Hi, I purchased one of those cheap chinese laser engravers (k40) on eBay and was wondering if there was a way to engrave different types of metal. I heard you could spray something on the metal and it could be engraved. I'd like to try engraving aluminum, brass, copper, and steel. Any ideas?
You can use Cermark, expensive. There are some others that are being used, but they are very expensive. You can also use anodized aluminum. I have been using CRC Quick Dry Moly lube. I purchased mine from Amazon as I could not find it locally. It works on steel really good, aluminum requires a little practice.
anodized aluminum and coated metal can be engraved with your co2 laser directly,
if it's naked metal, you may need Thermark (TherMark Laser Marking) for help.