1st Corian piece

[Martin Boekers]

Here is a first shot on Corian.

A bit slow on the burn, 25 minutes 20sp 100 pwr 75 watts.
Krylon Fusion Gloss Black paint.

I did use a basic masking on it as that saved time on the
final sanding.

Any tips with working with Corian would be appreciated!

Is Corian manufactured Stateside?
This last year I have been working hard to get as much product
Made in USA as I can, so far I stock over 90 items, not too
bad for this industry.

Marty

[Mike Null]

Marty

Looks great. Is that the little building across from AMC HQ?

[Martin Boekers]

Yes, that is the "Old (retired) Main Gate" to the flightline.

Our most recognizable historic building on base.
We commisioned a local artist to render the sketch for
us, and yes we did purchase rights to use this on any
products in our shop ;-)!


I really like the detail the Corian held, much more than other substrates I engraved in.

[Keith Outten]

Martin,

Corian is made in the USA.

You don't need a mask, paint fill and then run your random orbital sander over the top of your plaque.
Try a photograph next. I often use Q-Tips as paint brushes to fill these types of projects especially when I am using multiple colors.

The sketch looks great!
.

[Dee Gallo]

Martin,

Good job! I love the pen & ink look - perfect for a commemorative piece like this. The corian seems to have a super crisp edge especially on the letters, very nice!

cheers, dee

[Martin Boekers]

Martin,

Corian is made in the USA.

You don't need a mask, paint fill and then run your random orbital sander over the top of your plaque.
Try a photograph next. I often use Q-Tips as paint brushes to fill these types of projects especially when I am using multiple colors.

The sketch looks great!
.

Thanks for the tip on working with differnt colors, that I will use.

Marty

[Scott Challoner]

Very nice. I have a friend who does pen and ink drawings and we've been talking about collaborating on something. I think Corian will make a great "canvas".
One thing though. I think you can still go that slow on the lettering if you want the depth, but I think you can go much faster on the drawing. I did my first test piece on one of the little squares of Corian you get at Home Depot and I used my normal marble settings of 80%s and 20%p at 380dpi. You couldn't even tell I had engraved it until I rubbed paint on it. Then the picture really popped out. The attached photo isn't great, but that's what I did. It seems you can't hit Corian too hard or too light.

[Dee Gallo]

Scott - did you mean your regular granite settings 80s/20p or did you get them transposed? My normal corian settings would be something more like 30s/100p, the opposite of yours.

[Scott Challoner]

Yes. I do run granite a little harder, but I run marble at 80s 20p. I think you'll see a wide variety of settings here on the Creek. I also use the "Laser Grade" marble so maybe it's a bit softer than other marble. Now you have me second guessing myself Dee.:p I'm off to an appointment, but when I get back I'm going to run a couple of different settings on an old sink cutout.

[Martin Boekers]

Very nice. I have a friend who does pen and ink drawings and we've been talking about collaborating on something. I think Corian will make a great "canvas".
One thing though. I think you can still go that slow on the lettering if you want the depth, but I think you can go much faster on the drawing. I did my first test piece on one of the little squares of Corian you get at Home Depot and I used my normal marble settings of 80%s and 20%p at 380dpi. You couldn't even tell I had engraved it until I rubbed paint on it. Then the picture really popped out. The attached photo isn't great, but that's what I did. It seems you can't hit Corian too hard or too light.

Your absolutly right when you say that pen and ink drawings make a great use of Corian.

I haven't had much time to experement with fills what do you recommend/

This one I "rattle canned" it may be better to use a liquid and the excess squeegee off.
I wanted to make sure I had enough depth to hold up with sanding. It was close.

I would like to find tiles of this as well as thinner sheets to attach to plaques. This would upgrade
from the hardboard dye sub stock I use now.

Marty

[Larry Bratton]

Scott - did you mean your regular granite settings 80s/20p or did you get them transposed? My normal corian settings would be something more like 30s/100p, the opposite of yours.

Mine too Dee. Corian is polyester, I am guessing with an acrylic base? Nothing like marble material wise. Color is all the way through it, that's why you have to fill it to see the engraving. (that's why they call it "solid surface")

[Scott Challoner]

Here's what I did. I used the tried and true Aztec Calender and engraved one at 80s 20p and 380dpi. It took 1m36s. Under it, I engraved one at 20s 100p 500dpi. It took 4m01s. You'll notice that you can't even see the one above it in the picture. I then rubbed black acrylic craft paint on them and let them dry for about 10 minutes. Then I hit them with the ROS. I probably sanded a little too hard as the top image was removed a little. I then did a third image at 70s 100p and 500dpi which took 2m07s and filled it with rub-n-buff. I wouldn't go with the light one, but it shows what range you can use to process corian. You can barely even feel it when you rub your hand over it. I think craft paint and Fusion work nice since they both dry fast. I know Keith like Ace Hardware paint because it doesn't clog the sandpaper. It seems the nicest thing about corian is it can be engraved, cut, painted in many different ways.

[Dan Hill]

I do corian several times a week with pen and ink drawings as well as recreating scrimshaw peices in faux ivory which is a polyester similar in composition to corian. On the M-300 50 watt I use 55% power, 100% speed, and 300 dpi with image density setting at 4.

Dan

[Dee Gallo]

Very instructive and interesting, Scott, thanks! I did not realize corian had such a wide range. I don't get much of it where I am, as our construction people use lower quality materials...

:) dee

[Ross Moshinsky]

You can do Corian at higher speeds and get results, but I wouldn't rate it for outdoor use. I also like to get enough depth where I can sand without thinking or if necessary respray and sand again. This means 2-3 passes on my 30W laser. With high detail stuff, that can mean an hour+.

In the same time I can do something like this on my rotary engraver. It is 16"x24". Made it for a local vets office.

185717

[Chuck Stone]

I do 3D files on Corian and get some pretty decent depth. I use 5s 100p and
500 or 600 dpi, depending on the file. But I'm going deep, sometimes .175" deep.

Dee.. if you run across a company that makes kitchen countertops, you might
see if they're willing to give up some of their scrap material. You can often get
double sink cut-outs .. more than your car's suspension can support! Cost is
approximately one case of beer. :p

[Mike Null]

Dee

There are a number of Corian look alikes and they will work too. May also be cheaper. Avonite is one.

[Belinda Barfield]

Corian is the only solid surface that is 100% acrylic (that I am aware of). There are other more cost effective solid surface materials. Not all are as easy to work with as Corian. Avonite is polyester and is much more brittle than Corian. Corian is great for exterior applications, as long as your fill medium will withstand outdoor conditions. Welcome to the world of Corian, Martin!

[Scott Shepherd]

I don't know if it's just my dealer or everywhere, but here, Avonite is more expensive than Corian. I priced a sheet of white, it was $60 more for the sheet.

[Larry Bratton]

Corian is the only solid surface that is 100% acrylic (that I am aware of). There are other more cost effective solid surface materials. Not all are as easy to work with as Corian. Avonite is polyester and is much more brittle than Corian. Corian is great for exterior applications, as long as your fill medium will withstand outdoor conditions. Welcome to the world of Corian, Martin!

LG HiMacs is close rival to Corian in both properties, quality. However, I too understood Corian to be 100% acrylic. This cannot be true as it definitely contains polyester. This is born out by the fact that Keith Outten sublimates it frequently. Also refer to this MSDS sheet on the Corian website http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces_Commercial/en_US/assets/downloads/pdfs/Corian_Technical_Bulletins/MSDS_PEN_09004a2f806a8fb4.pdf Some confusion exists here, so maybe someone else can provide more info.

LG HiMacs is very similar in properties as far as engraving and CNC routing is concerned. Before I moved my operation and had a router, I processed a good bit of the LG HM and it was excellent material. It is also American made (in Georgia) but is owned by the LG electronics corp. and I think is a Korean entity.

[Keith Outten]

Belinda, there has to be some polyester in Corian or it wouldn't dye-sublimate. I'm not a chemist, someone else may know more about the material specs.

Dee, send me your postal address and I will send you a few Corian plaques to practice with. I also have hundreds of 4" by 2" blocks of Vanilla and White colored Corian in the shop at CNU if you want them. They are window cut-outs from door signs and I hate to throw them away.
.

[Belinda Barfield]

I stand corrected. Just goes to show you can't believe everything you are told by sales reps.:D For those technically inclined, here are the specs. I'm not that concerned about what goes into it, just what comes out. I love the material.

http://www2.dupont.com/Corian_Asia_Pacific/en_CN/assets/downloads/documentation/Technical/corian_specdata_en.pdf

[Joe De Medeiros]

I tried to buy a sheet a few month ago, and the dealer gave me this song and dance about being certified, certified for what? installing counters. I ended up buying a piece through a local kitchen renovator, there has got to be a better way.

[Belinda Barfield]

I tried to buy a sheet a few month ago, and the dealer gave me this song and dance about being certified, certified for what? installing counters. I ended up buying a piece through a local kitchen renovator, there has got to be a better way.

Joe, we've covered this issue in several other threads. Keith Outten has posted a contact name and number that you should be able to find with a search of this forum. You will need to contact a Dupont Corian rep and explain to them that you are interested in using Corian for signs and signs only, and that you will not fabricate countertops.

[Mike Null]

I believe Corian is an acrylic copolymer. It is the polymer that is required for dye sublimation.

Darn, where is that Ch.E. when you need him?

[Ross Moshinsky]

As Keith and others have suggested, find a local shop that does kitchen counter installs. Contact Home Depot for names of contractors. You wouldn't believe the pieces of material these guys throw away. It's almost funny to think they throw away pieces of Corian and then go out and buy MDF for jigs and fixtures.

[Larry Bratton]

Hummm..looks like it 1/3 acrylic and 2/3 something else.

[Frank Corker]

Jobs turned out well. It's quite expensive over here and I've not really had the opportunity to use it. Must make a concerted effort and just see for myself!

[Josh Jelinek]

What grit of sand paper is everybody using on their corian peices after painting! I want to keep the glossy shine of the material after sanding!

[Paul Phillips]

Outstanding work by all who posted. For what it's worth, I've used all of the above mentioned solid surface materials for years, including some Formica brand which was horribly dusty and smelly. I would agree that Corian is the easiest to work with followed closely by the LG HighMacs. Some Avonite can be absolutely beautiful when polished up properly but a bit less forgiving. I've had good luck getting scraps from local installers also, but when you need that specific color you cant find and you don't want to spend $450. on a full sheet, I've found this website to sometimes be helpful- http://solidsurface dot com/sheet-material/overstock?___SID=U
They sell various brands and sizes of scraps.
Josh, for Corian I typically use a satin type sheen where I DA sand with 400 grit and finish with a quick buff of 0000 steel wool, looks real nice and is easy to do. Polishing to a high gloss takes a lot more time and I usually use some 3-M trizact DA sandpaper down to about 2000 grit.
I haven't had a call to laser any Corian yet but, after reading this thread, here is my try.185814
good luck,
Paul