Table of Contents
Advertisement
SECTION 10: ENGRAVING MATERIALS
•
If you are cutting through thicker materials, focus the table up so that the new 2" focal distance will
be to the center of the wood.
Warning: Wood is a combustible material. Never leave your laser unattended while vector cutting any
material. Air assist greatly reduces flaming that may occur if too much laser power is applied to the
wood piece being cut. Read the full "FIRE WARNING" on page 1 of the manual.
Wood Cleaning Techniques
When laser engraving or cutting wood, resin in the wood comes to the surface, mixes with the smoke and
is deposited as a residue. If the wood has a coating of polyurethane or lacquer the coating protects the
surface of the wood from the resin/smoke damage. You can remove the resin from coated materials with
a wet chamois or a sponge with a web cover. Some people like to use 409, Windex or other mild cleaning
product, but water works well and is usually the most readily available wetting agent. The chamois that
Epilog recommends has a sponge in the middle of it, and is available in the automotive car wash section
of many Target stores or many automotive supply shops.
•
If the wood is not coated with polyurethane, the resin and smoke will stain the surface and you will
need to sand the surface to remove the resin.
•
Never use a paper towel to clean the wood surface. The paper towel will shred and it is impossible
to get the shredded fibers out of the engraved recesses of the wood. Most wood products that are
designed for laser engraving will have a polyurethane coating so that they are very easy to clean.
Wood Color Filling Techniques
Color filling engraved areas of wood adds either greater contrast or a splash of color to your wood
presentation. Normally, color filling is not required for lighter colored wood materials such as maple
or cherry, but walnut can often benefit from adding a black color fill to provide more contrast. You will
need to take some precautions when color filling wood, because if you are not careful, the liquid color
fill material will absorb into the grain of the wood on the surface of the plaque where it is not wanted.
The best way to add a black color fill is shown below:
1.
Apply a thin coat of Johnson's Paste Wax to the surface of the wood before you engrave it.
2. Engrave through the paste wax into the wood. Do not wipe off excess paste or residue after
engraving.
3. Fill the engraved voids with Turtlewax "Color Core" black liquid car polish. The car polish will absorb
into the engraved wood grain, but will not absorb into the wood grain that is covered with paste
wax.
4. Wrap a paper towel around a block of material that has a flat surface. Rub the flat surfaced
paper towel over the surface of the wood to clean off the excess car polish and paste wax. The flat
surface prevents the paper towel from getting into the engraved recesses.
- 119 -
Advertisement
Table of Contents
