Black Marble Engraving Secret Sauce

[Keith Outten]

Everyone has asked me to share my "Secret Sauce" that I use to make black marble engraving whiter and brighter. I won't share how I came to use the product for engraving but I will finally share the product.

Armor All Protectant

Yep, the same stuff you use for your automobile to protect your dashboard from UV damage...just wipe it on and buff lightly with a clean soft cloth or paper towell before engraving. Your black marble tiles will be noticeably whiter and brighter when laser engraved.

I expect this information will be worldwide in a matter of minutes, don't forget that you heard it here at SMC first

Enjoy !

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[Carla Lange]

Cool.....thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try it!

[Lee DeRaud]

Not really sure I want to know how you discovered that, but thanks.

[Dave Strickler]

Keith, thank you for sharing. I never would have guessed what it was in a million years. I do know however, that beer doesn't work!

[Dave Jones]

Hmmm.... Notes to self:

- see if Armor All comes in Jumbo Economy size

- find cheap source for 1oz plastic bottles

- make up new name; "Tile Coat"?, "Laser-Coat"? ...

- print labels

- see if lasercoat.com is available


Hmmmm....

Uh Oh. Did I just think this out loud? Um, everybody just ignore this post. Move on. Nothing to see here. (*whistling...*)

[Barbara Sample]

Keith,
Thanks for sharing the information. I can't beleive it!! I am going to try it today. Have you tried it on LaserSketch marble, both hard and soft? Just wondering. It would save us a lot of cutting and finishing of our own.
Thanks again,
Barbara

[Joe Pelonio]

Thanks Keith,

I was actually expecting some combination of things like ketchup, worchestershire sauce and garlic.

[Greg Sloan]

Thanks Keith,
It couldn't have come at a better time. Just recieved a marble order. So I gave it a shot. WOW! I can't believe the difference it made. I think my customer will be very please with the outcome. He was happy with my show piece.

Thanks again,

Greg Sloan

[David Lavaneri]

Keith,

What do you think "The Science" is, behind your Armor All discovery?

I can imagine the protectant making the black marble appear darker; but does it actually make the white engrave whiter?

[Mark Dickens]

We do a lot of marble engraving of photos and as soon as I read about this, I ran and bought a bottle. It does work. We have discovered that the way to do this is to spray the marble with it, and then buff it off with a rag. The engraving is noticeably whiter.

[Keith Outten]

David,

I think that Armor All enhances the burn and provides a much whiter engraving, I doubt it does much for the background or black area of the marble tiles. I have done some side by side comparisons on single tiles and the Armor All side is considerably brighter than I could ever obtain otherwise. The techniqe is certainly inexpensive and the quality is a huge improvement.
There may be other treatments that would produce other colors but I don't have the time to continue experimenting right now.

Sadly I don't do many black marble tiles anymore, I have moved in another direction

[Pete Simmons]

Remember one of Armor All Protectant's functions is to block UV light. Maybe it absorbs the laser light just a little more and makes a hotter spot to get the whiter effect?


Just a guess. Any other ideas?

[David Lavaneri]

Keith,

What prompted you to try Armor All or any "secret sauce" compared to simply engraving straight to the marble?

Pete,

Interesting theory. Could be something to the UV blocking aspect.

David

[Keith Outten]

David,

After engraving about 50 marble tiles I started looking for a way to get better contrast. Adjusting the speed and power settings will only get you so far so the next thing to try is a coating. Armor All wasn't the first that I tried, they all failed but I kept searching the shelves in my shop office looking for another product to try. The rest of the story is classified

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[David Lavaneri]

Thank you Keith.

Your penchant for pressing the envelope is very admirable and should serve as a shining example for your forum members.

I like to press the envelope myself, but I won't press you for classified information.