From what I have read about custom mixing acrylic paints for airbrushing purposes glycerin is used. I think it reduces the surface tension of water and may help emulsify the recipe components. Liquitex makes some acrylic medium additives such as flow aid and slow-dri that may be worth trying. I will let you know what I find out after testing.
I used a 1" camel wash brush to apply the PVA/Water recipe and it is a really nice soft brush but I have a hard time getting an even coating without thick and thin areas where the brush overlaps. I used the same brush to apply tempera to glass for etching and had good results but I ran out of scrap glass to practice on and experimenting on new glass gets expensive. Ceramic tiles are way cheaper but it’s a different ball game. Has anyone tried spraying this? I don’t know if the glue will clog up the HVLP sprayer.
I did try the method described above by James. I used 10.5 g TiO2, 35 g Tempera, 35 g H2O. I sprayed a fairly heavy coat and the first test tile was blotchy at best. I sprayed more on the remaining tiles and the second test tile looked good with blacks from 2500/50% to 5000/100% (more to follow after next tile burn)
CBSL acronym (changed from ‘Norton’ Method) on tile stands for Charlie Brown School of Laser…I’m the teacher and student
Something I noticed from tile burning with the Rust-oleum products was a much smoother texture on the engraved surface with the Cold Galvanizing Compound, which contains zinc, as opposed to the Ultracoat 2x Heirloom White which had a course, more etched texture, and it contains titanium dioxide. They both produce good blacks if the coating is right. I also found this chart that shows a rough percent of TiO2 in some of their products
The DIY recipes with titanium dioxide have the roughest etched texture.
Next experiment: Ron Clarke recipe, no soap, 10 drops glycerin, 5 drops Liquitex Flow Aid
Future tests: Try mixing same recipes using zinc oxide and see what happens, try combining zinc oxide and titanium dioxide and see what that does.
Stay tuned, more to follow