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Pete Simmons
08-10-2006, 9:24 AM
My wife asked me to make a Family Crest / Coat of Arms for her Aunt.

Well I am starting to really like Corian.

http://www.laserimagearts.com/images/coatarmsburnside.jpg

This is a 10 x 12 plaque with a piece of Corian inlayed.

I picked up some very nice Vector Art ( not sure I can post the link ) but PM me if you want it.

Just got an email from the Vector Art Company. If you purchase their $99 package and mention my name or SawMill Creek he will give me 15%. ANY $ I recieve via this will be donated back to SawMill Creek.

I like it. I think I will be adding these to my line of engraved items on my website!

Barbara Buhse
08-10-2006, 10:38 AM
Pete, that looks great! I've been doing alot of coat of arms and family crests on photo albums. People always seem to like these.
I usually buy the .jpg from HouseofNames.com (about $14 for one name) and then I run it through a photo process and it engraves really nice.

Barbara Buhse

Mike Null
08-10-2006, 11:44 AM
Just teriffic. I've got to find some time to play with Corian.

Al Mutairi
08-10-2006, 6:42 PM
Very nice design Pete. I wonder which equipment was used to vector cut the corian ?

AL

Pete Simmons
08-10-2006, 7:01 PM
I vector cut a piece of 0.25 plexi on the laser. Double side taped it to the Corian and ran a flush router bit around it. Then added a small 45 degree edge.

John Esberg
08-11-2006, 11:38 PM
I love the plaque with the corian. I'll have to make something similar as a wedding gift for my brother-in-law. Thank you for the inspiration!

DAK

John Miliunas
08-12-2006, 10:42 AM
That is sweet, my friend! The Corian really sets it off very nicely. :) You laser folks never fail to amaze me. Now, if I could just add about $9.5K to the buck eighty-three I have now, I'd be in the running for one 'o them myself! :D :cool:

Keith Bragg
08-12-2006, 7:20 PM
Pete

Did you get the great burn look on the plaque itself from just the laser process or did you color fill,and if you did color fill how did you do it with out the color bleeding into the wood grain of the plaque.

By the way the plaque is great nice work I need to find a counter top dealer around here to try some of this corian it produces some nice engravings.

Keith Bragg

Pete Simmons
08-12-2006, 8:34 PM
The Corian is color filled. No bleed over to the wood because they are engraved seperately. Then the Corian is glued into the wood. I cut out the recess in the wood by running a laser outline. Then scrool saw and chisel to make the recess. I know I need to make a template and use a router but thats another day.

Carol VanArnam
12-17-2006, 10:30 PM
How did you get the color to stay on the corian? I'm pretty new at this and I haven't used color on anything. I bought some stuff that looks like cool aid. Its a powder kind of stuff. How did you get it to work on your corian?

Pete Simmons
12-18-2006, 8:18 AM
The color comes in a spray can.

Spray in on. Then sand the surface. Works great.

For multi colors I do a quick mask job with tape spray, one area then retape and spray the other color.

Carol VanArnam
12-18-2006, 9:38 PM
Pete- thanks for the reply. Like I said I'm just a puppy at the color part of this lasering stuff. What kind of spray on color are you using? Any suggestions on where I can go and read up on it. Maybe where are you buying your color in a can? I can go to their web page.

What grit do you use to sand your corian? I've cut it with my router and laser but never sanded it. My local corian salesman doesn't like to tell me anything- he's afraid I'll steal his business.

I'm thinking you mix and match your projects with a little router work and a little laser work. I'm thinking you just sand the over spray off of the surface once you are all down spraying.

PS- I LOVE your coat of arms. You are a true craftsman....

Keith Outten
12-18-2006, 10:17 PM
Carol,

Rustoleum or Krylon spray paints work well with Corian, check your local hardware or Borg's paint department. Also Wally World carries lots of spray paint at prices a bit lower than most.

You can sand Corian with just about any abrasive, wet or dry. I use 80 grit to remove scratches, then 100,120,200. You can also purchase 3M Scotch pads for your random orbital sander that work well and will outlast sandpaper with less dust. Use the Scotch 3M Green, maroon, and gray. The last step is white pads with a counter top polish on the pad to bring out the shine.

No need to worry much about the mask quality when engraving Corian since you can sand the top surface and clean up any paint on the top surface real quick, it will look fabulous. You can also color fill using Dupont's Corian adhesive, this works well on cutting boards because the engraving is totally filled so you still have a flat surface for cutting and it remains dishwasher safe.

For ADA signs in Corian you can purchase acrylic spheres from McMaster Carr, laser the braille holes and glue the spheres in place.

You can easily heat Corian in your oven then bend it to make some new designs...325 degrees F for 20 minutes. Engrave then heat bend then paint fill and sand. A gentle bend makes for some very nice desk sets...and other stuff .

Pete,

Nice work....Corian is like gold to anyone with a laser engraver. Triple your fees now :)

.

Bob Tate
12-19-2006, 6:50 AM
Keith, are you still selling the Corian sign blanks? I am not sure but you may be too busy these days with all you have going on.
Thanks,
Bob

James A. Wolfe
12-19-2006, 10:36 PM
Here's a plaque I did using a scrap of Corian, some masking tape and some 98 cent spray paint.

Jim

Nigel Morgan
12-20-2006, 12:53 AM
What type of spray paint are you using?

James A. Wolfe
12-20-2006, 11:58 PM
I use spray lacquer because it dries very quickly. I've used it on wood with good results as well. Never use it on acrylic; serious stress cracking will result.
Jim

John Esberg
01-18-2007, 8:08 PM
Hello everyone,

I just got an order for a sample plaque to be made out of corian. I immediately thought of this thread. So I'm wondering, is there any particular brand or type of corian I should buy for using on laser applications?

DAK

Pete Simmons
01-18-2007, 8:29 PM
Corian is a brand - Dupont.There are many look a likes out there now. Many of them work fine. Some may have some bad chemicals in them. We know Corian is laser OK but you never know about the others.

John Esberg
01-18-2007, 8:31 PM
So, DuPont Corian is laser safe. I'll pass that on to my wife. She'll like that bit of info since she's never worked around it before.

How's about pricing? Any words of advice?

DAK

Carol VanArnam
01-18-2007, 9:11 PM
Does anyone know if my epilog 60w laser will cut 1/8 corian? Does it come any thinner? Anyone know what size I'd need to buy to cut through it on my laser? Anyone have a source for really really thin corian? My local dealer only has the really thick stuff.

Richard Graniczny
01-18-2007, 9:28 PM
If you are into coats of arms, etc, a decent place to look is: http://www.heraldryclipart.com/

Ray Palleschi
01-19-2007, 8:33 PM
Carol,

I use acrylic paints available a craft stores such as AC Moore's, one brand name I use is CeramaCote (SP?). I brush it on, allow it almost dry, then remove the excess with plain rubbing alcohol. I place a couple of paper towels on a flat surface, pour a small ammount of alcohol (not too much needed) on the towels. I then place the piece face down on the towels and rub it around. The alcohol disolves the acrylic on the surface but doesn't usually effect the engraved areas. I usually repeat the process 3 or 4 times, each time using less alcohol. In this method there's no sanding except maybe some minor areas missed by the alcohol (usually on and around edges of the plate). For sanding I use a fine Scotchbrite pad as recommended by our local Corian installer. The Acrylic paint is inexpensive, usually around $1 for a 2-3 oz. bottle.

Ray P.


How did you get the color to stay on the corian? I'm pretty new at this and I haven't used color on anything. I bought some stuff that looks like cool aid. Its a powder kind of stuff. How did you get it to work on your corian?

Keith Outten
01-20-2007, 6:35 AM
I use either Rustoleum or Krylon spray paint for Corian plaques. Use engravers tape applied to the surface of a plaque, then engrave and paint. Make sure that you remove the mask before the paint dries, if it dries it tends to pull the paint from the engraved areas.

You can also use colored caulking to fill engraved areas, the Dupont Corian adhesive works best but is the most expensive option. For Corian cutting boards that are to be engraved using Dupont's colored adhesive will keep your cutting board dishwasher safe.

Deep engraving of Corian allows you to sand and polish after painting, I use sandpaper or Trisact disks after painting. Before painting the 3M pads work well but tend to reach down into the engraved areas and remove paint or dull the crisp edges.

The price of Corian varies with the color. Full sheets are 30 inches by 144 inches and must be purchased from an authorized distributor. Before you can purchase Corian from a distributor you must be a certified solid surface installer. I contacted Dupont and received permission to purchase Corian based on my sign business and was not required to take the installers training. I had to write Dupont a letter explaining my intended use and provide a list of customers. It took about two weeks to receive authorization, I was then contacted by my local distributor and setup an account.

You can often acquire Corian drops and sink cutouts from local cabinet shops. For small jobs and plaques this is the least expensive way to get Corian, often for free. For large jobs you must get certified to purchase full sheets.

.