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Tracey Bakewell
02-19-2010, 3:23 PM
Well, I have this "metal" type of frame in my laser now. It is taped in and I can't move it since I've already started and got myself in trouble.

I thought I was dealing with Chrome, but IT'S NOT! I think it's silverplated, doubt it's real silver. In thinking it was silver plated, I have ran the laser over it bare about 10 times to remove any protective coating on high power and slow slow slow settings. You can definitely see an imprint of sorts so I know it's getting rid of something.

In any case, I can't move it now and can't experiement on anything, can't find anything in my house. Any suggestions on settings? I already applied cermark on the object after all the blank passes, and it's still not sticking. I'm wondering if I'm hitting it too hard with the cermark now? My settings are:

on 50 watt laser
power: 90
speed: 15
ppi: 1000
dpi: max (6)

I now have to remove the mark with a sponge and I don't want to touch it too many more times. I guess my hubby will be rubbing all this off if I mess it up too bad, but unfortunately, the mark from the (no cermark) passes is very obvious.

Dan Hintz
02-19-2010, 3:35 PM
Your settings for Cermark look to be within reason, though I probably would run it at density 5, not 6 to avoid too much heat...

Gary Hair
02-20-2010, 12:43 PM
on 50 watt laser
power: 90
speed: 15
ppi: 1000
dpi: max (6)


First - don't ever use less than 100% power with Cermark. It takes heat to get it to stick and you aren't getting the maximum heat without 100% power. You should adjust speed to compensate for the power of your machine.

Second - Ferro will recommend using max resolution as well as 100% power. You need to apply as much heat as possible and the only way to do that is 100% power, max ppi and max dpi.

Since you aren't getting any Cermark to stick, you probably have a clear coat on the metal. You are going to have to use a chemical remover to get rid of it if the laser hasn't been able to do the job. It's not going to be easy since it's "stuck" in the laser, but it can still be done. Slide aluminum foil under the frame so you can protect your laser from the paint remover and give it a shot. After you remove whatever clear coat there is then you can re-apply Cermark and try again.

Gary

Tracey Bakewell
02-20-2010, 4:15 PM
Success!

Thanks Gary, I went ahead and painted on my cermark (vs. sprayed on which is diluted) so full strength cermark, maxing out my settings and slowing my speed down, it stuck!

I just scrubbed on it with a wet sponge too!

I can now breath!

Here were my settings for anyone who cares:

power: 100%
speed: 8%
max ppi
max dpi

50 watt laser, with countless passes with those same settings first without cermark to try to remove whatever was there as a coating

Gary Hair
02-20-2010, 6:52 PM
I'm glad it worked for you Tracey! You need to be careful brushing on undiluted Cermark, it gets too thick real easy and is almost impossible to get to stick at some point, even with a higher wattage laser. If you need it thicker for some reason, I would airbrush multiple times instead of brushing. Just my .02

Gary