Cleaning up Laser engraving

Bobtheballer · 03-04-2012, 08:10 PM

I just got an IM9 recently and the guy before me didn't do a great job keeping it clean.

The lasering on it just feels and looks kinda dirty. Wondering what you guys recommend to do to clean it up? I've heard toothpaste might do it, and also a brillo pad and water but i don't if want to try that one lol.

Castro #66 · 03-04-2012, 08:32 PM

Both are abrasives, and I don't think I would recommend either one. I would be surprised if hot water and dish soap didn't do the trick.

Bobtheballer · 03-04-2012, 08:48 PM

Yeah I definitely wasn't going to try a brillo pad, and I wasn't sure about toothpaste on the ano. I'll probably just go with the hot water and dish soap. The lasering isn't to bad, but it could be a lot nicer looking

seanr · 03-04-2012, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobtheballer

Yeah I definitely wasn't going to try a brillo pad, and I wasn't sure about toothpaste on the ano. I'll probably just go with the hot water and dish soap. The lasering isn't to bad, but it could be a lot nicer looking

rubbing alcohol and a microfiber or a washcloth (soft so it doesn't scratch the anno)

Bobtheballer · 03-05-2012, 07:46 PM

Yeah surprisingly warm water and dish soap barely did anything. It pretty much just rubbed a few little spots off but for the most part its still there

I really don't want to try anything to abrasive like rubbing alcohol either

Castro #66 · 03-05-2012, 07:57 PM

Rubbing alcohol isn't abrasive, it should be just fine.

**msonic** · 03-05-2012, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castro #66

Rubbing alcohol isn't abrasive, it should be just fine.

It's all I use on my A1-

Bobtheballer · 03-05-2012, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castro #66

Rubbing alcohol isn't abrasive, it should be just fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by msonic

It's all I use on my A1-

Alright thanks guys. I'm just really afraid of messing up the ano. It fades from gloss red to dust black and looks amazing. I'll find some rubbing alcohol tho and try it out in a little bit though

seanr · 03-05-2012, 08:44 PM

Hope my advice worked. Glad there was some people to back it up

Bobtheballer · 03-05-2012, 09:34 PM

Haven't got a chance to try it yet. Turns out I have no rubbing alcohol

. I'll have to pick some up tomorrow

mymutter · 03-08-2012, 09:01 PM

lol. Flatscreen tv cleaner does work wonders. I wish I was kidding but it really does an amazing job!!

daewootech · 09-28-2012, 03:36 PM

So i decided to do a bit of testing on a scrap part of anodized aluminum i had. So i lasered a quick design on it on faster speeds and tried to throw stuff at it and scrub with some paper towels.

So far i tried hand soap, goo gone, and goof off, no change in the original anodizing, i dont have any other chemicals around here to try so ill try the toothpaste and alcohol and tv cleaner when i get home.

paintballer187 · 09-28-2012, 04:01 PM

So did the original engraving look that bad? What kind of engraver are you using?

daewootech · 10-05-2012, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintballer187

So did the original engraving look that bad? What kind of engraver are you using?

Yeah I did it real quick so I had the speed set a bit fast, I'm using a 25w Versalaser from ulc. And the artwork is just a generic bitmap from the web, didn't want to waste time making a vector with a test piece.

daewootech · 10-05-2012, 11:47 PM

I tried on an ASA from an old remote bumped the power and lowered the speed and it came out a bit cleaner. I rubbed some highlighter in the second mega man and a blue sharpie on the first. Then rubbed both with goof off and the sharpie wouldn't come off but the highlighter did, these pieces are remarkably tough, basicly started scratching at it and still couldn't get any change in the color or design.

ic3m5n · 10-06-2012, 08:50 AM

When you want to clean your gun you can go to your local autobody collision shop and ask for some "clean solvent" its used to prep the vehicles before it gets sprayed with new paint. The solvent is basicly a degreaser which will wipe off the oils and dirts from your marker it doesnt hurt paint either. This solvent however should not go in contact with any rubber accents of your marker such as grips and such because it will turn to white but should work fine on cleaning up laser etchings. Product name should be clean solvent or silicone wash solvent hope this helps.

NJatGU · 06-07-2013, 07:07 PM

clean solvent sounds abrasive. when you paint something you want to use something abrasive before painting so that the paint has something to hold on to. i tried the hdtv cleaner and rubbing alcohol but i couldnt get them to work either. bummer

xsvdynastypballa · 06-08-2013, 10:11 AM

Come on guys...

You will find it incredibly difficult to harm anodizing. The only thing you want to avoid is soaking in strong degreasers, strong bases, or acids or....sand paper

Solvents are your best bet and I have not seen one yet that will harm the anodizing. Here is my list.

Xylol
Toluene
Lacquer
MEK
Acetone

Again do not get them on plastics or rubbers.

Tooth paste will not scratch the anodizing...the anodizing is many times harder than the abrasive in tooth paste. If anything it will polish it a little. If you think about it anodizing is aluminum oxide, aluminum oxide is used as the abrasive in many polishes, sand papers, blasting medias...its incredibly hard stuff.

Some times you might have trouble removing some of the stains because it has actually precipitated inside of the pore of a now unsealed anodizing layer. I find rust to be the worst as solvents will do nothing to remove it.