Hi Gang,

I have been making some key fobs. I am using Rowmark Textures because of their apparent durability to the elements. Sun, salt, tourists.
I have just done some in White, with a blue background. Now I can't clean the residue from the blue off the white. ( sigh ) ( It would have been cheaper I think to go back to school and get a doctorate).
Any ideas on how to clean this product? Rubbing Alcohol does not work, acetone does not work, a cleaning product called "Awesome" does not work. Soap and water as well as cleanser does not work.

Thanks

John,

Unless the blue "artifacts" are the result of a laser not completely vaporizing the "cap" of the substrate, it's possible the smoke from the vaporized material is being drawn over the freshly-lased image, (by the exhaust system), and depositing blue soot on the engraved (white) areas.

Some laser machines, allow the operator to dictate the direction of the cut, thereby, eliminating the possibility of smoke contaminating the engraved image, by engraving in the same direction as the air flow.

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

David,
I did in fact start from the "Bottom" up, so the air flow would not draw over the cut areas.
I'll try some of Johns ideas.

John,

Thanks for the tips. I'll try the windex since I have some, then the goo gone.
I don't think it is caused so much by the cutting as it is the rastering.....

Sigh........

Hi Chuck,

We use a Magic-Rub eraser from any office supply store.
It takes a little elbow grease but cleans the white textued
material.

Ed

Chuck

All good suggestions thus far - some or all of these may work well for you.
I have found different colors and from different sources all seem to have
a best way to clean - experiment till the right combo works.

We use a lot of white with black core - not textured. We do have the same
type of problem that you seem to have with your blue.
Here is my trick that works for me - Spray a paper towel well with WD-40
then rub on the plastic before engraving/cutting - after wipe back off with same
towel with WD-40 - if needed finish clean with Lighter fluid on paper towel.

Joe-
Are you using a laser or rotary engraver? And (this may be a stupid question, but the only stupid question is the one that is not asked) what kind of flammability issues does WD-40 have with a laser engraver? Or does the WD-40 evaporate and leave a residue before you have a chance to begin engraving?

With a rotary system there is no residue. The only item that requires special attention is clear acrylic and the nose cone. "Pledge" is the tool of choice in that case, to prevent scratching.

Lasers on the other hand leave residue, pre-wipe the area with WD-40, Pledge, car wax....anything to protect the surface from the sticky residue.

To cut down residue on my laser I reversed the flow of air from the "air assist" to blow from the back towards the front of my table. This prevents the dust and residue from being shot back over the area that was just engraved.

Mark

Chuck,

Try applying a light coat of lemon pledge to the plastic first then engrave. You still have to clean the wax off of the surface however the residue won't stick to the wax and the wax will clean off with your normal cleaners.

White cap/blue core, textured. Bad combination.

The blue never burns in the laser, just redeposits. Textures make it even more difficult to clean. Since it is blue core you cannot do a low power cleanup pass.

The good news is that paint thinner with a hard toothbrush may get you out of trouble with what you have already done.

The better news is that the advice given will work well on fresh pieces. Anything that will leave a waxlike coating on the piece that can be removed with a solvent after lasering will take 95% of the residue with it. You may have to use a hard toothbrush with the solvent to get it out of the textured surface.

The blue is the worst, red second, the other colors I have tried were far better than those two.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

Harvey's Sub Page When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

Joe,
Thanks. WD-40 I have. Towels I have.

WOW!! Ya gotta love this forum.

Thank you to everyone for their ideas and suggestions. I'll try them all and report back what works the best.

Hopefully I can get what I have done clean, if not the school fees have gone up again.

Thanks again

Harvey etal,

Ok, the end is near. ( of the job that is ). Here is what I have learned on THIS job:

1. Charge more when using Rowmark Textures because it takes a double pass and is more difficult to clean

2. Apply a light coat of paste wax to Rowmark Textures to make it easier to clean.

3. Use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean Rowmark Textures. It works WONDERS, especially if the wax was applied. If the wax was not applied it still works WONDERS.

4. Diligently read, absorb and contribute as you can to the Engraving Etc. Forum.

5. Always play nice in the sandbox, and SHARE.

Thank you all for your help.

Nick

I think Mark had me covered but just to follow up
No flame problem with the laser and the WD-40.

Joe,

Today I tried the WD-40 Trick. A light coating before engraving. Two passes on the rowmark texture. Wipe off with WD-40, rinse in cold water.
Done.
Works like a charm.

Thanks

Ken,
I based the price on $65.00 /hr shop time. I got that figure from reading some of Don Bellerby's articles in A&E magazine, things I picked up on this and other forums, and past business experiences.
If I have done this correctly, the $65.00 per hour, covers my wages, rent, utilities, etc. ( overhead).
Since I am currently home based, I do have some flexibilty if I made an error in calculations. (Which I did by not know that the Rowmark Textures require TWO passes to get a "clean" product. It still works out to a bit over $45.00 per hour.
The loss because of the second pass, and any other money I may have left on the table, will be attributed to school fees ( Thank you Rodney for the term ).
The quantity was 800.
Sorry if this was a long answer to a short question.

Thanks Chuck,

Don't apologize, I like long answers; they usually contain more information.

I'm looking to use price=(material cost + material profit) + (time x $rate)
time = my time + engraving time.

Now all I need is 40 billable hours a week.

Ok - so now you have taken one of my little tips and it worked. I am going
to offer up another one for you.
Using textured plasics - spend some time adjusting your power an speed to
get it to where one pass will get it done. First you will need to tweak
your focus a bit. I have found that pushing the focal point into the texture
a little (thus wideing you beam slightly) and adjusting the power/speed will give
you clean engraving on one pass. This is what I have found with my
laser in my shop - I think you can do the same thing but I can say that
for 100% sure. I suggest you do some testing - the savings are
quite nice.