Panel painting for engraving

[hercules]

Hi all,

i wonder how some of you paint their panels and engrave them without problems.

I use Lexan (AKA Makrolon) for my panels.

First i clean the material and paint it with gray primer. Then i paint it with two thin layer acrylic paint.
Last but not least and after drying, i use transparent paint to get a nice surface and stretch protection. I let it dry for 24-36 hours and the surface seems good after this time.

But it always seems to me that the surface is not strong enought. During engraving, the surface become very stretched and the letter are not sharp.

I use an engraving nose and 60 degrees engraving bits.

Can one tell my which paint he use and how he process his panels please?

Kind Regards

Thomas

[riche543]

Hi all,

i wonder how some of you paint their panels and engrave them without problems.

I use Lexan (AKA Makrolon) for my panels.

First i clean the material and paint it with gray primer. Then i paint it with two thin layer acrylic paint.
Last but not least and after drying, i use transparent paint to get a nice surface and stretch protection. I let it dry for 24-36 hours and the surface seems good after this time.

But it always seems to me that the surface is not strong enought. During engraving, the surface become very stretched and the letter are not sharp.

I use an engraving nose and 60 degrees engraving bits.

Can one tell my which paint he use and how he process his panels please?

Kind Regards

Thomas

Hi Thomas .

im not sure about lexan as I've never used it , but on cast acrylic I use a auto plastic primer which they use for the plastic parts on cars ie: bumper etc. Then a solvent based acrylic paint (auto acrylic) thinned out for use with spray gun. Then engrave, then finish off with a satin clear acrylic , some shops will tell you you can't get satin clear but I've found a place that did. Also your feed & speed on cnc has to be right , too fast on the speed could lead to paint / plastic getting to hot. Hope you get it sorted.
cheers
Riche.

[jonesthesoftware]

Hi Thomas
paint thin coat, dry, paint thin coat, dry, repeat until opaque to strong light, leave for 1 week to harden. Engrave, then finally matt laquer after. Don't apply laquer/varnish before engraving as the heat of the tool tip melts the laquer and drags and spoils the engraving. Make sure your engraving tool is sharp, I use 30 deg. V tip
regards
geoff