thermark/cermark removal

[Adam Orton]

Hiya all and seasons greetings. So I was kicking about a bargain store and I came across little stainless steel flasks BUT they are already marked. The mark is very durable so I am guessing cermark/thermark. Anyway these little fellers were 99 cents each so I bought nine and now my question, what is the easiest way to remove the thermark. I did use a high speed grinder on one and it worked but ate the metal too much. Any and all advice would be appreciated.. Thanks gang

[Dan Hintz]

If it's truly Cermark (doubtful), sandpaper (or other grinding material) is your only choice. It may be lasered on with a fiber unit (i.e., direct marking of the metal), or it's a durable paint.

[Bruce Volden]

I bought an 8" baldor buffing system with pads that can be loaded up with different "grits"---works fast.

Bruce

[Adam Orton]

Dan they were 99 cents so I'm thinking it was a silk screen at best, I'm pretty sure not a fiber or direct laser. For a cheap product the logo is stinking hard to remove so I guessed cermark. I bought them cheap but maybe they were pricey originally making cermark more feasible. Today will be flap wheel experiments.

[AL Ursich]

Try a few solvents, might get lucky....

AL

[Bill Cunningham]

I just picked up two 5 oz stainless flasks at a dollar store (in the true "Canadians always have to pay more" trend) these cost me 2 bucks each, but they are not marked in anyway.. I'm pretty sure the cap and hinge is just a chrome plastic. I bought them on a whim, just to see how they will mark.. I'll try em sometime next week..

[Adam Orton]

If you grabbed them from a Dollarama that is the same place I get mine and they took to Thermark beautifully. I did a bunch for an all gals cottage retreat and they loved them. (and I got to hand deliver them hubba hubba)

[Bill Cunningham]

If you grabbed them from a Dollarama that is the same place I get mine and they took to Thermark beautifully. I did a bunch for an all gals cottage retreat and they loved them. (and I got to hand deliver them hubba hubba)

Yup.. We got a brandnew Dollarama about a mile away, and that's where I got em.. I use Cermark, and Not Thermark. but I'm sure they would mark OK with that as well.. If they work out ok, I may contact my importer to track them down, and buy a bunch..

[Richard Rumancik]

If the mark is raised above the surface I would have guessed screen print or pad print. Cermark will be less than a half-thousandths above the surface. If you look at it under magnification you might be able to decide better. (Compare it to samples that you know are Cermark/paint.) The Cermark will look fairly flat as there is minimal build up, but will have an "abrasive" appearance. If you determine it is pad print ink or screen print ink, talk to a pad printer and see if they have a solvent that will dissolve it. They use solvents that Home Depot doesn't sell.

[Mark E Wilson]

I had done some 30mm shell casing for a unit at Ft Bragg. They were cleaned down the the bare metal, which appeared to be aluminum. We used Cermark. The third batch they brought back. The Cermark engraving turned back to tan and wiped right off. They had left them in a ZIPLOC bag over the weekend, the same bag they had used to carry them before, during, and after their cleaning/stripping process. It smelled like Simple Green and that is what they told me they had used to clean off the protective coating. Might be worth a try.

If it is screen printed, then you might want to try some Acetone.