry moly and the rest around it comes up super easy. I might be using it wrong but I have looked for a step by step

It does sort of burn off, but it should fuse to the metal. What metal are you using?

I haven’t used dry moly but have used LaserBond. The speed needs to be pretty low…I think to allow the heat from the laser to heat it up enough to bond. What settings are you using? I think I’ve used 300/full power.

This is what I based my recent experiments on:

Hot and slow!

I found the key to be multiple very light coats of DML and each must be allowed to dry completely before applying the next coat. Low heat from a heat gun or hair dryer will encourage faster drying.

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Thank you! Glad o could help :blush:

Make sure the metal is clean. A wipe with alcohol should do it.

Also, a brushed finish will give better adhesion than a polished surface. The dry moly I’ve tried leaves what I assume is a tough oxide layer. It can even be Burnished with a tool.

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Stainless steel and aluminum. it comes right off it doesn’t mark the metal like ive seen pictures of

I’d have to think it’s your settings that are the problem. I agree about making sure the surface is clean and then apply several light coats, letting it dry between each.

How many coats are recommended?

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There’s no exact answer, so testing is paramount. I typically apply 4-5 light coats, drying each one with a hair dryer or heat gun set to low.

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Thx. Did 5 coats on a stainless steel kick plate for testing. We’ll see how it goes. I’m sort of worried with the comments elsewhere about harming the laser or it giving off bad fumes. These are Christmas present runs, so if we decide this works, I’ll probably spring for the expensive stuff.

Thanks!