Laser engraving darkening

[Raphael Weil]

Oh, I think so. That's because the part that has been engraved is the same color in all four, it's just that three were painted black before engraving. That's assuming those were actually laser engraved, do we know for sure that's what was done?

That's a picture taken inside the laser bed mid-engrave. The machine broke down at that step. He has several panels side by side by side. Nothing was painted. You can see where the laser head stopped.

[Matt McCoy]

Oh, I think so. That's because the part that has been engraved is the same color in all four, it's just that three were painted black before engraving. That's assuming those were actually laser engraved, do we know for sure that's what was done?

Hard to tell on a tablet. The piece in the foreground looked like BB that is laser engraved since the darker positive space looks pretty typical of the end result. Although when I zoom the pic, i guess it could be stained. ???

[Bill Munroe]

For wood, I have found that finishing the piece before lasering (I usually sand, use danish oil with a top coat of shellac, then wax) then engraving, then going over with gel stain gives very good results. The dark gel stain wipes off of the shellacked surace without staining darker. The gel settles into the engraving and gives excellent contrast. If using mask and paint, I would strongly suggest you use shellac prior to applying the paint, as it will help prevent bleed. Again, this is for wood. Never tried it with any other material.

[Raphael Weil]

For wood, I have found that finishing the piece before lasering (I usually sand, use danish oil with a top coat of shellac, then wax) then engraving, then going over with gel stain gives very good results. The dark gel stain wipes off of the shellacked surace without staining darker. The gel settles into the engraving and gives excellent contrast. If using mask and paint, I would strongly suggest you use shellac prior to applying the paint, as it will help prevent bleed. Again, this is for wood. Never tried it with any other material.

What sort of wood are you using that with? If I understand correctly you're getting the gel stain into the fresh grooves you've engraved to create more contrast?

[Dan Hintz]

That's a picture taken inside the laser bed mid-engrave. The machine broke down at that step. He has several panels side by side by side. Nothing was painted. You can see where the laser head stopped.

Then why is the pattern right at that line different on either side? It's close, but different. Those are two (or more) pieces...

[Bill Munroe]

I've used on any wood that I felt like I didn't get a good enough contrast, although I have never tried it on plywood. You understand correctly in that the gel stain settles into the fresh "grooves" made by the laser. Again, I always finish/shellac my wood prior to engraving. That way, if I apply the gel stain, it wipes off the surface easy without changing the surface color. leaving the darker stain in the engraving.

[Raphael Weil]

Then why is the pattern right at that line different on either side? It's close, but different. Those are two (or more) pieces...

It's 4 skateboards side by side by side. The laser stopped right after the point you see there.

I've used on any wood that I felt like I didn't get a good enough contrast, although I have never tried it on plywood. You understand correctly in that the gel stain settles into the fresh "grooves" made by the laser. Again, I always finish/shellac my wood prior to engraving. That way, if I apply the gel stain, it wipes off the surface easy without changing the surface color. leaving the darker stain in the engraving.

Very cool. I'll try and figure this out without gel, but if that's what it takes I'll try. Just got really nice contrast on ply just by doing a 2nd pass, curious how much darker the gel would take it.

[Raphael Weil]

Here's another from the same artist, can clearly see it's some sort of effect happening in the plywood. Either naturally or with a gel. There's no painting going on here that I can tell. This is maple ply

smuglabs_1389299587.jpg

[Lee DeRaud]

Here's another from the same artist, can clearly see it's some sort of effect happening in the plywood.

Can't tell how deep the engraving is there, but it's certainly possible that it's getting all the way through the top layer into the glue and burning it black. (see post #6 above)

[Brian Lamb]

Judging by the darkening on the non-ingraved ares of those two cards, I would guess that is some sort of applied stain.

[Raphael Weil]

Judging by the darkening on the non-ingraved ares of those two cards, I would guess that is some sort of applied stain.

Ya I see that now. So mask it, engrave it, spray it. I'll have to try and see what it yields.

[Brian Lamb]

Not really masked, like what Bill Munroe said, have a finish on the wood, laser it and then wipe stain on the engraving and it will wipe off the top, except where there might be enough surface imperfection to hold any stain. That's what I see in the cards below, like they have linear scratches from sanding in the top surface... you can see a bit of the stain hanging in there and muddying up the top surface. At least that's my guess from the pictures....

[Don Corbeil]

Yes, this looks like it was stained after engraving to darken, as you can see the bleeding into the grain. I get that result when I engrave and stain the lasered area. That's a method I use often, but the sanding doesn't always get all of the bleeding out. What I'll often do to minimize the bleed is to engrave, sand, sealcoat, then stain the engraved area. I'll use Restor a finish (dark oak) for the stain. It looks natural, and works pretty well.

Here's another from the same artist, can clearly see it's some sort of effect happening in the plywood. Either naturally or with a gel. There's no painting going on here that I can tell. This is maple ply

smuglabs_1389299587.jpg

This is one I did on baltic birch using that process:
guinn2.jpg

[Raphael Weil]

Yes, this looks like it was stained after engraving to darken, as you can see the bleeding into the grain. I get that result when I engrave and stain the lasered area. That's a method I use often, but the sanding doesn't always get all of the bleeding out. What I'll often do to minimize the bleed is to engrave, sand, sealcoat, then stain the engraved area. I'll use Restor a finish (dark oak) for the stain. It looks natural, and works pretty well.


This is one I did on baltic birch using that process:
guinn2.jpg

Curious how you stain just the engraved area (I gather the sealcoat is spray on everything before?). Do you just wipe off the stain from the non-engraved area and let the engraved area retain the stain? Thank!

[Bert Kemp]

yes just wipe off the stain the engraved area will hold the stain the finished area will wipe off.