Awesome, you inspired me to try it!
I went for black marker but was not happy with the result. Then I tried black acrylic paint, which is what you see here. I’m wondering if anyone has tried using the laser to fix a pigment to get something more hard wearing? Glass power, enamel power, toner etc?
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HD sells apparently the same tile (no Lowes here) I’ve been having good success with this:
Daltile Restore Bright White 4-1/4 in. x 4-1/4 in. Ceramic Wall Tile
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Laserbits (now Johnsons Plastics) sells something like that, but with no control on air assist, not sure how you could use any of those powdered pigments…
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Thanks for this whole thread.
Read all the different advice and made two attempts. First one came out weak(not depicted), the second one was awesome. Making sure the image was 450 dpi and slowing the speed to 600 made the difference.
600/full @225 lpi(image at 450 dpi).
Also used the 6 inch tiles from home depot.
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Thanks for including this! I gave that a try and it works a treat.
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Good idea!
If you’re already running the laser twice you might want to try a 2-edge jigging, it not only sets your position (like the X method) but also prevents rotation (which the X method doesn’t).
Described here:
https://community.glowforge.com/t/alignment-of-irregular-objects-coasters/16116Just a question, how long do you let it dry before the wipe? And do you saturate the broad (wide type) areas? I have a few designs I’m working on and they have some broad (1/2") areas to fill.
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Finally did my first etch today on 4x4" tile (fortunately have a box in the basement from when I tiled my shower 14 years ago!), using 600 speed; full power, 250 LPI. This is using a copyright-free historic botanical image. Pretty pleased with it. Black sharpie and I extra scrubbed with alcohol on a paper towel-- I wanted to get more ink off than less to show the intricacy of the ‘texture’ of the original image. Thanks for the advice from all on settings. IMG_1061|500x500
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I try to remove the oil-based sharpie as quickly as possible. If it dries too much, it requires too much acetone to remove.
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Uh-oh! That’s an adorably squeeeee worthy critter you’re trying to sneak past me! 
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Oooh. Where can someone such as I locate this Hedgehog in a Tea Cup artwork? My wife likes Hedgehogs and Tea. Win win if I can make her one… and then maybe she won’t complain as much about how much time I spend in my workshop with “that damn machine”.
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I bought it quite awhile ago…can’t remember where😞 I have a fox, dog and cat in tea cups too.
Secret to getting a nice dark color fill.
Use a Mr Clean eraser, slightly damp and just drag it gently over the design…it will take off the sharpie eventually (took about a minute…). Resist the urge to press down and you will get a nice deep color left behind.
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I buy Magic Erasers by the gross.
(No kidding, they’re a lot cheaper if you just buy a box of Melamine Sponges off of EBay.)
That looks fantastique. 
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Tried using clear acrylic to set the regular Sharpies and some of the colors ran. I was able to clean up some, but all the clear came off.
I have the oil markers so going to try that. Anyone else have come up with a waterproof solution?
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im thinking whatever solvent is in the spray acrylic made the marker run. Perhaps try brushing on modpodge, then spray acrylic for the shine (if that’s what you are looking for?)
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WalMart carries an off-brand (not Mr Clean Magic Eraser) for about half price in 20 or 40 count boxes.
Amazon has them as well.
I put them in an old Mr Clean container so I can pretend they’re the “real” thing 
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i have the oil markers and have done one, but i haven’t tested the “waterproof” qualities of it.
/uploads/db6859/optimized/3X/7/3/7396210cb74b5214dde64dccaa412db1414fb1d0_1_252x500.jpeg
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The sharpie markers are technically waterproof. I sprayed my tile with water and put a paper towel on it and it did not transfer color.
A tile layer friend of mine suggested grout sealer (will need to check ingredients to see if any are solvents to sharpie)
Other suggestion was Scotchguard and also good old floor wax.
Oh and @Jules, I guess I’ll be buying these things in bulk too…one for each color…lol at least I got 3 per sponge.
Here’s the whole set…
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