First off, if this has already been addressed, or if this is in the wrong spot, I'm sorry, I'm new, and the little bit of searching I did didn't net me any answers.
Okay. So I recently purchased a Nejemaster 7w CNC laser engraver off of Amazon. And I've been experimenting with it. The software is pretty easy to use, and I've been able to make a few burns, and cool designs on a few different things.
Wood is no issue, at least, it hasn't been. I haven't tried actually cutting it yet. The reccomended settings in the (barely) english instruction manual was WAY too high for marking leather, it nearly cut my test piece into pieces.
I engraved the anodized aluminum dog tag that came with it, and on the maximum burn time and laser power it only took the anodizing off, exposing bare metal. This is absolutely fine, as I never expected a mere 7w laser to do anything to metal at all, despite the claims of the amazon listing. That is why I also got a little laboratory power supply with alligator clips, a steel plate, and a small tank to build an electro etching tank.
I intend to use the engraver to expose metal in the pattern I want to etch, and use the tank for the heavy lifting, seeing as I'm crap at doing it by hand.
So my question is, has anyone else done this before, and if so, can you reccomend any specific type of paint that will burn off from the laser, won't schlough off in the salt water, but can be scrubbed off with a mild solvent or soap. Preferably something cheap. Also any criticisms or suggestions to the process would also be helpful.
Laser engraving and Electro Etching.
Moderator: baker