Below is a testimonial from Peter Cyr, an RDWorks Lab member and LaserBond 100 user. My only comments on Peter's remarks are that the Liquid Ink should ALWAYS be diluted with denatured alcohol NOT distilled water. The alcohol is necessary to overcome surface tension and avoid any beading up or streaking of the LaserBond 100 material on the substrate surface. It is recommended that the alcohol dilution should be AT LEAST 1:1 for application by foam brush and AT LEAST 2:1 for use with an airbrush.
I purchased some LaserBond 100 from Paul Harrison (RDWorks forum sponsor and all round good guy) for use on stainless steel mugs. My wife found some Yeti mugs that have slip off handles which makes engraving easier.
Having reviewed many others work and setting as well as reviewing Paul's and other manufacturers’ power and speeds for engraving this type product, I settled on 175mm/sec at 35watts. I have also experimented and found that the speed and power for this product can be varied as a ratio. 1/2 the speed and 1/2 the power (87mm/sec & 17watts) works as well.
The texture of the engraving is much finer (less course to the touch) than previous products on the market I have used. I have a 150ml container of LaserBond 100. The directions specify diluting the solution by 50% with distilled water or ethanol. Not wanting to waste good alcohol I used some rubbing alcohol instead (it tastes terrible) to dilute the Laserbond. I initially tried distilled water but it took forever to dry and did not maintain a decent colloidal suspension so it ran in streaks and it was difficult to get a uniform coating.
I use a small air brush "Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP G3 Pistol Grip Airbrush Gun / Gravity Feed Fixed Dual Action". It is light has a small gravity feed cup and is easy to use.
If you have only the occasional need to engrave metal the LaserBond 100 aerosol spray can may be more practical.
Satisfied Member/Customer
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- Posts: 1964
- Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016
- Location: Suffolk Virginia
- Country: United States
- Laser Machine Make or Type: Boss 1630
- Laser Power: 100w
- Laser Bed Size: 16"x30"
- Home Position: TR
- Control Software: RDWORKS
- RDWorks Version: v8.01.18
- Ruida Controller: RDC6442
- Windows Version: Win 10
- Accessories: roller rotary attachment
Location - VA
Equipment - Boss Laser 1630
Power - 100W
Laser Bed Size - 16" x 30"
Home Position - TR
Full RDWorks Version - v8.01.18
First name - Pete
Equipment - Boss Laser 1630
Power - 100W
Laser Bed Size - 16" x 30"
Home Position - TR
Full RDWorks Version - v8.01.18
First name - Pete