Can our lasers etch/raster on a mirror?

Space Teams LASERS
1

I can’t find my notes from my laser training.

And I suppose the question is more accurately stated as etch/raster on glass

2

I’m not sure of the ones at the space, but my co2 laser at home etched glass amazing. Defines dontest passes to dial in the quality of the etch, but it looked great.

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3

There are some glass etch samples scattered around the space. I’m not sure how the mirroring would interact.

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4

Glass is very opaque to the 10.6um of a CO2 laser. The light turns to heat at the surface and etches it. It does not penetrate so the silvering in back will never even be hit.

Both vectors and raster “work”. Note that etching is white, so you might invert an image so the light parts of the image get etched white and the black parts do not.

5

I etch mirrors on a regular basis. The trick is to etch the back of the mirror. So you’re engraving away the reflective material. Just remember to flip you image so that it doesn’t appear backwards when you look at the front of the mirror.

Also be careful not to use vector on glass. It can rapidly heat the glass and cause it to crack or explode.

6

Good information. The potential project I’m planning wouldn’t work via the back of the mirror. So I’ll work on a different way to accomplish what I’m aiming to do. Thanks @MisterMayhem

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7

Chemicals are relatively easy to be used to etch the surface of glass. You may freehand with an applicator. Making a stencil (or set of) is slightly preferred by the non-artist wanting multiples alike. Note that more than two applications of the chemical add little, and only the first application has a significant affect. Thus, make the first application significantly heavy and complete.
The chemicals are typically available at hobby/craft stores like Hobby Lobby.
Someone with a vinyl cutter can make a perfect stencil. Got a friend with a Cricket Cutter?

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8

Hm, interesting idea @frsh . And likely closer to assist me with what I’m aiming to accomplish. The reason for the etching is to create a base for gluing copper to that mirror. Thanks for the suggestion!