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Thread: LaserLights adhesive - removable?

  1. #1

    LaserLights adhesive - removable?

    Hi,
    I'm sorry if this has already been asked but I didn't find anything with search...
    A customer is asking for an order of rather complicated plaques in 1/8 acrylic. The plaques are for "this aisle sponsored by..." kind of thing with annual sponsorships. They are asking for a name plate that looks like brushed aluminum, will stay put for a year and then can be replaced if the sponsor changes.
    I am considering LaserLights for the name plates since the size of the name plate is non standard and the color looks right. The piece that has me worried is the removal after a year.

    Has anyone tried to remove LaserLights after a considerable amount of time? Anything past a few weeks even?
    Any alternatives I should be thinking of?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Savusavu, Fiji
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    1,167
    In my very limited experience, if the surface you put it on is not very smooth, it can be removed pretty easily for at least for a couple of months. Others hopefully can share more experience.
    Longtai 460 with 100 watt EFR, mostly for fun. More power is good!! And a shop with enough wood working tools to make a lot of sawdust. Ex-owner of Shenhui 460-80 and engraving business with 45 watt Epilog Mini18.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Michelmersh, ROMSEY, Hampshire UK
    Posts
    1,020
    The adhesive backing of Laserlights disolves in petrol (gas) and some commonly available cleaning solvents, so removing and cleaning up should not be a problem.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Cape Town, South Africa
    Posts
    3,922
    Use a piece of the thin romark Flexibrass - brushed silver - use a double sided tape on it , a lot cheaper and also is a lot stiffer - the laserlights will look wavy on larger areas.
    Rodney Gold, Toker Bros trophies, Cape Town , South Africa :
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  5. #5
    Flexicolor is nice to work with - it is about .020" (.50 mm) thick. If you don't run the PSA tape right to the edge, then you can lift a corner to peel it off later. I find that most PSAs will release much better when warmed up. You may want to mask the background of the acrylic while you are reworking the tag. Get as much residue off mechanically by rolling it off. For the remaining residue you may want to try naphtha or kerosene. More aggressive solvents can damage the acrylic.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Chesterton, IN
    Posts
    32
    Why not try to incorporate magnets on the materials for easy removal?
    45w Epilog Lengend 36EXT, 20w Epilog Fibermark, Corel x5, and SolidWorks 2011 using Windows 7.

  7. #7
    Wow - thanks for the info!

    Looking at johnson plastics' site, laserlights cost about 1/2 as much as the flexibrass. Is it worth it to use the flexibrass?
    I'm guessing .020 vs .004, being stiffer makes it easier to align and stick?

    Also, it's for 4"x2" rounded corner name plates going on cast acrylic.

  8. #8
    I did the signage at my office building, including the directory. The directory case in the lobby doesn't have brackets or anything (it's a 1950's building and directory-case), so each directory nameplate was basically an adhesive backed thin IPI laserable plastic that just stuck to the back of the case. Every few months a new business moves in as another moves out, and I have to rearrange everything on the directory, and it's not a problem peeling them off to shuffle them around.
    -Pete B
    ULS PS-50; Epilog 32 (30 watt); Epilog Radus (100 watt); Epilog Legend 24TT (30 watt).

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