Does anyone have any options for laser engraving acrylic painted wood. I can’t seem to burn past the paint down to the wood.
My 130W CO2 has no problem.
Maybe if you gave such nuggets of info as:
What power laser?
What are your settings?
And what kind of machine?
Not so many laser users are psychic as compared to the general population 
Sorry, new to this so I don’t know what to specifically ask for. I use the Ortur Master 2 with the 20V laser. I’ve used 100% power with a slow speed and I’ve tried other combinations of speed and power and I can’t seem to get past the acrylic paint. It burns the paint but it scrapes right off after I’m done. I’m not sure what else to contribute since I don’t know the jargon.
If you’re using white paint, that would likely be why. Your diode laser uses visible light which is mostly reflected by white surfaces, so you’d have to go really slow to punch through it. Once it starts to discolor, it will absorb more light / heat and burn a little faster, which can make it hard to tune.
Thank you. The paint is valspar acrylic paint and it’s a pour, meaning it has different colors poured on a surface of wood. I’ll just have to keep at it and see if I can come up with a good combination to get past the paint.
Make sure the diode is focused as small as possible, as that will be really important too.
Yes. At first I didn’t realize that was a thing until I ran across a video that instructed that and I have since adjusted it. Is it possible I just need a stronger laser?
I believe the answer we all give when asked this question is “Yes!” no matter what we currently have. 
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So I’m new to all this laser engraving bit. What brands or kinds of lasers would you recommend? I just have the standard diode laser that comes with the Ortur Engraver.
This is where I will step back and await the communities responses. To help, maybe you can offer a bit about the types of lasing you anticipate doing and what types of material you would like to use for your work. Is this a hobby effort or do you plan to do production for this system? Any info you can share will help all hone in on appropriate responses.
Thank you. Yes. I would eventually like to make laser engraving some type of business. I’ve been able to engrave plain wood efficiently but I wanted to add color to some projects. When I came across acrylic pouring this would be a good addition to my product. Without success have not been able to successfully penetrate the acrylic paint into the wood. The times I have, the burn looks distorted and messy. There is a little bit of over-burn “spray” on the edges of the burn. (If that makes sense. If not, I guess you just have to experience it.) I’m just trying to get a clean burn like I do with naked wood pieces.
Even more powerful CO2 lasers have issues with poured acrylics.
And they’re very toxic.
I’ve never tried to cut or engrave anything that’s been pre-painted, thus my suggestion may not work. On the other hand, it’s worth a try.
From time to time I use sign writer’s masking tape to cover my work piece. The tape is tacky, but won’t remove existing paint. Cover the surface to be engraved with the tape and see how you go, Removing the tape is relatively easy except if the work is very fine.
The tape is about 150 mm wide and available from Sign writing materials suppliers for around AU $16. It goes a long way. It also stops the surface burning.
Before investing on the tape, try any fawn masking tape on a sample.
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