Removing/preventing scorch marks on wood?

[Lea Mynah]

I've been working on some small wood pieces for magnets and such (just cut, not engraved), and I keep changing up my settings but can't seem to get around the scorch marks near the cuts. Is the best solution to sand or stain the face after or to coat it beforehand? I'm using various 1/8" woods from ocooch.

[Gary Hair]

I find it much easier to have the wood finished before lasering then I wipe the residue off with denatured alcohol. If you wipe them off before removing from the waste it's a pretty quick and easy job.

Gary

[Wes Reeve]

I don't know your tolerance for mask removal, but I usually throw some blue painters/wide masking tape (depends on the size of the piece) over the entire surface area that is exposed. Since I started doing this I've had zero residue on the wood outside the engraved area.

I haven't done it with vector cutting, but in theory it should be the same result, or at the very least it will cut 90% of the residue down.

[Joe Pelonio]

I use transfer tape. Much easier to remove, and I buy it by the 12" roll which lasts a long time.

[john banks]

We use lots of air, no masking needed.

[Dee Gallo]

+1 for Gary's suggestion. I always finish first, it makes everything go easier.

[Ray Beaty]

Joe, can please tell me where you order the transfer tape.


Hurricane Laser 60w, Coreldraw x5

[Tim Bateson]

+2 for Gary's suggestion.

[Rich Harman]

I finish first and use LOTS of air.

[Lea Mynah]

Thanks much for the replies! Any recommendations for a finish? I'm working on some jewelry, too, so I need to find something safe.

[Tim Bateson]

At minimum, something like shellac. However there are probably as many finishes as there are members here and most have their favorites.

[Michael Hunter]

Don't know if you have it in the 'States, but Ronseal "diamond hard" floor varnish is really easy to apply and dries in just 15 minutes.
Sand-coat-sand-coat and laser in under an hour has got to be good!

For cleaning up the edges and any smoke residue, I use "Mr Sheen" spray-on furniture polish.

[Rich Harman]

I've been using a water based polyurethane floor varnish. I roll it on, sometimes two coats. It will dry to touch in about 15 minutes. If I am in a hurry I will put it in the laser before it dries. By the time it is all cut out the pieces are okay to handle. The material I use is in 24" x 48" panels so being able to roll it on, without fumes, is an advantage.

[Kevin Groenke]

Since you're cutting the wood with intense light, ie burning through it, it is tough to eliminate scorch marks on the edges. Here's what you can do to minimize: tweak your power/speed settings-the faster the better, but sometimes you'll get less burning at 90% power - highly dependent on each laser: adjust ppi-get it as low as you can to cut without leaving evidence ~200 for us: play with stock-some wood simply cuts better than others, figure out which species works best for you and promote those rather than others.

Faces are pretty easy: use a cutting grid, prefinish and/or mask your stock, simply putting a piece of paper between stock and cutting grid will minimize sooty blow back from schmutz on cutting grid.

kg

[John Frazee]

When I laser unfinshed wood I just use a finishing sander and go over the piece to remove the mess the laser leaves. When I laser plaques or any other finished wood items, I use Pledge furniture polish on it before lasering and then put a little furniture polish on a rag for cleanup. If I am lasering the red alder wood plaques, I normally polish, dry, and then spray a light coat of polish on before I laser it. I leave it a little wet with the polish. I found that using water for cleanup leaves ghosting around the engraved areas.

[Mike Null]

Though I try to avoid engraving unfinished wood I've found that using a household cleaner such as Pinesol mixed with water will generally remove the residue without leaving marks. I use a rag and a blotter type cleaning rather than rubbing.

[Larry Bratton]

Try this guys, I use it all the time and it works great. Go to auto parts place and buy a container of Fast Orange hand cleaner. It is safe, water soluable, smells good and does a fantastic job of removing residue.