Engaving veneer : Trick to increase colour?

#1

Hi everybody,

I try to engrave a very thin veneer 0.03inof pale oak (non proofgrade, I m in Europe and we don t have access to it). It is good quality stuff but non made specially to be lasered.

The result is quite good exept that the engraved zone don’t are not quite burned and so very pale.

And I m in a deadend. If I increase the engraving , I vaporized the wood.

So if someone has a trick to increase the burning colour, I would be very grateful.

Thanks all the community

#2

Hello @marc.simon1,

I recently engraved Proofgrade maple veneer. The engraving was very light also. Since the veneer is masked, after engraving the veneer, I sprayed it lightly with black spray paint.

#3

If you go this route, and your shapes are simple, you can probably score the masking and peel it. No need to wait for the engrave.

The other possibility would be to cut your shapes out of the veneer and then glue them to a contrasting backing, using a technique almost like using transfer paper for vinyl stickers.

#4

One trick that sometimes works is to slow down and reduce power. There’s not much room at the bottom for thin veneers, but it’s probably worth doing small set of test engraves at very low power and different speeds.

#5

I have tried your suggestions without a great result.

So I have tried other types of veneer and the result is much much better.

So maybe the solution is “try before buy” when it is possible.

But if someone else has found someting please share.

Thanks folks

#6

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