How do you clean up your piece after wood burning? Sanding puts the soot into the grain. Can you stain and seal first, then laser, then sand off the top layer of sealer and recoat?
Have a read here, I have used this method.
What kind of wood are you using?
I use white vinegar or isopropyl and a brush to clean the wood. You can also finish the wood before engraving, but, depending on the end goal, you’ll have to put another coat on after to seal the engraving. Either way, blue tape beforehand goes a long way in simplifying cleanup.
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Neil is on to the best way … masking.
You can get special masking material meant for “big” lasers, but I just use my normal paint masking material - vinyl shelf paper. The masking keeps the soot off of the material.
Since I can’t mask everything, I added an air assist nozzle for my JTech 7W laser. With a small air blower, it directs air around the laser spot and effectively blows any soot away before it settles.
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