Engraving on Faux leather

[loves2draw89]

Hello,
I am attempting to engrave on faux leather for hand making a journal. I have a GF Aura and any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Like recommendations for speed and power. I’ll be testing but some suggestions to try and pull help.

[Xabbess]

Sounds like a fun project. Unless you’ve already done so, I urge you to find out exactly what your faux leather is made of before you begin. Sometimes it’s made with vinyl which is a big no for your laser and for you. Sorry I don’t have any other advice or even settings for you to try…testing will be the best way for you to figure that out.

[loves2draw89]

Thank you for the advice on the vinyl part didn’t even think of that.

[evansd2]

Just to clarify, “vinyl” can mean a lot of things. What you’re worried about specifically is PVC, polyvinyl chloride.

There are lots of different types of plastic that fall into the vinyl family, they’re not all dangerous to laser… But you should be very sure before you use it.

There are many polyurethane based fake leathers, if you can be 100% sure that it’s polyurethane you should be OK. Some artificial leathers are designed to be lasered like the saddle collection from Johnson plastics. It’s just a matter of being sure in today’s online shopping world… It could be sometimes hard to find the information

For more info on material safety, check out #4 here:

Common problems/questions

Hello! You’ve been referred to this post because you have a common problem or question. Check out the list below to see what this post can do for you. Just click on a topic that interests you. • 1: I’m new to Glowforge and really have no idea where to start • 1a: What other tools/materials should I buy to go with my Glowforge? • 1b: What are the overall best practices for my laser designs? • 2: All about masking/protecting your materials • 3: I want to design/make a box • 4: What materi…

[loves2draw89]

Thank you so much for your advice!!

[deirdrebeth]

Once you confirm the lack of actual vinyl, I find the default thin leather settings to do a good job.

If those don’t show up in the I’d start with the cardboard settings. Leather engraves really easily.

[reynoso]

Welcome back @loves2draw89.

I remember a discussion about faux leather in this post, that you might want to check out:

Baptism Bible

@shop7 welcome to the forum and congratulations on asking questions to prevent accidents. in my experience as @dklgood pointed out, leathersoft is a cheap covering made of binded real leather scraps to form only the substrate, but the top finish is a thin PVC film that simulates the leather grain, which in time will usually peel off the substrate. PVC when burned releases chlorine gas which is toxic for life, and highly corrosive for metal parts and electronics in your machine. If I were you…

Since you mention you are hand making a journal, why not use real veg tanned leather instead of cheap faux leather? Anything worth doing is worth doing right.

[loves2draw89]

lol! It’s just a bit expensive right now. And I already had the faux leather in my craft storage. It’s just for my personal use. I do plan on getting real leather at some point. Thank you for the article!

[deirdrebeth]

As to your original question, there’s a proofgrade setting for thin leather, use that for engraving. For cutting you’ll need to test but frequently a second pass will do better/cleaner than a higher power.

Don’t forget to Set Focus before you place your design, since there’s a chance your material isn’t the same thickness as the proofgrade!

[ChristyM]

@reynoso

why not use real veg tanned leather instead of cheap faux leather

FWIW, some people don’t want to use animal products. And faux leather isn’t necessarily “cheap.” Some people use it because it has different properties than leather, but that stuff can actually be really expensive.

[reynoso]

Thanks @ChristyM for bringing to my attention a perspective I had not thought about.