Great idea! Do you cover the board with masking tape or anything before etching?
(By the way, I use that same Home Depot whiteboard to cover my workbench. When it gets too beat up, just pull it up and put down a new sheet.)
The picture above wasn’t masked. The smoke just wipes off the surface.
I did a second sign and masked it. I had an easier time with the acrylic paint. I was able to do a yellow triangle with a black exclamation point. Something I was having difficulty with on the unmasked one.
was the proofgrade material?
what settings did you use?
I’ve been trying to engraved a piece of painted plywood but either the power is too low and its not a clean engrave or it leaves orange burn marks on the paint.
It is whiteboard from Home Depot. I most likely used the proofgrade setting for medium draftboard. The white layer cleans up nicely but you can mask it too.
For wood you are going to get uneven results due to the grain. It will also leave smoke stains. You can clean up some of the smoke with rubbing alcohol. The alcohol doesn’t cause the wood grain to swell up like water does.
You can also use masking to protect from the smoke but then you have to remove the masking if you have a complicated design. I’ve used blue painters tape but vinyl transfer tape works better. Make sure it is paper tape and not actual vinyl.
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I did something similar and used tape just like this. But mine caught fire. Has that ever happened to you ?
Note so far. I don’t mask often but this tape is good. The only material that seems to always be on the edge of igniting is corrugated cardboard.
Did it sustain a flame or just dance above the laser point?
oh it sustained a flame, lol. I noticed it as soon as it happened but i panicked and didn’t know how to get it out.