Infill of engraved aluminum

Is there a special paint used for infilling engraved aluminum? Perhaps one that doesn't stick to anodized surfaces? Or is "regular" paint used and the surface cleaned with a solvent?

I ordered some hand stamps to mark panels and I want to try to fill the stamp mark.

There was a thread about this within the last few months. Syringe application was covered.

Thanks. I found the other thread. Very interesting. That EFD tool is a nice contraption. I'll give the epoxy ink and syringe method a go. These panels will be prototypes. If they come out well enough I may keep them. If not than I'll go back to plan A and do powder coating with laser engraving.

I've never done any graphics/drafting before with a computer or otherwise. I figure it would be best to do layouts by hand so I can get immediate visual feedback. I'm not good at visualizing 3D images. Then I'll have something to work towards in learning the CAD program.

Learning a cad program for something as basic as hole layout and text is easy as pie.

[quote author="Ptownkid"]easy as pie.[/quote]


This is one phrase I never believe. I've tried to get a handle on illustrator and tried a demo of Q-CAD before and was utterly lost with both.

I tried to make pie once.

I ended up making brownies instead. Much easier.

as a cad program...illustrator is extremely hard to learn, especially without the cadtools plugin.

I'll poke around for an easy one, but I learned the basics of autocad in a week using tutorials.

Q-Cad has a very simple, easy to read help manual. I have a duel monitor setup (iBook G4 12" with a flat panel hooked up to the monitor output) and I have the manual running on the small laptop screen, while the program running on the big LCD. If I'm having trouble with something, I'll just search without having to change windows and stuff.

Yep, the QCad learning curve is all about changing your thoughts about an object, and how you have to really divide it into hundreds of tiny objects. The manual is a big help with that.

Regarding filling punched panels, baking a pie is easier in that the "look" of the pie is secondary to the taste.
I could never get a good "cliffs of Dover" edge to a punched character, and instead get more of a "Mexico City" plunge. Any infilling creates a swimming pool look and not a clean reflecting pool look. I have abandoned infilling punches.
The syringe looks great with tool engraved panels!
Mike

[quote author="sodderboy"] I have abandoned infilling punches.
The syringe looks great with tool engraved panels!
[/quote]

That's good to know. I'll give it a go anyway. I have to learn the hard way.

Does anyone know of a steel type or finish that when punched will give a contrasting color? Light to dark or dark to light.

The only kind of anodizing I like is clear so aluminum is out.