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Jay Selway
11-05-2016, 2:22 PM
So I'm working on an art project where we painted some white acrylic black, and then lasered off the black paint. Looks awesome, but there are some areas where this is a bit of black haze inside the white engraved area (which I suspect is from the black paint). I did another pass with the laser to clean it up a bit, but still have a few small parts that are dark in the white engraving. Any thoughts on the best way to try and clean it out? I was going to try novus polish or some soap and water, but before doing that wanted to see if anyone else had any ideas.

It's 1/8" white, cast acrylic btw.

Bert Kemp
11-05-2016, 3:12 PM
I've used DNA to clean the haze off acrylic with no Ill effects, wipe with a damp rag afterwards.

Keith Downing
11-05-2016, 3:39 PM
I've used DNA to clean the haze off acrylic with no Ill effects, wipe with a damp rag afterwards.

One thing to note on the DNA: it will clean the acrylic, but do NOT get it on the painted area. Made this mistake once and ended up with smeared goo all over everything.

Jay Selway
11-06-2016, 10:10 AM
I don't mean cleaning the acrylic that hasn't been engraved. I'm talking about the areas hit by the laser.

Anyway, I figured out a solution, albeit a tedious and meticulous one.

So, I tried all the standard acrylic polishes from Novus with no luck. Tried some DNA mostly mixed with water with no luck. Warm soapy water, no luck. The only thing that worked was a very fine grit 400g + sandpaper folded into a small square. Had to wet sand it, but cleaned it up beautifully. The only draw back is it smoothed out the engraving in certain areas (which isn't a huge deal, but definitely visible in the correct light). To get the entire engraving back to the same texture, I ran it again on the laser at very low power.

I'll post some pictures of the piece when it's done. It's pretty insane.

Keith Downing
11-06-2016, 12:16 PM
I don't mean cleaning the acrylic that hasn't been engraved. I'm talking about the areas hit by the laser.

Anyway, I figured out a solution, albeit a tedious and meticulous one.

So, I tried all the standard acrylic polishes from Novus with no luck. Tried some DNA mostly mixed with water with no luck. Warm soapy water, no luck. The only thing that worked was a very fine grit 400g + sandpaper folded into a small square. Had to wet sand it, but cleaned it up beautifully. The only draw back is it smoothed out the engraving in certain areas (which isn't a huge deal, but definitely visible in the correct light). To get the entire engraving back to the same texture, I ran it again on the laser at very low power.

I'll post some pictures of the piece when it's done. It's pretty insane.



I think we understand you're trying to clean the engraved area. I was simply saying not to get sloppy with the DNA if the surface of your acrylic is painted.

As far as the engraved portion not being easy to clean; it is entirely possible the paint residue is melting into a layer of the acrylic. Then, of course, there would be no way to clean it off with any chemical. If this is what is happening, then all you can really do is try to play with your air and focus/power to see if you can get a little bit of a cleaner result. Or continue sanding off the top layer.

Bert Kemp
11-06-2016, 1:08 PM
I agree with Keith yes we know your trying to clean the engraved area and I also think what he said about the paint melting into the acrylic is a good possibility .

Ross Moshinsky
11-06-2016, 8:11 PM
I'd look into different methods to turn the acrylic black. I think using silkcreen ink might do the job. Otherwise try different types of paints and make sure you let the paint really cure.

Kev Williams
11-06-2016, 10:41 PM
You'll have to try this to see if it's compatible with your paint & plex, but it is worth a try--

Ajax or Comet Cleanser and a soft toothbrush -- :)
--for large areas, I use an old Kiwi shoe brush-- very soft, very fine bristles, best brush I've found for scrubbing, cermark removal, etc...

Anyway, cleanser is abrasive enough to very lightly, but noticeably, scuff plex, which means it'll scuff your paint.
BUT, probably not enough to hurt it from the VIEWED side.
Because it's abrasive, it just may clean up your residue, and it would be a lot less tedious! :)

Jay Selway
11-07-2016, 2:23 PM
Thanks for the tips everyone! The paint hadn't had a long time to cure, which is probably what caused it. We sorted it out. Thanks!

Mayo Pardo
11-08-2016, 2:21 AM
I've tried something similar on the 8x10 artist canvas you can get at hobby stores or Walmart.
The weave of the canvas is somewhat distracting when viewed up close but at an arms distance or greater it's not very noticeable.347097

Bert Kemp
11-08-2016, 9:17 AM
Thanks for the tips everyone! The paint hadn't had a long time to cure, which is probably what caused it. We sorted it out. Thanks!


so what did you do to clean it?