Reverse Engraving Laminate

[Jakob Franz]

Hi. I am trying to reverse engrave IPI 1.6mm (I think that's 1/16"). I've managed to get the front looking ok. But I cant get the back to look tidy. I'm not sure if it is the paint I'm using or the technique. I am using water based acrylic paints, scraping off excess, letting dry, then wiping it clean with water on a cloth (I haven't got any thinner at this moment, but I'm thinking of trying that). I use a very flat surface object for scraping but it seems to pull alot of the paint out. Or the paint leaves lighter areas when the badge is held up to the light. Is it better to use oil based or some other denser paint that doesn't require 2 layers or what I tried is to cover the entire back in black ><. Looks terrible.

I've looked at other peoples work on the forum doing reverse engraving on glass and whatnot, but I'm not sure spray paint if the best option here, as the colour range is far smaller (in NZ). Also masking on graphics hasn't worked very well for me so far (perhaps I'm not using the best stuff).

Any advice is much appreciated!

Front
Back

[Frank Corker]

Jakob - can't see your pictures because you have linked them to a google account. Use the attahment in the message area same as you would in microsoft office

[Jakob Franz]

Thanks Frank. Not sure why my link didn't work, it was set to public.

Since the above tags, I've used turpentine and it does do a better job of cleaning, but the paint is still requires about 2 coats to become dark enough so you don't see any light through it. I'm hoping I have just chosen a bad paint. I guess i could stick a thin layer of laminate on the back to tidy it up.

I'm definitely willing to hear advice from more experienced engravers!

Cheers,

Jakob

[Dan Hintz]

Sounds like you need a thicker paint... or make your second coat on the back black to prevent light seepage.

[Mike Null]

Jakob

I think your engraving may be a little too deep on the back. I would recommend you use a vinyl covering on the back instead of paint. A white vinyl, trimmed with an Exacto knife, will make the colors pop and give you a clean surface on the back. Black tones down the colors a bit. If these were signs instead of name tags I would use white paint over the color fill or if the fill was black use black paint as the finish.

I use denatured alcohol as my solvent for acrylic paints instead of water. That will allow more drying before cleaning.

Acrylic will always require two coats as the opacity isn't sufficient with one coat. I even user two coats with black.

[Conrad Fiore]

Jakob,
We are mechanical engravers and when we engrave and fill plastic, either front or reverse; we use an engravers enamel or alkyd oil base enamel. We flow in the paint, squeegee off the excess with a piece of plastic or rubber and let the paint begin to set. We then lay out tissue paper over newspaper and saturate with mineral spirits. The engraved plates are then lightly pulled across the tissue paper, removing only the surface film that remains on the plate. If you need to remove heavy amounts of residue, don’t try to remove it in one shot. The mineral spirits will soften the paint in the engraved areas and it will pull out. So remove some, allow the plates to sit and set up again and repeat the process. You will end up with a clean smooth surface and all your paint in the recess.

[Scott Shepherd]

If these are for you, then I'd probably fight through it, if they are for a customer, I'd scrap the concept and have them dye sublimated. That's the perfect dye sub job right there. They'll look fantastic and have no paint or lumpy surface on the back and you won't have a painted surface up against someone's clothes. Plus it'll take about 5 minutes to make all 4 of them.

[Jakob Franz]

Awesome suggestions. I'll try them all. I haven't found a place that does vinyl here yet, but I was thinking it might look ok to attach a very thin plastic laminate on the back too (0.032") ?

I think i may look for a better paint, the advantage of acrylic is the price, range of colours, and relatively easy to work with (or wash off).

As for dye sublimation, I need a little printer for that right? I've seen people do badges like that. Might have to look in investing in one of those.

[Bill Cunningham]

I find that a heavy card stock, like the backer board used for making paper advertising and writing pads work very well to scrape off excess acrylic paint. Just let it firm up a bit, then squeegee the excess off with the cardboard. I then paint and squeegee a second time. I hold the up to a light, and any areas that are a bit thin can be touched up.. Once I'm satisfied I let them dry, then spray a back coating of Krylon fusion black. Once that's dry, I mask the sheet both sides, and put it back in the laser to cut out the individual badges if they have round corners, or cut a grid of straight lines if their square cornered. I also never cut all the way through. I cut just deep enough so that a tiny bit of pressure will pop out the finished pieces.

[Dee Gallo]

Jakob,
We are mechanical engravers and when we engrave and fill plastic, either front or reverse; we use an engravers enamel or alkyd oil base enamel. We flow in the paint, squeegee off the excess with a piece of plastic or rubber and let the paint begin to set. We then lay out tissue paper over newspaper and saturate with mineral spirits. The engraved plates are then lightly pulled across the tissue paper, removing only the surface film that remains on the plate. If you need to remove heavy amounts of residue, don’t try to remove it in one shot. The mineral spirits will soften the paint in the engraved areas and it will pull out. So remove some, allow the plates to sit and set up again and repeat the process. You will end up with a clean smooth surface and all your paint in the recess.

I'm with Conrad - I use Floquil (solvent based paint by Testors) for a nice opaque color fill on plastic, but I just use paper towels sprayed with Dissolve-It, a waterless orange-based cleaner. Works like a charm! Permanent fill which (after it's dry) I have soaked in water overnight and scrubbed with a toothbrush and paint cannot be removed.

dee

[AL Ursich]

Lots of GREAT ideas here.... Not cutting all the way throught to have a sheet of tags to fill with no mess on the front.... GREAT TIP Thanks !!!!

And Dee's Tip on Paint.... GREAT !!! Thanks !!!!

AL

[Dee Gallo]

One thing I've found which works great is a small silicone kitchen spatula which I use as a squeegee. It cleans the majority of paint off while still wet and then when you clean the rest off with the Dissolve-It after it's dry, it's very fast and easy.

cheers, dee