Ikea has a new line of thin sheet metal cabinets. Super cheap (little 10x10 box for $15). Comes in flat pack (read put in Glowforge). I haven’t decided what I want to do with them, but they are super enticing. Thought some of you might also like.
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Of course they’re flat pack, it is Ikea! 
It would be great to laser off the paint to put a silver Glowforge logo on the door of one of the blue ones.
Dang, it looks like the 10x10 ones are only in yellow or white. Others are over 13".
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I just saw these and loved them. I’ll have to get somew
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Ikea hacks give me life.
Haha but seriously, if I had any clue at all as to where I could actually put these in my house they would already be there, I love them!
@bill_laba I wonder how well they would take to spray paint? I’ve seen designs where people have spray-painted Ikea brackets for some awesome DIY shelving projects.
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Flat, clean, dry, pre-painted metal. You won’t find a better surface to spray-paint without using gesso.
Take your time with the spraypaint. Use straight strokes: Start with the spray can off of your piece to one side, press the nozzle, and then perform a steady sweep across the piece, ending past the piece before releasing the nozzle. This is to maintain an even thickness of paint across the piece, and to avoid drips. Repeat, overlapping the previous stroke by about 1/3 or 1/2. When dry, rotate 90* and repeat. A few light coats about 12-15 minutes apart will serve you much better than a heavy coat (and will dry quicker too).
Once fully dry, hit it with a clear topcoat.
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yaaaass I figured they would be good for it, but I thought I’d best let someone with experience chime in! Thanks for the application tips! I may end up getting some of the little ones after all 
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You could also mask the panels with with transfer tape or painters tape, engrave a stencil design, remove the waste tape, spray, remove stencil tape, then topcoat clear.
I’m wondering if we could dial in the power to just burn off a layer of spraypaint and leave the original enamel color behind?
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You just read my mind! Looks like I’ll be making a trip to Ikea this weekend…luckily (my wallet would not agree) it’s only ten minutes away!
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They just announced they’re building one 8 miles from my house. Still can’t decide if that’s good or bad, but leaning toward bad (increased traffic in an already-congested area)… 
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SO. FREAKING. FUN.
I love the colors. I love the simplicity. I love the laserability. I have nowhere to put them. Ah well. 
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I hear you–I’m excited/horrified that it’s going in. Excited that I don’t have to schlep to south Denver to get my inexpensive-yet-tasteful housewares, dreading the congestion on weekends.
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I suppose the same can’t be said for the initial flood once it’s open, but I can’t say I’ve ever noticed too much traffic around ours! Usually I go on Saturday mornings literally right when the doors open and it’s pretty empty. Though, word of advice- I tend to avoid it the week before college kids go back to school
Oh, and their cinnamon buns? Amazing. 
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You know they pump that smell through the vents to get you salivating while you wait in line? So evil
They also pump the smell of their meatballs into the kitchen sections to get you to buy those when you leave too lol
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I believe it 
though recently they’ve changed the style of the cinnamon bun they sell in the dining area (okay yeah maybe I go a bit too often hahaha) and it’s just not as good 
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Ooof. I wish I didn’t love Ikea so much. It’s crazy to think about all that wealth pretty much going to one family.
Also (and I’m sorry to be all the bummer in this post, but) is lasering spray paint safe? Isn’t spray paint plastic and therefore likely to emit chlorine gas?
The only type of plastic that emits chlorine gas is PVC. it’s pretty uncommon to find something coated in that if at all.
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Rly? I’d been lead to believe that we should avoid most/all plastic because we can’t know if it’s got chlorine in it without getting the M-acronym sheet.
Except acrylic. Stinky, but safe.
But, like, most plastics are okay?
Hold my beer and watch this:
http://community.glowforge.com/t/how-to-determine-if-plastic-x-is-safe-to-use/648
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Spray paint is not plastic… except for plasti-dip
It can be enamel, acrylic, watercolor, etc.
Many plastics are “safe” to laser. Whether they laser well is a different story.
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I would be more concerned with the dangers of inhaling the propellant from a spray can while you are painting it than with the fumes from lasering it. Respirators are cheap.
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