Engraving on Ikea Furniture?

Does anyone know if you can engrave Ikea furniture? I’d love to engrave on the doors of my Ikea Kallax but I don’t know if it’s safe or would even turn out looking ok.

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got a product link? I know I’ve seen lots of kallax inserts, but not sure which one you mean.

In general, most paints on MDF (most likely construction given that this is IKEA) are fine to engrave, and would probably look good. I’d mask it first, to keep the smoke and residue off the surface.

Anyway send the link and I’m sure someone will have more direct feedback.

And welcome to the forum! :slight_smile:

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Also, this may be relevant: Painting wood first

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BTW if it’s this one:

I’d be concerned that it lists “plastic foil” as a component. It appears to be covered in a plastic film, not painted.

I’d want to know what kind of plastic that is before I did any lasering, PVC (aka polyvinyl chloride) is dangerous to laser as it can damage your machine.

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Here is the materials FAQ from IKEA. Developing safe products you can trust - IKEA

I’m not sure if this has enough detail to tell if it would be safe to engrave on their wood products? The wood seems to be a fiberboard with some type of plastic veneer overlay…

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Yeah it’s not an MSDS so it’s not 100%. You can test it with a copper wire etc to see if it’s chlorinated but that’s not often practical.

In the end you can take a chance but that’s up to you. I have a feeling that this isn’t pvc but I’m just guessing tbh.

I’m not sure I’d risk it. I’d be more likely to cut something to overlay on the door like veneers or something. You can get some great designs that way and there’s no risk of cutting or engraving unknown materials.

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I’d want to test the covering for chlorine before taking a chance on killing your GF.

Here’s what I did instead a few years ago…

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Thank you - definitely not worth the risk if I’m not sure. :grin: I appreciate your input!

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That’s beautiful! I think an overlay is what I’ll have to do. Thanks! :grin:

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