Waxing before lasering wood

[Brent Vander Weil]

I know I have read it here before and I am wondering if I got it wrong or just a materials issue... WHen lasering a finished wood plaque... I waxed it prior to lasering it... No tape... I left a slight haze of the wax prior to the laser and went to town... after laser it seems that the smoke residue had sort of melted into the wax haze and onto the plaque surface... now a little elbow grease and a bit of exta wax got it off, but I was hoping for a quick buff and off to the next project... Can anyone bring me to the light on this.. I know I have heard of this process being done using Johnson's Paste wax... I used Minwax paste wax... Hope the new year is finding everyone here at :The Creek" in good health and spirits... or at the very least putting good spirits in yourself :-D

[Bill Cunningham]

My personal experiance is, if the wood has a 'smooth' lacquer finish (2-3 coats with light sanding between) a good wood paste wax will fill any little imperfections in the surface that will trap smoke and oil particles. Then I buff it. After lasering, I give it a squirt of windex, and everything comes right off..
I have left the wax without buffing, if the surface is less than perfect, but I let it dry befor lasering.. Then, out comes the windex, and it usually cleans up ok.. The only time I have problems is with customer supplied pieces, when the customer thinks 'finished wood' is a light spray of urathane over 'oak':eek:
Oak, is FULL of places for crud to hide, and needs several coats and sanding between, to prevent the crud from sinking in... Once it's in there there aint much that will get it out.. A rub with steel wool works sometimes..

[Mike Null]

I do a fair number of plaques and I use no wax or anything else if the plaque has a finish on it. A paper towel and water will remove the residue; a solution of water and orange cleaner is faster.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi
I second what Mike said- no wax and citrus cleaner-seems to work for me everytime and I do a lot of wood.
Best regards;
George
LaserArts

[Carol VanArnam]

I do a lot of wood work and I use spray on furniture polish from a can. It's quick, cheap and takes the smoke/crud off the wood really fast....

[Brent Vander Weil]

Well thanks for the tips... I have been working mainly with acrylic for just about a year now and haven't had the time to get aquainted with that finer poins of wood laser... Thanks again to all I do appreciate it...