Machinist's Dye?

[Bob]

I've found felt-tip marker to be a poor substitute for dykem dye.

Bob

[Joe AutoDrill]

It comes in blue, purple, red, green and black...

I forget where it was available (some have posted good links) but I personally use a black permanent marker these days and then acetone or alchohol to remove it when done.

[J T]

Sat, Nov 24, 2007, 10:02am (EST-3) [e-mail] (Ron=A0Hock) first did scribe:; spaco wrote: I have often wondered why one couldn't just get a tube of prussian blue oil paint, instead. Then did also scribe:: And yes, artist's oil Prussian blue is not only usable for high-spot marking but is often preferred by machinists claiming that some brands have more pigment.

My old man was a tool maker. I never heard him mention "anything" besides Prussian Blue for laying out, etc. Apparently it was the standard back then. Probably cheap, available, and worked. I'd been wonddering if anyone was gonna mention it. I'm with you tho, I think markers are the way to go - they're even available in the corner grocery store, in various colors, tip styles, mark on about anything, are inexpensive, and work.

JOAT You'll never get anywhere if you believe what you "hear". What do you "know"?.

- Granny Weatherwax

[J. Clarke]

Prussian Blue is a pigment that can be used in paints, inks, and other carriers or as a dry powder by itself. Calling something "Prussian Blue" doesn't tell you a lot--in machine shop practice its used in oil for checking interferences and in alcohol for layout, and in art it may be used in other formulations. It's famous mainly because it was the first widely available colorfast blue pigment to become available, in the early 1800s.

Markers may be OK for showing scribed lines, but they aren't so good for showing interferences. And have you ever tried to get dried marker off of anodized aluminum?

[J T]

Mon, Nov 26, 2007, 11:17am [e-mail] (J.=A0Clarke) doth query: And have you ever tried to get dried marker off of anodized aluminum?

No problem. The magic stuff is called paint. LMAO As you may have guessed, I'm not much for fancy. But, in real-life, if I actually was to mark on anodized aluminum, and wanted to protect the finish, I'd probably use masking tape, and mark on that. More likely, I'd never have any in the first place.

JOAT You'll never get anywhere if you believe what you "hear". What do you "know"?.

- Granny Weatherwax

[J. Clarke]

One time the Materials Lab at Enormous Aerospace spent three weeks trying to get marker off an anodized aluminum part needed for a dog and pony show. IIRC they finally stripped it and reanodized (you can do things like that at Enormous Aerospace).

Using masking tape and marking on that defeats the purpose of using layout fluid.