Color Filling outdoor plastic

[Cy Tidd]

Hello, nice forums, wish I'd found them 6 months ago!

We have a customer who would like us to engrave a walkie-talkie and color-fill the engraving white. My problem is that our masking tape does not stick very well to the outdoor plastic (the kind with the little bumps all over) the radio is constructed out of. When I spray paint, the tape comes up and color bleeds everywhere, which can cause real problems if I engrave anywhere near important parts like buttons, speaker, etc.

I've searched everywhere for tips on doing this better, but came up empty. Does anyone here have any clues on what I should try next?

Thanks!

[Dave Jones]

There is a color fill tutorial on the Engraving Etc web site that includes photos of doing it to a plastic walkie-talkie or radio.

[Mitchell Andrus]

You might look for a rubber cement (not contact cement) that you can paint on, laser through, then peel off again.

Mitch

[David Lavaneri]

Cy,

Are you laser engraving the radios? If so, you won't get enough depth for an enduring image.

[Cy Tidd]

I've done them before with the laser and engraved deep enough to paint fill without any great concern about wear & tear scraping anything off. That job was for fire department pagers and they tend to knock those around a lot. That said, I see your point and will research a protective coating to help protect the fill from such damage - because it's very possible that it's happening and nobody's saying anything. Now I'll ask the next time I see them!

[David Lavaneri]

Cy,

If you're successfully laser engraving and paint-filling the pagers, the walkies should be fine.

I engrave walkies for companies who rent them to events, production companies, etc. Some of the radios end up in refineries, which can be pretty tough on a lightly engraved image.

Pretty much depends on what type of wear and tear they'll be subjected to.

David