So the acrylic sheets I bought had that adhesive brown paper and some had plastic film. Could I leave these on when I put them into the glowforge OR should I mask them with transfer paper?
You will probably want to replace the plastic film with paper masking. It’s hard to remove and a big mess after lasering. The paper tape you can leave on.
(Paper taped is usually cast acrylic, plastic film is extruded acrylic. Both are safe to cut, but the extruded is going to STINK.)
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Thank you. This helped. Had to find a new acrylic supplier since GF prices went up. The extra step won’t be fun, but opens up my options for materials to use!
I strong suggest testing how difficult it is to remove the brown kraft paper, too – I bought a bunch of scraps from a local plastic dealer and that stuff was a bear to remove.
@Jules is right about the film on extruded acrylic, but unless the piece involves small intricate parts, I leave it on until assembly to protect from scratches. YMMV, of course.
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Be careful you’re not budgeting yourself out of cast acrylic into extruded - extruded doesn’t turn lighter when you engrave it, it stays clear. It’s great for things like shields, but less good for decorating purposes!
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Good to know. Luckily most of the work I do it cutting as opposed to engraving and when I do, I usually fill with paint.
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