Engraving Steel - Mustard laser experiment

Yeah… You read that right…

Even I am questioning my sanity right now , lasering food at 1am :face_with_spiral_eyes:

The pitch is: you’re supposed to be able to laser etch/engrave steel by applying mustard on top beforehand…

I must say I had my doubts, but it costs nothing to try, so…

Not really a success but it did something…

Btw, the smell is… Something on it’s own :joy:

It seems my mustard coating wasn’t uniform, so for the second test I covered the mustard with tape and applied light pressure

I also switched from “English Custard” to french “Moutarde de Dijon” because why not…

This one turned out pretty well but very faint
Washing it with IPA won’t erase it though, which is great

I made a third attempt, stacking a few layers of tape and cutting a window in it

Then you can apply the paste with a small scrapper to get an even layer

I didn’t take a picture of the result as it just failed to mark anything
I think the mustard layer was too thick

I’ll try again with thinner layers and let you know how that worked out, but it’s far too late now and I think I already lost a part of my mind in this :stuck_out_tongue:

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I have heard of this too. Never tried it. I use my xTool 20 watt d1pro to engrave steel. It takes numerous passes, but it works.

Hmmmm… “Moutarde de Dijon” et magret de canard…avec une pointe d’acier!

Only one more month till I’m back in the land where you can buy proper food in Supermarkets!!

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I’m not a fan of mustard (sorry, not sorry). But the French’s mustard (which is as american as you can get) comes in great bottles for wood glue.

Maybe try some Grey Poupon? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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If you’re feeling experimental you could try something so I don’t have to;

Spread a thin layer of powder coating pigment on the surface and laser that to see what happens.

Should work I reckon

This is absolutely insane, love it. :heart:

Do ham next!!! :joy:

I also had to google how to make mustard gas and whether it has something in common with mustard (hello terror watchlist here I come) to make sure you are not gassing yourself by accident:

Sulfur mustard is more commonly known as "mustard gas’'. This name "mustard gas"was first used when the chemical was sprayed during attacks in World War I. Sulfur mustard has nothing to do with mustard but gets its name from the yellow color and odor of mustard it may take on when mixed with other chemicals.

You are safe. :slight_smile:

in our house, we tend to prepare it with a balsamic vinegar sauce and salsifis :stuck_out_tongue:

In France, supermarket mustard comes in little glasses with illustrations for the kids.
i think every child here has had his own favourite mustard glass (s)he used for years ^^"

I’ve seen this one, but they advised to make a first pass to “carve” a little pocket, and then make a “fill” pass with the powder added
Also, it seems making a “line” operation afterwards helps with getting a good result
I don’t have epoxy powder at home right now to test it out though

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Oh yum! I don’t think we’ll move from the ‘gentle scoring and cooking after completely encasing in Moutarde de Dijon’ though. I shall consult my chef! :smiley:

Looks like “3 layers of tape thick” is the right amount of condiment…

I refilled and am making a second pass right now

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Pretty happy with the result after a slow second pass

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In our next épisode: “Can you laser-cook a duck?” :smiley:

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What power laser and what are your work parameters for this?

This is with a 10W optical power diode laser

Seems like the mustard etched the steel a little!

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I’ll let the lunch shops around here know about your new critical publication.

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I’m an expert !

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Another experiment for your list:

Spray entire area with peel-able paint
Laser off a design
Brush Ferric Chloride onto the exposed design
Rinse and peel off the paint

Actually I was thinking about something similar for copper
My wife has many of the required products as she made a few copper etching for letter press…

Another way to go at this would be to apply vinyl to the Steel, cut the design, remove the inside and etch it with saline water and electricity

I I tried cutting vinyl with a laser. No bueno.