Gorilla Tape

Good morning everybody. Has anyone tried engraving using black gorilla tape? Trying to prevent bleeds. Wondering if it is safe.

I have not tried to use Gorilla Tape as a masking agent. I believe it is too thick and the adhesive is stronger than necessary. I believe there are cheaper and better alternatives.

What material are you using that is prone to bleeding?

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That sounds like overkill and most likely would result in a gooey sticky mess.

Making tapes of many variety are the usual approach. A quick search for “masking” will lead you to some great resources.

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A lot of duct tapes are made of PVC, which is all kinds of bad. I’m not sure if gorilla tape is or not.

For more information on masking tape and on why PVC is bad please check out #2 and #4:

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Thank you for responding. I usually use regular masking, then when I paint before removing it bleeds onto the material that was engraved. Maybe I use too much paint.

Thank you for responding.

The engraving process removes a layer of the wood product. This provides an avenue for the paint to seep into the material. Some people have better luck sealing the wood after the engrave and then painting.

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Thank for responding.

Ok, thank you.

Good Morning! This is what I have been using, suggested by other owners. Vinyl Ease 12 inch x 100 feet Paper from Amazon. I don’t know how to do hyperlinks but in the Amazon search field type in B07DF7TDSF. That is the ASIN#. I’ve been using it for some time and is very effective.

When using this vinyl rearrange your steps so that all CUT steps are last. Cutting can tend to lift the vinyl edges up, leaving the wood exposed. I use a little friction to warm up the paper as I’m applying it to wood. Seems to adhere better or at least, gets my hands warmed up. :grin:

You should also read #4. You’re paying too much.

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Just to be clear, Vinyl Ease is actually a paper tape, not a vinyl tape. You should never put a vinyl material in your Glowforge that is PVC based. It gives off HCl when lasered, which will corrode your machine very quickly.

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This is what you need. Available at uscutter.com

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That was good advice from @dklgood . Spray with clear lacquer then when that is dry use your colored spray.

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You guys are all so awesome, thank you so very much for your responses.

I sometimes pre-paint the wood with acrylic paint, let it dry, then cut.
I googled it to see if it is safe to do this, and found that acrylic paint is safe to laser.
PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG!

You are safe to do this, but it doesn’t help the original poster who wanted an engraved area filled. Painting first would be of no benefit.

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Thank you, yes I do that also, it is safe. I just have such a hard time trying to paint without it bleeding through. I think I over indulge in the paint. lol. Going to try and use less next time.

I would not use it simply because you will have a disaster burning that adhesive into what you are engraving. and that is aside from the fact that the tape itself probably has compounds like PVC in it that are toxic to you and your glowforge. :slight_smile:

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bleading through the masking? or along the edges?

I made some things that I colored with ink a while back. I used SCORE lines on the borders between colors to keep things separate.

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