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Roger Feeley
10-09-2019, 9:43 AM
I have to make about 200 Christmas ornaments using 1/8" BB. Last year, I didn't use any finish and had to sand off the smoke. This year, I would like to apply something first.

I'm going for a natural finish.

Shellac? Maybe two coats. This would be easiest.

I'm a fan of Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey varnish.

I also have some oil based varnish but it is a bit amber. It's the stuff they used on my oak floors.

Nick Cicala
10-09-2019, 6:07 PM
I have to make about 200 Christmas ornaments using 1/8" BB. Last year, I didn't use any finish and had to sand off the smoke. This year, I would like to apply something first.

I'm going for a natural finish.

Shellac? Maybe two coats. This would be easiest.

I'm a fan of Vermont Natural Coatings PolyWhey varnish.

I also have some oil based varnish but it is a bit amber. It's the stuff they used on my oak floors.

You could mask with transfer tape, once peeled it leaves a nice clean surface.

Mike Null
10-09-2019, 6:41 PM
You can use spray lacquer.

Chris DeGerolamo
10-09-2019, 9:35 PM
Spray the wood with pledge before you cut...give it a shot.

Roger Feeley
10-09-2019, 9:57 PM
The tape is tempting but once I engrave there will bee a lot of little pieces to remove. How hard is removal? I don’t want to spend hours with an X-acto knife.

pledge, really? I never would have thought of that.

Roger Feeley
10-09-2019, 9:58 PM
So my list for testing is
shellac
transfer tape
spray lacquer
pledge
my beloved water borne varnish

Nick Cicala
10-09-2019, 11:05 PM
The tape is tempting but once I engrave there will bee a lot of little pieces to remove. How hard is removal? I don’t want to spend hours with an X-acto knife.

pledge, really? I never would have thought of that.


Not hard at all, water inhibits the adhesive so a couple sprays from a water spray bottle to lightly dampen and some towel/sponge swipes and it'll come right off. It's the easiest and cleanest option IMO. (I've never had issues)

Liam Black
10-10-2019, 2:31 AM
Spray is the perfect solution as written earlier for this problem :)

Roger Feeley
10-10-2019, 8:10 AM
Not hard at all, water inhibits the adhesive so a couple sprays from a water spray bottle to lightly dampen and some towel/sponge swipes and it'll come right off. It's the easiest and cleanest option IMO. (I've never had issues)

I just looked on amazon and found a lot of vinyl. Do you have a preferred brand?

John Lifer
10-10-2019, 9:15 AM
don't use ANYTHING vinyl as in true polyvinylCHLORIDE. Chlorine gas will be released when lasering and will RUST your machine and harm your lungs.
Get a PAPER transfer tape

Roger Feeley
10-10-2019, 9:37 AM
don't use ANYTHING vinyl as in true polyvinylCHLORIDE. Chlorine gas will be released when lasering and will RUST your machine and harm your lungs.
Get a PAPER transfer tape

John, I don't want to use anything plastic because removal would be difficult. My understanding from this thread is that if I use paper, I can simply spray it with a bit of water and the water will break the adhesive and I can wash the transfer paper off easily and quickly.

Finding the right stuff is complicated a bit by the description. In looking at threads on the Cricut forum, some folks post that the 'vinyl' in the description is not about whats in the transfer paper but what it's there to transfer.

I interpret "Vinyl Transfer Paper" as transfer paper made of vinyl
The Cricut forums interpret is paper made to transfer vinyl

But... I also see "Clear Vinyl Transfer Paper" which suggests a plastic component in the transfer paper.

That's why I asked for guidance to find a paper that is truly paper.

Tony Lenkic
10-10-2019, 1:32 PM
Roger,

Don't use ant vinyl or clear transfer tape.
Use paper transfer tape. These are designed to transfer vinyl cut lettering and graphics onto other substrates.

Check out "US cutters" website for application tapes for better understanding.

Kev Williams
10-10-2019, 5:39 PM
Here's my favorite:
417520

TransferRite model 582U, it's a medium tack, and a little water loosens the adhesive almost immediately. The website is in the pic, and Amazon sells it-

Roger Feeley
10-10-2019, 7:14 PM
Thanks Kevin,
ordered.

Mike Null
10-11-2019, 9:21 AM
JDS carries it as well as sign supply shops.

Roger Feeley
10-11-2019, 10:49 AM
thanks to all.

I ordered the paper from Amazon.
My plan is to pre-finish with two coats of shellac so I get sort of a natural look but a more pleasing feel.

Bert Kemp
10-11-2019, 11:22 AM
If you finish the wood before you engrave you just need to wipe the residue off with a damp cloth . I never mask finished wood waste of time and money

Doug Fisher
10-12-2019, 11:13 AM
I agree with Bert that there shouldn't be a need to put down the release paper if you put on a finish first. Most likely that would be a waste of your time.

Besides less effort, I think a wood ornament with a nice subtle bit of finish will look better than raw plywood, but that is just my opinion.

Release paper doesn't always adhere really well to plywood. Get something with a good strong tack and really roll it well to get it to adhere. Start lasering as soon as you are done applying the release paper to minimize the chance of the paper not sticking for long.

Kev Williams
10-13-2019, 12:19 AM
With a finish, it depends on the finish, and how you engrave it. It's not that hard to melt or burn the finish at the edges if you're going deep. My BIL lasers 20-50 cedar boxes every day, and every one gets transfer taped-- for 2 reasons- first he does a 50dpi quick low power run to 'brown' the tape to make sure scrolls & stuff are visually aligned, then he does one slow deep pass. When done he wets the paper with a damp rag, pulls off the outside piece, and uses a 'rowmark squeegee' and some compressed air to remove the small pieces, takes only seconds.

Another neat trick for some wood items, like Xmas ornaments, fight fire with fire-- take a propane torch to it when done and add to the burn :)

Anthony Rowley
10-15-2019, 4:59 AM
I have used pledge for 2 years. Spray a lot on before engraving. It catched the smoke and then just wipe off.

Bert Kemp
10-16-2019, 1:39 AM
if your spraying pledge on raw wood it absorbs into the wood making it very hard to get and othe finish to adhere

Maxim Pernatiy
10-27-2019, 12:35 PM
I have used transfer tape, but it's not an option for engraving a big plate full of text.
So the issue is still exist and sanding is used in most cases (

Roger Feeley
11-01-2019, 1:08 PM
The Shellac turned out to be a very, very bad idea. The laser melted the shellac into a dark sticky mass that never really dried. I had to sand it off. The transfer tape that I ordered worked really well unless there was too much detail. I will muddle through this year. I will go ahead and order the TransferRite in advance for next year.

I wish I could figure out a way to do the ornaments on just one side. then I could do them on clear plexiglass which would look fantastic. The material would cost a bit more but it would save me a lot in aggravation.

Neal Schlee
11-01-2019, 3:41 PM
If you're only doing a few hundred then I'd sand and use rattle can lacquer. I make lots of birch pins and ornaments, some from BB ply and some solid birch. I use a HVLP or LVLP gun and Sherwin Williams Hi-Bild Pre-cat lacquer, they call it "hand rubbed finish", thinned 5%, no sealer needed, 2 coats gives a nice finish. Use transfer tape before lasering or clean up laser resin with a damp rag.

Bert Kemp
11-02-2019, 1:28 AM
The Shellac turned out to be a very, very bad idea. The laser melted the shellac into a dark sticky mass that never really dried. I had to sand it off. The transfer tape that I ordered worked really well unless there was too much detail. I will muddle through this year. I will go ahead and order the TransferRite in advance for next year.

I wish I could figure out a way to do the ornaments on just one side. then I could do them on clear plexiglass which would look fantastic. The material would cost a bit more but it would save me a lot in aggravation.


Acrylic ornaments I paint clear cast on one side the reverse engrave . Sometime I paint the engraved side a color sometimes not depends on the look your after.418787This is this years Ornament I make for the kids going on the snowball express. crappy picture but you get the idea. Spray paint clear cast acrylic then reverse engrave. I painted the engraved side black to help show the engraving.

Kev Williams
11-02-2019, 3:05 PM
so do them on clear plexiglas anyway- it will depend on what you're engraving, but you can split the image up and engrave half on one side, and half on the other... piece o' cake 3D effect :)