Lasers & ****** Spray Paint

[Ryan]

Been messing around with the laser this morning… Total cut and engrave time was about 50 minutes. I taped off some 6mm ply before running the job, then hit it with some cheap spray paint afterward—and just like that, I’ve got a quick, kind of gritty, artsy take on a Brillo box.

Normally I lean toward clean lines and fine detail in my projects, but there’s something I really dig about the rough, thrown-together vibe on this one. It feels honest. Almost accidental in a good way. Fun, I guess...

 

[Homebody]

Agreed, that looks great!!
I'd even have to sand and scuff it a bit more to give it an even more aged look.

 

[Ryan]

Agreed, that looks great!!
I'd even have to sand and scuff it a bit more to give it an even more aged look.

I almost spilled my coffee on it... on purpose... I also thought about getting some of that super ****** Minwax water based stain in BRIGHT yellow... Just hastily go over the whole thing and then wipe it off.

A fella could go from ******, but cool to ****** and ****** super fast I think.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Would be cool to see a quick vid of something like that running...

 

[Ryan]

Would be cool to see a quick vid of something like that running...

I'm making one... Give me a week or so...

 

[Firebrick43]

So do I under stand it right that you,

Taped the whole surface

Laser cut through the tape in the red areas

Spray painted

Then cut/burn the black areas?

Or did you paint the black areas?

 

[Ryan]

So do I under stand it right that you,

Taped the whole surface

Laser cut through the tape in the red areas

Spray painted

Then cut/burn the black areas?

Or did you paint the black areas?

Close. The only burnt areas were the edges. I sanded the black off. The darker letters are actually navy blue.

 

[Ryan]

I guess there are two points to this little exercise:

1. Get a feel for how to actually use this laser.
2. Make something fast and loose—minimal labor, more instinct, less robot precision.

And honestly? It’s been a blast. I’ve got less than 30 minutes of hands-on time in it so far… and yeah, it looks like it—but that’s kind of the charm. Still not quite finished... I might have 7 to 10 more minutes of time to give up.

I like that it sort of looks like hell, but feels expensive.

 

[LeonardY]

That's great. Just a suggestion. I would ding up the box a little. Use a chain or a round bar and loosely hit it. Corners get rounded fast.

I always enjoy just making something for a reason but with no real plans. I built my chop saw/ planer cart that way. I intended to plan and rebuild it when I had time. it's been 25 years and it still works.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Nice project!

 

[Ryan]

Still recovering from a wild birthday party for my youngest, but the box is officially done. I ended up sanding more of the yellow off, dousing the whole thing in coffee, letting it dry out, and then hitting it with a coat of glossy clear. I never use glossy clear—ever—but somehow it just worked here.

It’s such a ridiculous little box… and I kind of love it.