Cleaning Acrylic

[Don Necaise]

I am in the process of making some engraving some acrylic awards from JDS. Can anyone give me some ideas on how you clean this stuff? It is has been a nightmare. Thanks

[Mike Null]

The white residue from their buffing can be removed with your fingernail.

The powdery residue from the engraving can be removed with denatured alcohol and a rag. Then use acrylic or plastic polish and it should be ready.

[Don Necaise]

Thanks Mike

Wher do I get This polish?

[Mike Null]

Your plastic supplier probably sells it.

[Gary Hair]

The white residue from their buffing can be removed with your fingernail.

The powdery residue from the engraving can be removed with denatured alcohol and a rag. Then use acrylic or plastic polish and it should be ready.

Mike,
I would avoid getting in the habit of using alcohol, or any solvent based cleaner, on acrylic. Even if you are just rastering, it's a bad idea. Solvent causes acrylic to craze, sometimes right away, sometimes it takes days or weeks. The last thing you want is a plaque to craze on your clients desk.

I would recommend using Novus - they have several different products depending on how deeply you need to clean. I use #2 for scratches and tough "soot" and Polish #1 for general cleanup. They are made specifically for acrylic and I have never had something I couldn't clean with their products.

Gary

[Dee Gallo]

This might sound kind of stupid, but on my snowflakes (which have a lot of zig-zaggy shapes and lots of "cut haze") I just use a lightly moistened miracle cloth. It is scrubby enough to remove the haze and soft enough to not scratch. It's fast and easy, no chemicals.

cheers, dee

[Dan Hintz]

I don't know, Dee, I would think crazing the plastic with some benzene/DNA would make for a really cool LED-lit 3D snowflake

[Mike Null]

Gary

I would agree if I were using extruded acrylic but I use only cast and DNA works very well. In 12 years I have not had any problems. I also use it to clean all my name tags and labels.

It is for cleaning though--it won't polish.

[russell dietrich]

Anyone ever try Scratch Out or Plastx from the automotive department at W-mart. I use it on acrylic pen & pencil sets to finish & apply to acrylic b4 engraving & buff off after engraving.

[Rodne Gold]

Something bothers me about posts re cleaning acrylic and that is the mention of white powdery haze adhering to acrylic after engraving.

We have never experienced this EVER in engraving any acrylic whatsoever.. At least nothing that can't be washed off using warm soapy water.
I have never ever had to polish a piece after lasering.

In terms of engraving awards , unless you are doing colour fill , the frosting should not be at all deep , if you are getting byproducts from this , you are engraving way too deep. We also use lots of air assist when engraving pex to blow away any byproducts.

Dee the "cut" haze is probably melt sticking to the pex , there should be no melt whatsoever with pex unless your air assist is not working correctly , the zig zags sound like flashback from your cutting table.
We NEVER cut pex on the honeycomb table.
We elevate using blocks of pex or wood , we use a sheet of black anodised ally atop the laser table as a "laser beam backstop" (IE you never get flashback from this) and we always cut with a lot of air assist directed at the cut to eject the melt straight thru.
I NEVER do more than a single pass (cos the melt has nowhere to go if you dont cut thru the pex and it makes for a messy job) and whenever possible cut with the protective film applied.

[Andrea Weissenseel]

On some key rings I make from extruded acrylic, I want to go deep and get that haze around the engraving. For cleaning I use something thats called "HighGloss" its for cleaning/polishing plastics, metals ... - its hard and comes in a small bucket you wet a sponge pick up some and then it gets foamy I just wipe over the acrylic and the haze is gone

[Stuart Orrell]

On some key rings I make from extruded acrylic, I want to go deep and get that haze around the engraving. For cleaning I use something thats called "HighGloss" its for cleaning/polishing plastics, metals ... - its hard and comes in a small bucket you wet a sponge pick up some and then it gets foamy I just wipe over the acrylic and the haze is gone

Hi Andrea,

Can you let us know where you get this "HighGloss" from? It sounds like we may be able to use it for some of our acrylic products, where we go deep.

I,m also going to try Rodney's suggestion about going light on the settings to prevent hazing, and then for a deeper cut, go for several passes.

I did this recently on a wooden engraving (boat name for the floor piece / engine cover) : 2 or 3 passes with no masking material and got a nice clean contrast - no residue on the wood.

Thanks to everyone for some great advice...again!

[Andrea Weissenseel]

Stuart, the problem is I'm in Germany but here is the link to the product http://www.higloss.de/index.php?page...nzpoliermittel (the page is only in german)

PS I'm not affiliated with them I just use the product because I'm convinced of it

[Stuart Orrell]

Stuart, the problem is I'm in Germany but here is the link to the product http://www.higloss.de/index.php?page...nzpoliermittel (the page is only in german)

PS I'm not affiliated with them I just use the product because I'm convinced of it

Thanks Andrea,
I have contacted them to see if it is available here in the UK.

(I too, am not affiliated to them)

[Gary Hair]

Gary

I would agree if I were using extruded acrylic but I use only cast and DNA works very well. In 12 years I have not had any problems. I also use it to clean all my name tags and labels.

It is for cleaning though--it won't polish.

I didn't know that the two would be affected differently. I use mostly cast but have cut quite a bit of extruded due to the superior cutting compared to cast.

Gary