What is this material?

[Bill George]

Email customer tells me he has something that he describes as Corian. Sends it to me, its not Corian, marble or granite at least I don't think its any of the above because the back looks like it was poured into a mold and its something like plaster of Paris on the back and polished granite on the top and edges?
He wants it laser engraved, and I am afraid when I hit it with a laser it will crack and chip. Suggestions? 50 watt plus ULS laser.

326669326668

[Scott Shepherd]

It looks like Dupont's Zodiaq or something like it. What do they want done to it? Text? Photo? Definitely not Corian, unless they've done something new that I've missed.

[Bill George]

Text and a border top and bottom. Why does it look like its cast something?

[Chuck Vezzetti]

Try This?
http://www.beststone.com.my/image/cache/data/product/granite/24-granite-800x600.jpg
It looks like you product

Chuck

[Bill George]

Try This?
http://www.beststone.com.my/image/cache/data/product/granite/24-granite-800x600.jpg
It looks like you product

Chuck

Which sounds like Corian, this stuff has the back like pictured... which looking at up close I can see pinholes and small bubbles like its poured plaster of Paris? I have Corian and marble in my shop, its the same on both sides.

[Scott Shepherd]

Which sounds like Corian, this stuff has the back like pictured... which looking at up close I can see pinholes and small bubbles like its poured plaster of Paris? I have Corian and marble in my shop, its the same on both sides.

I don't think it's Zodiaq, but I do think it's a competitor of Zodiaq. Cast concrete with a veneer of quartz on it or something like that.

[Tony Lenkic]

Hard to say from pictures..........might be "cultured marble" cast.

[Bill George]

I don't think it's Zodiaq, but I do think it's a competitor of Zodiaq. Cast concrete with a veneer of quartz on it or something like that.

That is what I am thinking and if I hit it with the laser it will just chip off. The customer is doing this as a surprise for his father in law, who just finished a 7 year remodel job ending with the kitchen.

[Bill George]

Hard to say from pictures..........might be "cultured marble" cast.

Your right Tony got an email from customer saying its cultured marble and in this case granite, also known as cast polymer.
http://www.vanitycountertops.net/index.asp

The question of the day, can I engrave this stuff or is it like working with plastic? I will try to do some Searching.

[Mike Clarke]

Why don't you try engraving on the back as a starting point? I know the front is different, but you should be about halfway to the answer trying the back.

[Tony Lenkic]

Bill

Cultured marble is a mix of polymers and color additives.
Few years back there was a local shop that built the machinery for sinks and bathtubs out of CM. I was engraving and wiring control panels for them before the moved to California.
I know that it is soft enough to engrave it with CNC type engravers but don't know how it would laser. My guess is .........similar to Corian.
Can you get a scrap piece for testing?

[Bill George]

No scrap piece and the back is cast and looks like plaster of Paris, not the same finish as the front and who knows what paint will do to it? Since there was no check with the shipment and no sample I am going to tell customer I will do with no guarantee and the price is the same either way. Need payment before work begins. Takes same amount of time to screw it up since he won't provide sample.

[Bert Kemp]

Bill its now your job to test this stuff for the entire sawmillcreek community. We will expect a 1200 character review of this material upon your completion of the engraving. Pictures good or bad is a given. The community anxiously awaits:D

[Kev Williams]

since you know what it is, call some cabinet or countertop shops to see if they have any scraps or swatches you can have...

[Bill George]

since you know what it is, call some cabinet or countertop shops to see if they have any scraps or swatches you can have...

It seems to be used for DIY projects like bathroom vanities and back splashes in kitchens. The local Menards has some of the vanities but no samples. I have left it up to the customer to get a sample and send it to me. Otherwise its going to be a can't do or I do on his material with payment in advance.

[Mayo Pardo]

When I was a kitchen designer for HD, there was always two boxes of color samples from the company that made the cultured marble vanity tops. The company is called US Marble. Their sales rep explained to us that the surface is gelcoat which is basically the same coating that is used as the surface on fiberglass boats. They never explained what the back was made of - probably a proprietary mix of limestone and something? I do know they break when dropped...

[Bill George]

To close this out, it was Cultured Marble from I think Imperial in Illinois. Received a couple of samples and the stuff is like trying to engrave plastic. I used the same settings I did for Corian and that was a mistake, ended up down to 30% power, 28% speed and 1000 ppi. I have a 50 watt ULS that is running about 60 watts. I used just enough power to get through that top layer and leave the white core showing, and even then it left a little smear of melted plastic that came off with some DNA and a soft rag. Told the customer never again.... too much messing around for a small job.