Yes, it is possible, even with laser engraving.
Here are a few things you can do that can help reduce the charred look when engraving metal:
- Increase the speed, which will reduce the “burn,” but this will also mean you will need to do more passes to achieve depth.
- Do a final clean-up pass to brighten the engraved area. You can do this by running the laser at about 30% of the power you used during the engraving process.
- Use rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab to clean the surface. This removes the soot that causes the engraving to look dark brown.
Please keep in mind that with gold filled material, you are exposing the brass core, and it will eventually tarnish.
The level of tarnish, or brownness, will look identical to the sides of a laser-cut gold filled connector that has been worn for some time.
This is a matter of personal preference, but darker engravings often make designs stand out more and lettering easier to read.
We engraved all of the following using her F1 Ultra. The piece in the middle is gold filled and used for permanent bracelets for sorority members.
Below is the logo for a health club. They ordered over a hundred of these for permanent bracelets for their members. The logo has wide grooves and appears white against the silver because the connector is high polish, while the engraved area is no longer reflective.
The Baby Bird pendant is made from handwriting.
We filmed the entire process, from writing to creating the final necklace, and it is now live on YouTube. You can see for yourself how to achieve a brighter engraving.
- xTool Laser Engravers
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✨ At Stones and Findings, we provide everything from high-quality blanks to professional training, so you can confidently expand your skills and offer meaningful, personalized pieces to your clients.
Watch the Full Engraving Demo
Want to see the process in action? 🎥
We filmed the entire engraving demo with Alex Warner live at PJX.