Used the wet paper towel method. worked pretty well. This is my first share since I purchased my machine
Looks good 
So, I’m a noob and gotta ask what exactly is the “wet paper towel” method? Common sense says it is just using a damp papertowel as a type of masking to help with the etching… but we all know what asumming makes you and me 
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I’m guessing they’re referring to:
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Appreciate the assist Funny that I have used both vinegar and mustard to force a patina on high carbon steels in the past but had never heard or just using a paper towel that had been dampened. I mean, the water from the towel may also etch the metal over time (depending on how much chromium content the metal has). I think this is more about using the damp paper towel as a type of mask…?
No. The theory is the vaporized water does the work.
Not quite sure what you mean…?
“Masking” is something you use to protect the remainder of your material from getting marked
This is using the wet paper towel to force a mark onto metal (in much the same way vinegar/mustard/ceremark do)
So it’s not at all like using it as masking and very much like using it to mark the metal
Clearer?
You tell me if this is right … It seems to me that the heat from the laser plus the water is creating oxidation and using that to mark the metal… the rest of the wet paper towel is basically irrelevant, but is potentially acting as a inadvertent mask. Right?
I imagine it’s more acting as a trap for the water, since it’s not like there’s smoke stain when you’re marking metal but it’s possible 