Full Version: Scotchbrite?
From: Andrew [#1]
21 Feb 2007
To: ALL
One of my goals this year is to learn to deep engrave stainless steel - deep enough to take a paint infil.
I am pleased with the results so far but needs some advice on 'clean up'
The pieces I am engraving have a slight dome so I am using a taperd nose cone. I am using a lubricant on the material.
I am getting a little bit of ghosting on the material, and occassionaly a very slight burr - enough to make the paint infil unsightly. If I take the piece down to my polishing machine I can clean it up.
I read somewhere about using 'scotchbrite' to clean the surface. i have no idea what it is or how it is used. My question - what is it ? !! :S Does it have any other names? Looks like an english 'scouring pad'!
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#2]
21 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 21 Feb 2007
Scotch Brite is kind of like synthetic steel wool.
From: smitty [#3]
21 Feb 2007
To: ALL
From: Carl (CSEWELL) [#4]
21 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 21 Feb 2007
From: Dave Jones (DAVERJ) [#5]
22 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 22 Feb 2007
Here you go:
http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/880/mia/d/scotch+bright+wash+up+scour+sponge+pk10/pid/3855733
From: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#6]
22 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 22 Feb 2007
Andrew,
It takes a LOT of elbow grease to get the ghosting out of stainless. In one of my past lives, I did a lot of milling on stainless sheets for paint fill. This was done without a nose cone for just that reason.
If you can manually set a start depth, and subsequent pass depths, you should be able to do the work without the nose cone....thus eliminating the ghosting (and the time/effort it takes to correct it).
Cody
From: Andrew [#7]
22 Feb 2007
To: Cody (BOBTNAILER) [#6] 22 Feb 2007
Hi Cody
unfortunately the items I am looking to engrave have a slight dome and I couldn't get away without a nose cone.
I have eliminated it applying vinyl over the top but then using a cutting lubricant became an issue.
At the moment I am just 'playing around' to see what I can do and if this is an area I want to get into. Too many people told me not to bother with stainless steel to the point where I couldn't resist the challenge. Since I started out a couple of years back I have been rotating a faceted diamond on stainless steel with reasonably good results.
I wasn't sure if the scotchbrite was something ' special' or just the same as the stuff in the supermarkets for scrubbing pans.
I used a cutting compound on my polishing machine to get the ghosting out, but its a bit messy to clean up afterward before paint filling.
cheers
Andrew
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#8]
22 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#7] 22 Feb 2007
Antares makes a new type spiral cutter for stainless steel. I bought one last year in a .005 tip. Amazingly it works very well when cutting a few thousandths deep. They recommend a spindle speed from 8,000 to 10,000.
Since the tip is so small I use 10,000 RPM and it works well.
From: wizzie (DSMITH) [#9]
22 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 22 Feb 2007
Hello Andrew,
The best thing we've found for finishing stainless are 'Garryflex Rubber blocks'. Have a look at them at www.atigarryson.co.uk, we get them from our local engineering merchant.
David
From: Andrew [#10]
22 Feb 2007
To: wizzie (DSMITH) [#9] 22 Feb 2007
From: gravure (INFOGRAVE) [#11]
24 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#1] 2 Apr 2007
Hi Andrew,
I have been engraving and paint filling stainless for some time now.
I put a thin layer of substrate .004"~ on the surface. For the smaller plates I use the laser lites material on the 4" role or the 12x24 sheets for the larger plates. The adhesive does release very well after the engraving is finished. If I am engraving the stainless without the thin material I am certain to polish the nose cone very well and apply some wax on the bottom of it. I have a number of different nose cones from metal to plastic. I typically prefer the larger plastic ones because they are easy to polish. I hope you have the ablility to sharpen your own cutters, because it is a must when working with stainless. Also the quarter round cutters and milling tools work best for me.
I always charge a premium when engraving stainless.
Good Luck...
Glenn
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#12]
25 Feb 2007
To: Andrew [#7] 2 Apr 2007
That should come as music to your ears. Going where others fear to tread (or learn) is the first step in creating an impenetrable niche.