Brushed Aluminum on Black Engraving Acrylic – 1/16" - 1/8"

Brushed aluminum-look microsurfaced acrylic with a black core – laser engrave or CNC route the metallic surface to reveal crisp, high-contrast black designs.

Create professional signs, labels, displays, awards, and identification products with Brushed Aluminum on Black Engraving Acrylic. This two-ply, impact-modified acrylic features a brushed aluminum-look microsurface over a contrasting black acrylic substrate. Engrave through the approximately 0.003" aluminum surface layer to expose the black underneath, creating clean, permanent graphics without paint filling or additional color application.

The brushed metallic surface provides the clean, industrial appearance of aluminum while offering the lightweight construction and fabrication advantages of an engineered acrylic engraving substrate. Its fine directional brushed finish adds subtle texture and depth, making it an excellent choice for professional signage, equipment labels, control panels, awards, identification products, and branded displays.

Part of the Duets Laser Indoor Metallic line, this material is designed specifically for indoor applications and works with laser engraving, laser cutting, rotary engraving, CNC routing, UV-LED printing, and other fabrication methods.

Why Buy from MakerStock?

• High-Contrast Engraving: Engrave through the brushed aluminum surface to reveal a permanent black image underneath.

• Realistic Metallic Appearance: Get the professional look of brushed aluminum with the consistency and ease of fabrication of an acrylic engraving material.

• Ultra-Thin Microsurface: The approximately 0.003" aluminum-look face requires only shallow engraving to expose the contrasting black substrate.

• Laser & CNC Ready: Designed for laser engraving, laser cutting, rotary engraving, CNC routing, and other fabrication methods.

• Indoor Applications: Designed specifically for interior signage, awards, displays, identification products, and other indoor projects.

• UV-LED Printable: Suitable for UV-LED printing when projects require additional graphics or color.

• Easy to Fabricate: Material can be cut, routed, drilled, scored, sheared, bonded, and thermoformed using appropriate fabrication techniques.

• Affordable and Fast Shipping: $12 flat-rate shipping per 50lb box across the continental US from our two warehouses in PA and UT.

• No Minimum Order Requirements: Order one sheet for a project or stock up for your business, school, makerspace, or fabrication shop.

Perfect For

• Interior Signs: Create professional office signs, business signs, directories, room identification, and branded signage with a brushed aluminum appearance.

• Equipment & Identification Labels: Make machine labels, control-panel tags, equipment identification plates, asset labels, serial plates, and organizational markers.

• Awards & Trophies: Produce award plates, plaques, trophy components, recognition pieces, donor plaques, and commemorative displays.

• Nameplates & Tags: Create professional desk plates, door signs, employee nameplates, identification tags, and personalized markers.

• Directional & Wayfinding Signs: Produce room numbers, directional markers, facility signs, directories, and identification panels.

• Retail & Display Signage: Create premium product signs, promotional displays, shelf markers, branded fixtures, and point-of-purchase displays.

• Corporate & Professional Interiors: Create directories, conference room signs, department identification, recognition displays, and branded signage with a clean industrial aesthetic.

Project Inspiration

• Sign Makers: Laser engrave detailed lettering, logos, icons, and graphics into the brushed aluminum surface to expose the contrasting black underneath.

• Fabrication Shops: Create machine identification plates, control-panel labels, equipment tags, serial plates, and organizational signage without having to machine actual aluminum.

• Businesses: Create professional office signs, directories, nameplates, door signs, and branded displays.

• Awards & Recognition: Produce achievement awards, trophy plates, donor recognition pieces, commemorative plaques, and employee awards.

• Retailers: Build premium product signs, display labels, promotional pieces, and branded fixtures with a brushed metallic appearance.

• Makers: Turn custom artwork, typography, patterns, and illustrations into permanent aluminum-and-black engraved designs without paint filling.

Explore Related Products

• Other Two-Color Engraving Acrylics: Explore additional color combinations for signs, labels, awards, displays, and custom engraving projects.

• Wood Look Engraving Acrylic: Choose simulated wood surfaces for projects requiring a natural wood-inspired appearance.

• Anodized Aluminum: Choose real metal when your application requires an actual aluminum substrate rather than an aluminum-look acrylic.

Specifications

• Material: Microsurfaced impact-modified acrylic.

• Product Line: Duets Laser Indoor Metallic.

• Construction: Two-ply / two-color acrylic.

• Surface Color / Appearance: Brushed Aluminum.

• Core / Engraved Color: Black.

• Total Thickness: 1/16" (1.6mm) or 1/8" (3.2mm)

• Aluminum-Look Microsurface: Approximately 0.003" thick.

• Recommended Engraving Depth: Approximately 0.003" to expose the black substrate.

• Finish: Brushed metallic.

• Engravable Side: Front engravable.

• Masking: Film masked on the front (engraving) side only. The reverse side is unmasked.

• Indoor / Outdoor Rating: Indoor use only.

• UV-LED Printable: Yes.

• Thermoformable: Yes; material can be heat bent using appropriate fabrication techniques.

• Bondable: Yes.

• Additional Fabrication: Can be sheared, scored, and drilled using appropriate techniques.

• Product Code: L-801-10.

• Tolerances: All MakerStock panel dimensions are cut to tolerances of +0"/-0.188".

Suggested Laser Settings

Laser settings should always be treated as a starting point. Results can vary based on machine condition, optics, focus, exhaust, material batch, and other factors. Test on a scrap piece before beginning your finished project.

35 Watt Systems – Laser Indoor / Laser XT

• Raster Power: 40

• Raster Speed: 100

• Vector Power: 45

• Vector Speed: 20

50 Watt Systems – Laser Indoor / Laser XT

• Raster Power: 30

• Raster Speed: 100

• Vector Power: 35

• Vector Speed: 20

Pro Tip

You only need to remove the thin brushed aluminum-look microsurface when engraving. The surface layer is approximately 0.003" thick, so avoid engraving unnecessarily deep into the black substrate. A shallow, properly focused engraving pass will generally produce sharper details, cleaner lettering, and stronger aluminum-to-black contrast.

Because the surface has a directional brushed finish, pay attention to grain direction when laying out and cutting multiple pieces. Keeping the brushed pattern oriented consistently across signs, nameplates, equipment labels, or multi-piece displays will give the finished project a more uniform, professional appearance.

The sheet is film masked on the front engraving side only to help protect the finished surface during handling and fabrication. The reverse side is not masked. Leave the front masking in place during cutting when appropriate for your process, then remove it after fabrication.

FAQs

• What does "Brushed Aluminum on Black" mean? The sheet has a thin brushed aluminum-look microsurface over a black acrylic substrate. Laser engraving or routing through the metallic surface reveals the black underneath, producing permanent two-color graphics.

• Is Brushed Aluminum on Black real aluminum? No. It is a microsurfaced impact-modified acrylic designed to provide the appearance of brushed aluminum while retaining the lightweight construction and fabrication characteristics of acrylic.

• Can Brushed Aluminum on Black acrylic be laser cut? Yes. Duets Laser Indoor is designed for laser engraving and vector cutting. Always test your settings first, particularly when working with a new machine or material.

• Can I CNC route or rotary engrave it? Yes. The material can be CNC routed and rotary engraved in addition to laser processing. Use appropriate tooling and settings to remove the aluminum-look microsurface cleanly without cutting unnecessarily deep into the black substrate.

• Can it be used outdoors? No. Duets Laser Indoor Metallic is intended for indoor applications only. For outdoor signage, choose a material specifically rated for exterior use.

• Do I need to paint-fill the engraving? No. Removing the brushed aluminum microsurface exposes the black acrylic underneath, creating the contrasting graphic without adding paint.

• Can it be printed? Yes. The material is UV-LED printable, allowing printed graphics and color to be incorporated into signs, displays, identification products, and other projects.