I bought some black chalk board at home depot, in the mdf/particle area, not sure if it is safe to laser. I checked the docs but didn’t see the exact material, so I’m checking here. I plan on both etching and cutting. Thanks!!
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This material could be the poster child for “how to research your material”.
Start with posting the link to the MSDS sheet here.
ok…
Laser basics doc that has materials to cut/not cut
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SufIBiCeqGhcpOA9MKTTIdf4LPZ_xQiR8p3Mq1Kb-5k/edit?pli=1
Go/no-go list of materials
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Laser_Cutter_Materials
Suggested material settings (which doubles a “go” list), is this what you are referring to as the MSDS?
Here is the manual:
http://www.thunderlaser.com/download/down/User’s_manual_for_NOVA63.pdf
Also I’d like to add this quote from the DMS Laser Committee page, “If it is not on the list, if you are uncertain, if you can’t locate an MSDS, don’t use the material. Post a question on the Talk forum using the Laser category and we will do our best to help.”
You’d need an MSDS for the chalk board material. You could try looking the SKU up on the Home Depot website or calling Home Depot and asking for an MSDS.
Edit - you can send a text to Home Depot customer service by texting your question to 38698.
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This. plus 20 characters…
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Couldn’t you just cut whatever you’re wanting and paint it with chalkboard paint? Just an option for you - might not be the avenue you want to go.
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Don’t bother. Whatever the SDS says, someone will pick out some compound to fret over.
In spite of the fact that both MDF and painted materials are on the “ok” list.
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Plus 20 characters? I don’t understand.
That was my concern, that whatever the blackboard material is could be dangerous. I was hoping someone here had experience with blackboard already and could give a quick “yes” or “no”.
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Hey Sam,
When replying to messages here on Talk, it needs to be a minimum of 20 characters. That’s why @heyheymama wrote “plus 20 characters”. Mostly she was reiterating what @jswilson64 was saying.
The MSDS will have information about the makeup of the material in the chalkboard. It does not appear to already be in the Laser library of information. I did a quick google scan and only found an MSDS on the spray on chalkboard paint.
You should do some searching, and maybe call Home Depot and ask for a copy of the MSDS, then the laser experts here will have more to work with to answer your questions. Good on you for asking, rather than just doing and possibly causing damage!
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The shortest response that the Discourse (Talk) system will allow is 20 characters. So when people have a short response they fill out their response with various spurious characters to hit the required 20 characters.
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My perspective on the matter is: “When in doubt, don’t risk damaging a $15,000.00 Laser on a $20 piece of unknown material”. Sure seems reasonable to me.
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That’s a good idea, it’s just that the laser engraved look has a certain feel to it that I want, and I don’t think I can get it with paint. Thanks for the suggestion 
They are referring to material safety data sheet (MSDS) in case you did not know what that stood for. It will give you what it is composed of and safety risks for the material.
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If this is the MDF board with the black coating on it, then the MDF is OK but the black coating is the question. It might just be paint, but it could be some kind of plastic too. What would be bad is if it is PVC based or something like that.
The rustoleum chalkboard paint just contains carbon black and a bunch of solvents that evaporate. If it is like that, you’d be good.
Ideally, Home Depot will have an MSDS for that product so you know for sure
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I went to home Depot and they don’t have it anymore, I have a pic of the sku and they couldn’t find any info. I did a search and couldn’t come up with anything either.
Any ideas?
So I went back and found a manager, they called 3E who is there contact or distributor, and they said it’s a finished product so there isn’t a MSDS on it officially, but they what they had, which is:
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I guess to answer your question more specifically, I want to etch/raster, so the design is not black but everything else is. Is it permissible to spray paint a board of mdf and then etch/cut that with the laser. Will paint on a board mess up the laser? If I need to find a MSDS I understand, but if anyone happens to know, please advise
3E is a place to get all the SDS. That’s what they do. Its who we use at my work.
That sheet only mentions the wood part.
If the black part is clearly just a very thin coating of paint, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Do a small test cut, look for excessive smoke or soot.
If the wood is 1/2 “ thick, you’ll likely need to cut in several passes.
Watch for black smoke or soot that doesn’t look like it does when cutting wood alone.
Stop if anything smells bad.
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