Coating over Thermark

[mike wallis]

Hello everyone,
I've been using Thermark for several years now to mark metal. Thermark is a good product however on certain metals such as brushed stainless steel, Thermark can be difficult to see at certain angles. While cleaning the coating with alcohol I noticed that the viewing angle was increased greatly while the Thermark coating was still wet. My question is has anyone ever coated Thermark or Cermark with a clear coat? If so will the coating effect the longevity of the mark? The biggest issue I can see is that the clear coat may oxidize over time.
On a side note if anyone has any ways of increasing the contrast/Viewing angle while using Thermark on Stainless I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for reading!
Mike

[Kev Williams]

I laser etch brass cowbells and clearcoat those, and it makes the Cermark look like gloss black paint. However, the clearcoat is out of necessity due to the fact the etching isn't all that permanent on the brass--

But I would never clearcoat stainless other than by customer request. What I DO use is Weimans stainless steel cleaner/polish. Makes the stainless AND the etching look nice. However, it's only temporary as it eventually evaporates.

[greg lindsey]

I have used cermark for years , it will fade when exposed to sunlight over time. Ferro recommends clear coating, they have a specific company that makes a coating, don't know it off the top of my head but if you contact Dennis he will give you the info. I have used thermark (water based) as well and find that cermark(alcohol based) works much better. Both will look lighter in florescent lighting, take it into the sunlight and it will appear darker. A quick fix to darken is apply pledge or similar wood polish, it will darken temporally. Brushed SS, always mark in the direction of the grain for best look.

[Mike Null]

I have one customer who insists I coat the Cermark. (their item is $38.50 each so I do what they want) I use the coating recommended by Cermark. It is Superior Shield. www.shieldproducts.com

It is fairly expensive and you have to pay a shipping premium.

[Dan Hintz]

Mike,

Perhaps you meant www.superiorshieldor.net ?

[Mike Null]

Dan

This is a Florida company and the site I listed is the one on the can. There doesn't seem to be much going on at that site though.

A couple of years back I talked with the owner, an elderly gentleman, who had formulated the coating and then had it made and packaged by somebody else.

[mike wallis]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Kev, I agree, I would rather not coat the stainless especially for outdoor applications. I'm hoping maybe someone knew of a wonder product that can be applied and last a long time.

Greg, thanks for the info about the florescent lights, natural lighting did make a big difference.
I didn't know that Cermark would fade over time outdoors. In contrast I contacted Thermark and they said that there coating when applied correctly will not fade outdoors. Do you have any experience with the Thermark longevity outdoors? I'm not sure why Cermark would fade and Thermark would not. Maybe Thermark uses a different pigment compound.

Mike, thanks for the contact. I'll look into it.