Coating for finished engravings on black marble

[Dave Strickler]

I have sold quite a few engravings on black marble including photos, wedding invitations etc. In an effort to improve the product, I've been looking for a coating to protect the finished engraving. I've tried Krylon clear gloss finish and it is close, but it does darken the engravings slightly.

Black marble is a relatively soft stone, and it scrathes fairly easily. Has anyone found a good protective finish that doesn't darken the engraving?

[Joe Pelonio]

Dave,

I hate to see a question go unanswered, but I'm guessing no one has done that before. I've never had a customer ask, though I do tell them to be careful or it will scratch, plaques usually are displayed and not used in a manner that they would get damaged. You might try the clear one shot makes under the name "Chromatic Waterborne Primer and Topcoat". I've found it to be a nice glossy, hard finish, without darkening most items I've used it on. Expensive though, I think it's close to $30/quart.

[Frank Corker]

I haven't been able to make much of a contribution to this site other than to ask a few questions. Maybe I can make a good suggestion that would help others using granite and marble. Having finished the etching, take a spray can and spray it over your etch ( at this point I would recommend that you try it on a trial piece first ) then you get a piece of cuttlefish. Cuttlefish can be purchased from any pet store that keeps caged birds and is just a dried fish.

When the paint has dried, rub the cuttlefish over the work. Cuttlefish will remove the unwanted paint without scratching the marble and leave the stuff in the etching alone. Leaving a nice bright contrasting picture. Hope it will help and would be interested on anyone else's observations

Frank

[Mike Mackenzie]

Frank,

That is very intersting thanks for sharing I will try that and let you know.

By the way can we use Salmon, trout, halibut (ha ha).

[Lee DeRaud]

By the way can we use Salmon, trout, halibut (ha ha).I realize you're kidding, but I suspect a piece of sharkskin would work quite nicely also: flat, abrasive (at least in one direction), and softer than the marble.

Unfortunately not stocked in most pet stores.:p

[Frank Corker]

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">How I came about this was when I went to visit my Grandmother's grave and it had lost all of the original sparkle. I was telling this to one of my friends in the pub who works on headstones for graves, he told me, I gave it a whirl and low and behold, looked like brand new. I should imagine that dried shark meat would also have same effect.

Whilst I'm here I was trying different stuff out (as you do) on wood to make the engraving darker. I used a mixture of water and some of the carbon that comes from the toner cartridges and rubbed that in, seemed to work okay. Then one coat of french polish and it seemed to seal it quite well. So I went one further, did a run on wood, brushed some of the toner in and did another run. Don't bother it didn't work! But the flame was an interesting colour. :D
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[Jerry Allen]

As I recall, toner is actually small plastic beads.
It might work if you cut the power to the minimum, and then deliberately set the focus out a quarter inch or more.

[Tom Cole]

Toner is made up of different materials for different machines. Some contain iron filings, lamp black, plastisized charcoal, etc. After being in the refilling business for many years, I can attest that it is really nasty stuff, although the MSDS sheets for most of it say that it is not a hazard to occasional use. It is so fine that it flows like water, so if you spill some it is really hard to clean up. If you get some on your clothes, even washing them in warm water will set the stain and it will never come out. You can find the MSDS sheets on the web sites for the (printer/copier etc.) maker. If you are going to be more thatn an occasional user, I recommend a respirator. We had an electrostatic precipitator in our vacuum system as well because the particles of toner will float in the air for a long - long time.