Mayo Pardo
08-16-2016, 3:51 AM
I made some samples recently and used Cermark 6060 water based paste for the first time.
I diluted it with denatured alcohol and I'm wondering if I maybe diluted it too much?
I only bought a 25gram bottle to test the product, and so I diluted it directly in the bottle to a milk like consistency and then poured some into my airbrush bottle. I didn't really have a fool proof or accurate method of diluting the paste. I've seen recommendations of anywhere from 2 to 1 up to 6 or 8 to 1, so I figured it would have a degree of flexibility. This may be incorrect - I don't know.
I have read that Cermark does not rub off after it has dried however my application of it (using air brush) does rub off fairly easily.
I did clean the stainless parts with denatured alcohol before spraying.
The color seems almost olive green when dry - although it lasers to black.
On the test pieces I did, when I look at the engraved areas through a 10x loupe, some of the letters have shiny spots of stainless showing through the black. Would this be because I did not apply a thick enough coat of Cermark ? I was thinking maybe the Cermark only coated the low spots of the brushed stainless, but after it was sprayed with the airbrush, it appeared completely covered before I lasered the parts. The shiny spots were not readily visible with average viewing distance but I have the feeling they could look more black.
My power was set at 100, and the speed that produced the best looking and most wash resistant mark was 10.
I made test pieces with speed settings of 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 9,8,7,6,5. Anything slower than 10 did not seem to show any benefits
in image quality or durability.
I can add photos if required for better analysis but there didn't seem to be anything obviously wrong with my end results, other than the hard to see shiny spots mentioned above. I doubt my photos would reveal this.
If people could contribute similar feedback about their experiences with the product it could add to the general knowledge of using it successfully.
Does the thickness of the stainless affect the speed that you can laser at? Does thicker steel take longer to get to the correct temp. in order to bond with the cermark? Does this variable have any bearing on it? Or would you go the same speed and power on a 0.25 inch thick plate as you would on a 0.015 thick plate?
Do proper power and speed settings change with how thick or how thin the product has been diluted?
I diluted it with denatured alcohol and I'm wondering if I maybe diluted it too much?
I only bought a 25gram bottle to test the product, and so I diluted it directly in the bottle to a milk like consistency and then poured some into my airbrush bottle. I didn't really have a fool proof or accurate method of diluting the paste. I've seen recommendations of anywhere from 2 to 1 up to 6 or 8 to 1, so I figured it would have a degree of flexibility. This may be incorrect - I don't know.
I have read that Cermark does not rub off after it has dried however my application of it (using air brush) does rub off fairly easily.
I did clean the stainless parts with denatured alcohol before spraying.
The color seems almost olive green when dry - although it lasers to black.
On the test pieces I did, when I look at the engraved areas through a 10x loupe, some of the letters have shiny spots of stainless showing through the black. Would this be because I did not apply a thick enough coat of Cermark ? I was thinking maybe the Cermark only coated the low spots of the brushed stainless, but after it was sprayed with the airbrush, it appeared completely covered before I lasered the parts. The shiny spots were not readily visible with average viewing distance but I have the feeling they could look more black.
My power was set at 100, and the speed that produced the best looking and most wash resistant mark was 10.
I made test pieces with speed settings of 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 9,8,7,6,5. Anything slower than 10 did not seem to show any benefits
in image quality or durability.
I can add photos if required for better analysis but there didn't seem to be anything obviously wrong with my end results, other than the hard to see shiny spots mentioned above. I doubt my photos would reveal this.
If people could contribute similar feedback about their experiences with the product it could add to the general knowledge of using it successfully.
Does the thickness of the stainless affect the speed that you can laser at? Does thicker steel take longer to get to the correct temp. in order to bond with the cermark? Does this variable have any bearing on it? Or would you go the same speed and power on a 0.25 inch thick plate as you would on a 0.015 thick plate?
Do proper power and speed settings change with how thick or how thin the product has been diluted?