PDA

View Full Version : Acrylic goof help



Patrick Licata
01-27-2009, 9:11 PM
Ok, some moron, (I'll admit it was me but I won't admit to how many pieces it was) forgot to change the date from the previous order to the correct date for the new order on acrylic awards. Is there any way to remove the line of engraving on acrylic without ruining it. I once tried to engrave a box over a line, but you could still see the old engraving even after going over it multiple times.
Any help would be appreciated.
Patrick

Mike Null
01-27-2009, 9:26 PM
Patrick

I'm not altogether anxious to admit to that experience but I've never found a way to fix the acrylic. You may be able to get creative with an overlay of laminated engravers plastic or with a metal label.

Joe Pelonio
01-27-2009, 9:34 PM
Goodness, that's one that I have done too but stopped after the first. I'm afraid it's too deep to polish out, I suppose you could try casting resin to fill it then polish the whole face but that's a lot of work and I'm not sure it would work. I think Mike may have the best solution. Maybe engrave a rectangle where the wrong date is and inlay the label.

Bill Cunningham
01-27-2009, 11:19 PM
Yup, Embed a metal label, gold Alumamark or something.. It may look so good, they will want all their future ones done like that!! Sometimes a mistake can create a whole new look that's better than the old one.. Not that I would know of course!

Darren Null
01-28-2009, 5:59 AM
You can use multiple, different postscript fills to 'scribble out' the mistake. If you do it right, you end up with a textured hole. Then embed something withe correct date (metal, veneer, whatever) in there.

Frank Corker
01-28-2009, 6:10 AM
I think everyone who has worked with acrylic will have encountered the same mistake. If the engraving is deep you can only disguise it with something else, you'll never get the scratches or engraving out without the use of an expensive diamond polisher.

If you have laserlites or something of that nature, you could engrave the whole area deep enough to inlay another piece, then engrave the inlay. I have done something similar when I engraved a box, there was nothing wrong with engraving, but the wood has many 'eyes' and it made one of the subjects look like they had three eyes. So I engraved the hexagonal shape into the wood the same depth as I made acrylic piece. Both were cemented together and the buyer was none the wiser.

Steve Clarkson
01-28-2009, 7:08 AM
Frank, you never cease to amaze me......

The photo on the white acrylic looks amazing! How did you color fill it?

Frank Corker
01-28-2009, 7:48 AM
Steve it was just acrylic paint smeared on with my finger and polished off before it got too dry.

Steve Clarkson
01-28-2009, 8:19 AM
I guess I'm just having acrylic paint filling issues. I have Rub n Buff, regular acrylic paints and an oil based acrylic paint.

Now my gold, silver and red Rub n Buff paints work like a dream on colored and clear cast acrylic (but not very well on clear extruded). The black (technically "ebony") Rub n Buff doesn't work on ANYTHING! And the colored acrylic paints work if I don't rub too hard. Maybe I just need to engrave deeper or let them dry longer (ie. more than a day).

Also, I engraved a piece of colored acrylic, filled with gold Rub n Buff (looked fine at that point) and then tried to glue a piece of clear acrylic on top (using Weldon 3).....but the weldon smeared the paint (I couldn't just do the outside edges because I was trying to make a puzzle....so it had to be glued throughout). Any suggestions there?

I was planning to do a search for color filling tips later today.....so don't worry about replying.

Patrick Licata
01-28-2009, 10:50 AM
Inlay it is!! That seems to be the best route to go.
Thanks all!
Patrick