Hello.
I just ran my first PG leather job and I am finding it very difficult to remove the masking. I’ve used a plastic razor blade, gaffer tape and scratch’n’pull, but I generally end up pulling the paper up and leaving the adhesive behind. Is there another way I should be doing this?
I had the same issue. Try warm water.
Yeah, Since I’ve seen this come up several times, I thought I’d check mine. I have a few sheets, and all seem good except one. That mask is so stuck on there, and I haven’t even put it under the laser yet. It just wants to tear off in pieces. Good tip about the water, I’ll have to remember that when the times comes to use that sheet.
Edit to add, I’ve also seen people mention pulling the masking off, and putting it back on again before engraving. Then it’s not so sticky after the laser…but I can’t even get it off that one sheet of mine before the laser. I feel your pain.
I’ll try the warm water as a workaround, but I think this is ultimately a (beta) materials or process bug. There’s no way it can be a sustainable production material if this is how it has to be post-processed (pretty much tooth and nail).
Can I suggest you might try a hair dryer instead of warm water ?
Less affect on the material, but reduces the adhesive power greatly.
Then relay the masking, and go for it !
We’re going through a lot of trouble for what in my mind is too thin and too white leather. The coasters I engraved without masking came out gorgeous, albeit a little off center.
I always remove the masking on the Proofgrade leather, engrave it at high speed and very low power, put the masking back on, and then cut it.
It’s a little bit of extra work, but the results are perfect, and the engraves aren’t burned. (They’re just lightly toasted.) 
The masking does provide a purpose in keeping the leather from being stained by the cutting process. But it gets in the way for engraving. The engraving doesn’t throw a lot of smoke.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I’ll make sure it’s passed on to the team. I’m going to close this thread. If the problem reoccurs, please open a new topic or reach out to support@glowforge.com.
