same here
I did 150 of the white 11 cent tiles for a charity function at UCLA last Saturday. I engraved them with 6 different messages. And then, kids at the event colored them in with markers.
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Since folks are talking about where to buy tilesāif you enjoy a bit of a treasure hunt, donāt forget to check out Habitat for Humanity or other building salvage stores (Second Use is good one in Seattle & Tacoma)āyou can find loads of tiles brought in left over from projects (DIYers or contractors), and often better and/or even cheaper than big box stores!
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I hadnāt thought about this, but youāre right! Last time I was in Habitat for Humanity I did see a lot of tiles, but that was pre-glowforge days so it slipped my mind. Thanks for the reminder!
My slate etching didnāt seem to provide enough zone for filling with acrylic, but I havenāt really tested that. I do have an customer that was interested in acrylic fills on slate though. Hmmm
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I was more referring to the ceramic tiles. Those go deeper, right?
My ceramic engraving was not trying to go too deep. Here are a few close-ups of my detail.
@raymondking32 seems to be the ceramic tile master here, so he may have better answers for you. He does something similar to what you may be trying to do - shown above.
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Whoa, is this after youāve engraved on the ceramic, or after youāve done some fill? It looks like your glaze is getting melted rather than being vaporized.
In regards to this question, Iāve not tried using acrylic paint to fill my etchings. Iāve stuck solely to sharpies, but to give you a sort of answer, I guess it depends on the fluidity of the acrylic paint youāre using. The porous nature of the ceramic is quite absorbent, but it does wick is what Iāve found. Iād say it does goes ādeep enoughā to take acrylic paint, but your results may vary.
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This is after using a Sharpie to add color. Engrave / Speed 300 / Full.
I see that you used 1000 / Full. Maybe I was too slow?
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How did you color that? I am trying to make some stuff for a buddy and so far sharpy is not working great for me.
They used LaserTile. Do a search for it on this forum and you will find a lot of listings. It reacts to the laser beam and darkens. I just lasered the surface glaze and then used a Sharpie to blacken it. My approach cost about $0.16 for a 4.25ā tile and $0.46 for a 6 inch tile.
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If you could post a pic from before you color it, that would give me a better idea, but I would assume that the slow speed is affecting the ceramic as well as the glaze and causing this effect. Could be wrong, though!
Do you use gloss spray over the Sharpie colors? Iām having issues with the color bleeding once I spray my tiles.
I have found that using painters tape on the tile, like a 4 by 4 tile from Loweās and running the glowforge at 600 speed and full power with two passes. Cuts nice and deep and allows for you to use acrylic paint after the cut and before you peel the tape to get a really decent quality coloring of the etch.
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I used both, gloss and matte. The gloss matched she sheen of the tile much better. The matte gave it a cool effect though.
I did not use spray, it was the cheapest acrylic bottle Walmart had in the crafting department and foam brush
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Are you having any bleeding issues? Iām trying to do some geometric patterns and the Sharpie bleeds over the cut edge on some of them, but not all of them. Itās getting frustrating. I donāt want to leave the tiles unfinished, but I havenāt found a reliable spray yet. What brand do you use?
I used the Rustoleum āclear spray,ā which Iām not sure exactly what it is. Then, I used some clear spray lacquer. Both did pretty well. I like the lacquer better. They both stink a lot, but the lacquer dissipates pretty quickly. The smell from the other one lingers forever on the piece.
I donāt seem to be having any bleeding issues. I put a post of a few pieces I made a while back.
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