Rick,

Welcome to the forum. I will start a new thread associated with your question about your LaserPro. This question will take this thread off topic.

to all:
I use paper application tapes for compound curved stuff. Resists a blast very nicely (carborundum , very fine grit) , lasers real quick (you can even set the power to very low to get a brown marked test lasering without going thru) and it conforms quite nicely , rubs off in a tick when wet.
For real complex stuff we cut panels and apply them. Masking tape works well too
Nice thing about both is that the laser leaves a residue and you know you got a decent blast depth and you havent damged the resist (worn thru) as the residue clears in the blast cabinet , it's plainly visible.
To rick: Which laser did you get. I have experience with the mercury and the explorer.

Hi Rick,
Welcome to EE. You will find this to be a great neighborhood, and like any community the more you get involved the more you get back. There are lots of great people here with vast experience......I have learned a lot, and made a lot of friends.....
Anyway, as to the plasti dip, there was no weeding. I simply rubbed the dip off with my thumbs when I was finished.
I blasted the glass at 35psi.

David,

That is what I have been looking for without any luck. I would like to laser (reverse engrave) the mask - THEN apply it to the article to be sandblasted.

I have some curved glass with a photo holder that has too much of a curve to put into my laser and keep it in focus. Let me know if you or anyone else finds a product like this.

John,

That would, without a doubt, be the hot item (laser image, then apply to substrate).

Shelf life of traditional photo-resist is very limited. The laserable mask doesn't have as finite a shelf life (if any at all).

Seems like a variation of Chuck Burke's ("Plasti-Dip") idea on a carrier, could be lased, then an adhesive (spray?) could be applied to the surface and applied to a substrate ala vinyl lettering.

Should be flexible and durable enough.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Rodney,
Are you saying mask the glass with TAPE? Then laser and blast?
I wonder why that would not work, since we use the tape to hold the resist anyway. I think I might try just taping a glass and see what happens

Chuck,

I think the cleaning after the fact might be the reason. When tape is lasered it gets soft or mushy and then becomes hard to clean not Impossible but difficult.

Yeh , we use el cheapo paper based application tape used in the vinyl sign industry or masking tape - we were told it couldnt possibly work (by one of the top USA based blasting "teachers" who shall remain nameless;) But it works a treat.
The problem is overblasting , IE you cant blast the stuff forever and a day before it wears thru , but it doesnt take a long time to know exactly when to stop (when you see the residue clear).
In a pinch there is another option , but it is not recommended.
Buy polymeric cast vinyl (very thin and flexible) which you can use to wrap over a compound surface (you can actually wrap a ball with the stuff with a hair dryer to heat it) and laser it , it releases Chlorine and this combines with moisture to form hydrochloric acid , both the gas and the acid are bad news for you and the laser but if you really need it , it works.

The paper tapes dont get mushy when lasering them , and cleaning after is a snap , you just wet the glass and all the tape comes off with a light rub.

Rodney,
Thanks for your tip. I will know tomorrow how well this Plasti Dip works. It worked pretty good the first time, but there were very minor flaws that I was not going to accept. ( If I won't accept them, my customer won't).
I'll let you know how it works out. If it doesn't I will try the tape idea.
This is my first job, and WHY!!!! does it have to be so frustrating. :)

Thanks

Rodney,

I thought he was talking about regular masking tape as we call it here. There are thousands of different tapes. With our experience with the cheep Masking tapes the adhesive became soft or gooey when lasered and the only method of cleaning was to use cleaners like Naptha Etc.