Wood marking issues

Im having issues with my wood after I’ve engraved a design. When i try and clean it, there are stains all over. Any tips on a clean finished product

Several things: If you are not sealing the wood before engraving, use water based sanding sealer, sand with fine sandpaper, apply at least one coat of water based poly.
Refuse/smoke residue will wipe off but some of your burn in the engraving will come off plus if the engraving portion has not been sealed afterward the residue will migrate to flat surface.
Your image has many small patches but my fix for all of this is to cover the piece with bonding paper that is safe for lasering. If the image isn’t dark enough or you wish it to be another color simply spray with colored pigmented ink meant for this purpose then peel the paper off.

1 Like

If you absolutely don’t want to deal with residue, then use a mask paper. You engrave through that, but taking it off when you have small details is tedious, but will leave the surface pristine. If not, I use 50% to 90% Isopropyl Alcohol to wipe my wood down. Note that the softer and more porous woods will absorb the residue, so clean… and you also can reduce the blasting, it looks like you really got some char going… :slight_smile: … that will help a bit. And when you wipe with alcohol, always finish with a clean cloth, if you still are picking up residue on the clothe, keep going… ( I also have been known to apply a spray thin coat of lacquer to the surface before lasering… this also prevents residue from getting into the grain… but possible fumes, make sure ventilated )

Do you have air assist? That will not only blow away a lot of the smoke (and reduce any build up), it will keep your final lens cleaner.

yes, I have air assist

thank you everyone, I’m going to try these methods, Appreciate your time!

You can also just sand it off, that’s what I ususally do on unfinished woods, If I want it clean to start I will use a medium tack masking paper, and a tip to remove the small pieces of masking paper (the type I use anyway) is to dampen it with a spray bottle of water, then it just falls off and wipe clean after.

I agree with shipmodler, I put a light coat of finish on things that would require a ton of weeding to remove tape.