Howdy. It's been ages since I last posted, but work and personal issues have gotten in the way of playtime.
For those of you with easy access to Dykem, this will be a useless post, but for those who are either cheap, or live in the machining hinterlands, read on.
Being unsatisfied with the staying power of permanent marker ink, and being unwilling to pay the cost of a good bottle of wine for a tiny bottle of Dykem, we've been experimenting with homebrew solutions (pardon the pun). It seems we've finally got a winner.
We filled a small jar with eythel alcohol, and added shellac flakes, swirling them around until the desired consistency was attained. This mixture was left overnight to reflect upon its sins. The next day the solution was restirred, and then a soupspoon of Prussian blue per 25cc of shellac mixture was added. The end result has proven to be fast drying, easy to apply, and long lasting. Among other tests, due to a phenomenally 'off day', I found that I had missed some critical layout marks by 2mm. I ended up filling in the 10mm holes in 10mm plate with the MIG. After welding, and grinding flat, I was still able to use the original marks, in the unaffected layout fluid, to properly drill the new holes. We've also left a test piece soaking in cutting fluid for 30 minutes without altering the resistance of the dye.
Solvent will remove the dye quickly and easily, when necessary.