Removing Contact Paper From GlowForge Materials

[mark23]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone has found any methods to best remove the contact paper from the Proof Grade Wood Materials after cutting is complete. Ive tried a few types of tapes to hopefully peal it right off, but nothing has worked… The designs I create are pretty intricate and have a lot of small cut outs after engraving etc. and it takes HOURS to remove all the little tiny pieces by hand. Looking for a trick to speed up this process!

Thanks in advance!

[ssincity]

We use gorilla duct tape and a vinyl sign application tool.

[dklgood]

There have been lots of posts about weeding if you use the search function. Plastic razor blades and Gorilla tape are my go to choices.

[mark23]

Thank you both! @ssincity & @dklgood I was thinking Gorilla Tape/ Duct Tape might be sticky enough. I’ll give that a shot! I tried searching, but must have been in the wrong area of the forums. much appreciated for the quick reply!

[ssincity]

Your welcome. If you do not have a squeegee/application tool then a credit card works in a pinch. For us the key is to make sure the tape is given lots of even pressure over the area that your trying to remove.

[hansepe]

@PrintToLaser has recommended pulling the masking first, then soaking in alcohol several times. You might try that

Is Mass Production of Lasered Products Viable?

When I did two orders of 1,000 pc. each I found pulling the mask saved me hours of weeding. I would soak like 15 pieces at a time for a few minutes in alcohol, and the smoke stain would wipe right off with a rag. The material was proofgrade maple, and soaking in alcohol had no affect on the material.

Test "3D Engrave"

Ver nice detailed work! Aren’t these machines great?! With the first few engraves I cleaned with water, I noticed a slight raising of the grain. A while back Dan mentioned alcohol won’t do that, and ever since that is what I have used. On those thousand tokens I did in maple, it was infinitely quicker to peel the mask before the operation and wash them instead of weeding them. I would drop 15 of them into alcohol and let them soak a few minutes before removing them one at a time an wiping them…

Isopropyl for cleaning wood

I have used both without any noticeable difference, except maybe how quickly the smoke residue softens. Soaking 15 - 20 tokens for about 2 minutes softens the stain where in rubs off easily, by the time I get to the last one it has been soaking for about 10 minutes, and the stain is just laying on the surface and instantly wipes off. Beats weeding by miles. I prefer to buy the higher concentrations. Acetone works too, but alcohol is kinder to my olfactory orify. I haven’t tried denatured …

Removing smoke residue from Proofgrade

On a previous order for a thousand tokens engraved both sides using proofgrade medium maple, I found that pulling the mask before engraving and cleaning with an alcohol soak for a few minutes and rubbing with a rag was far faster than weeding both sides of 1,000 pieces. Well, that customer returned and wants 3,000!! As a result I found myself looking to streamline the process. I just discovered that household ammonia cuts that stuff all but instantly, no soak - just a wipe! …

[PrintToLaser]

I have settled on ammonia, it’s a lot quicker.