Hi, I am having trouble engraving white tiles. I have been using the Norton white tile method and I can’t quite get it right. I have been following the method from the YouTube channel, 3D Print farm, and I have seen this same video posted on other topics in this forum. I have been using the Ortur Laser Master 2 20w and I just started using Lightburn a few days ago.
The problem I have been having is the laser is only burning the paint, and after the burn I can rub the engraving off with my thumb. The laser will not fuse the paint to the tile and I’m not sure why not. My settings were 1200mm/m @ 85% and a line interval of 0.100, and that barely burned the paint off. I slowed it down and raised the power just to see something burn. I don’t know if my settings in Lightburn are correct, since I just started using it a few days ago. Let me run you through my process.
First, I buy the 4x4 ceramic tiles with the glazing from Lowes or home depot. (Home depot had them at 8 cents each.)
Second, I put a good amount of acetone on an old t-shirt, and wipe the tiles down good and let them sit for 5 min. (Please tell me if I need to take the glazing off with razor blade or a scraper)
Next, I spray a good coat of Rustoleum Gloss White, making sure everything is warm so the paint doesn’t crack. (Will Gloss white reflect the laser?I can buy flat white if need be.) And I let it dry overnight.
Next, I bring it to the laser bed to engrave it. I have been using 1200mm/m @ 85% power and 0.100 line spacing with the mode pass through. This is the same settings the guy from 3D Print Farm was using.
Finally, after trying to engraving just a small black box, It either doesn’t burn at all or it it engraves and immediately rubs off.
I haven’t even tried to rub acetone on the engraving after its done because I can’t keep the burn on the tile. I did one engraving of the Immortan Joe, and instead of trying to keep it on, I clear coated it and it stays on pretty nice. The problem with that is the tiles can be easily scratched and it takes the picture off. I should also say that I have been using image-r to prepare the picture, and that my laser is in a barn with no heat and it gets to 25 degrees at night. Any assistance would be appreciated.