Engraving on metal compound $20 for one year

[Ed Mihalack]

I tried it and it worked great on stainless.

[Bill Cunningham]

I was able to get a dark red (like a burgundy) with my own formulation, still working on a bright red when time permits (yeah, I have soooo much of THAT , especially now that the Stinger will be arriving soon).

Well, there ya go! Playtime you weren't counting on..ha..
Is the Stinger going in the spot you were going to put the Riso?

[Dan Hintz]

I had a line on a Laguna bandsaw a day or two ago that would have filled the spot nicely, but it appears it likely won't happen. The Riso is still a future purchase, but for the moment I need to concentrate on the Stinger as I know that will add more to the business in the long run (and probably in the short run, too). And at this rate, the book is never going to get finished!

[Harper Abbot]

which version of the 'formula' mentioned on here were you using?

Also, does anyone comprehend the chemical reaction taking place here? Am I going to poison anyone who chances past my exhaust pipe?

[Dan Hintz]

Harper,

I posted the (most likely) chemical formula several pages back... you're not going to hurt anyone with it.

[Ed Mihalack]

I used Mothers Chrome (I had some in the garage) and Plaster of Paris.

[Dan Hintz]

I used Mothers Chrome (I had some in the garage) and Plaster of Paris.

I have no idea why people use the Mother's Chrome... it does nothing for you other than add in an expensive ingredient...

[Chuck Stone]

I have no idea why people use the Mother's Chrome... it does nothing for you other than add in an expensive ingredient...

I use it because I had it.. came in a box of stains I picked up at a yard sale.
But this concoction didn't do anything on the aluminum, either.

I tried mixing it up thin enough to spray .. DO NOT mix it with denatured
alcohol, hoping to speed up the drying. The alcohol makes the chrome polish
curdle. and that clogs the airbrush.

.. or so I've heard..

[Dan Hintz]

I use it because I had it.

But that's like saying you threw some orange juice in there because you had it. It serves no purpose other than act as a carrier, which the alcohol does on it's own...

[Bill Cunningham]

But that's like saying you threw some orange juice in there because you had it. It serves no purpose other than act as a carrier, which the alcohol does on it's own...

Heh..Heh.. You may have just stumbled onto the secret ingredient.. O.J. / / \ <esc>

[Chuck Stone]

But that's like saying you threw some orange juice in there because you had it.

If that was the recipe someone posted and I knew nothing about the
process, I'd have bought orange juice.

It serves no purpose other than act as a carrier, which the alcohol does on it's own...

You've got knowledge that I don't.. I don't know what the polish does.
But I do know that a lot of people change a recipe they've never tried,
and then complain that it isn't very good. The least I could do (without
really understanding how or why something works) is to follow the posted
process first.. after that, I can experiment.

ok, now I'm ready to experiment.
So we're saying that plain old plaster of paris works as a marking agent?

[Dan Hintz]

Chuck,

I didn't mean for my response to sound nasty (been doing a lot of that lately... need to slow down and reread before hitting 'send'). I'm pretty sure this thread is where all of the discussion happened (though it may have spilled to others, can't remember). Read it from the beginning and I think you'll find I even posted the most likely chemical reaction/formula. The plaster and moisture from the air are the most likely culprits for the mark, the alcohol is used as a fast-drying carrier to get an even coat.

One thing I will say, which I can't recall mentioning earlier (and I don't want to read the entire thread again)... if you have the time, make sure the plaster you get is of sufficiently high quality (i.e., no chunks). You don't want to clog up your air gun.

[Chuck Stone]

Dan.. I didn't take it as being nasty, no worries. My own point was that
someone posted "This works" and so that's exactly what I tried.. I can
change it afterwards. I had the stuff here anyway, so there was no
additional expense. The recipe analogy was real enough.. if you look up
food recipes online you'll see reviews that say "I tried it and it didn't come
out right .. I followed the recipe exactly except for ..x, y and z and it
came out too dry/moist/sweet/sour/salty" etc. In other words, they
didn't follow the recipe and got different results. Hard to tell where it
went wrong if you start in a different place than recipe did..

I'm thinking that there's something about the aluminum stock I have that
is giving me trouble. The LMM 6000 came off. The LMM14 barely stayed on,
but also came off. The plaster/polish came off. But they all marked well
initially .. looked fine, plenty of detail.

I also sifted the plaster, so it didn't gum up the works. But thinning it
with alcohol certainly did!

I've been wondering about some sort of ceramic underglaze for color, but
do you think I can find a ceramic studio around anymore?

[Dan Hintz]

Look for true art galleries in your area (not art stores) that display kiln-type pottery. Ask the owner if you could get the name/number/location of some of the artists... considering these people (the artists) want to sell their work, they should be happy to have the gallery owner hand out their info. Whether they want to help you or not is another story, but you may make a good friend or a new client.

[Chuck Stone]

Look for true art galleries in your area

and therein lies the problem. This entire state has about 1/10th the population
of the city I moved from, so there's not much of anything local.. and the
choices are slim. Anything out of the ordinary*, the answer I get is "We can
order it for you". Well, I can order it myself.. and probably cheaper. Plus
it gets delivered to me, so I don't have to come here and pick it up.

*out of the ordinary means stain that isn't Minwax, lumber that isn't pine,
bread that isn't Wonder or shipped in frozen,.. you get the idea

.. but I digress..

I ordered some underglaze and I'll be trying that when it comes in. I'd
rather pick things up locally when I can, but I guess the business climate
just doesn't allow that anymore unless you want what they want you
to have..