Hey Community, Just did my first set of slate coasters from Michael’s craft store. I read a lot about the coating you should put on them for a better outcome and I have to tell you I used a light , just a quick almost dusting, spray of Rust-oleum Lacquer and the results were perfect. It dry’s almost instantly and after engraving the slate I washed it off with water and dish soap, beautiful results! Also here are the settings I used after I set the height manually with digital calipers, these were also engraved with the crumb tray installed.
speed 900
laser 50
lpi 270
1 pass
Hope this helps those out there doing engravings on slate!
38 Likes
Moved to beyond the manual since it violates the rules for the Made on glowforge section 
5 Likes
also forgot to mention , hardly any smoke or spark during the entire engraving!
8 Likes
thank you!
3 Likes
Nice results, good simple clean subject art. Well executed all around.
5 Likes
Looks great! Where’d you find the Lacquer trick?
4 Likes
It’s been mentioned here before. If you start looking at “slate” posts it’s sure to turn up. 
5 Likes
They turned out great
3 Likes
Those look great!!
4 Likes
Nice result! I may have to give this a go
Love the heart design.
4 Likes
Great turn out! Slate is a lot of fun.
5 Likes
I’m just curious…I did my first engrave on a slate coaster. Interesting, and turned out great! But, I’m wondering, what exactly is the laser doing to the slate? Wood obviously burns, as well as acrylic, and with anodized aluminum the laser is burning off the layer of anodized material. But, what’s happening to the slate? It can’t burn the stone or melt it. So, does anyone understand what’s actually going on? I saw no smoke, sparks, dust, or anything. Weird!
3 Likes
Pretty much the same principal as anodized aluminum.
2 Likes
It’s the practical magic saying icons -
5 Likes
Or brilliance or cermark on metal. That’s what the lacquer did. Otherwise it ablates the slate but will fade over time I’m told.
1 Like
I didn’t know! Love this
2 Likes
Love this project. Simple designs but the coasters have such a visual impact!
1 Like
thank you
1 Like
the bottom row is our top seller