So you shellac before cutting then? Do you go back and coat the edges after the cut?
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If so this seems possibly masking tape tack resistant unless using blue tapeâŚ
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it depends on the use i may spray with laquer afterwords the shellac is a natural product but its weather resistance leaves something to be desired.the tape i used was blue painters tape it didnt hold up well under the laser
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How much time between your shellacking and masking/lasering?
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when i masked with tape i did not use shellac.
when i shellac about a half hour. i live in Florida the alcohol that is the shellac solvent dries quick.
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I tend to either shellac or mask depending on the material. MDF doesnt hold masking too well and if there are lots of vector cuts it can come off other surfaces.
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For intricate pieces would some kind of dry abrasive bath work better than sanding? Or is it hopeless?
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In jewelry, tight places can be smoothed/polished with a âtrumming cordâ where you grasp each end and âsawâ back and fourth. Any flexible material you can charge with abrasive/rouge, leather usually. Emory cloth in strips works well for cutting quickly.
I might try sand blasting if the top surface is masked, seems maybe the easiest for a job thatâs a pain any way you do it.
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Tape doesnât hold well with intricate rastering as well. At least thatâs been my experience
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Yeah, well thats a givenâŚlol
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Yes but we have experience on a laser a lot of people here donât and we can give them an idea of what to expect when there GF arrives.
I bet the smiles wonât come off for a month when people start getting their GF
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Thank you gaffanon, Iâm one of those laser newbies, and this conversation has been a bit âover my headâ so far, but I hope to come back to it once I have a laser and I can have many âOOOooohhâ moments as things start to click.
I do a lot of woodworking, so Iâm familiar with shellac, lacquer, danish oil, stains, tape, masking, etc⌠many of the items mentioned here, but the part that is going over my head is what to use when prepping the wood/material for lasering. I thought everything can go in there without âcoveringâ and weâd just have to sand a little bit to get the burn stains out. If we have the paper covering (like proofgrade is supposed to have), then just peeling the paper off takes the burn stains with it.
So stupid question, how does taping, masking, shellac, and lacquer affect the piece that you are about to laser? Does the answer change if you are only engraving instead of cutting?
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you do not have to cover or mask anything, you can sand to get rid of the smoke and scorch marks. not all proof grade materials will have mask on it when it comes such as wood. I spray with shellac so that i can just wipe away the smoke and scorch marks and dont have to sand after words it just saves me a step. some materials will just wipe away the marks such as leather and stone or glass. but more porous objects might not and shellac will act as a grain filler. if you want i can post some examples of what it looks like when things are masked or not
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All the Proofgrade materials will have a mask on it. Thatâs where the barcode is printed.
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i guess if you only buy from Glow Forge it will.
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Iâd love to see the examples if you have time!
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âProofgradeâ is a trademarked term of Glowforge.
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seen it in literature from other laser companies as well. they use it as a
term to list things that the laser can make or cut. Proven to mark or cut
ive seen that term for years.
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I see. I had just noticed the little ÂŽ next to the word in an image here somewhere.
Thatâs why @cleetose and I were confused by your statement that not all proof grade materials will have paper on them such as wood.
Glowforge ProofgradeÂŽ wood will have paper.
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they have registered the name interesting its an industry term. Thatâs where i got confused. All the companies have a list of proof grade materials that will work with their laser.
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