Been doing laser engraving for a while now with ceramic tile and glass and stainless steel. Been using the Norton method of using white spray paint on ceramic tile and that works very well. For glass ware and stainless steel i have been using OMTECH Black Laser Spray and that also works very well but is a little pricey, $40.00 per can. I have tried using my own mixture of Ti02 mix with Isopropyl alcohol with poor results.
First issue is trying to find a spray bottle that will not clog up. I finally found a spray gun that seems to work without clogging, The PREVAL 267 Spray Gun. But even with that the results are poor. So I’m thinking my mixture is not correct.
Any input on spraying methods and mixtures would be appreciated.
I’m ok using white spray paint for ceramic tile. Satisfied
with the results but would be nice to use Ti02 leaving the
natural color of the tile. Could use the OMTECH spray for
this. But again very pricey.
Using OMTECH Black laser spray for glass ware and
stainless steel gives great results but much more
expensive than using Ti02 mix.
Downside of Ti02 it it makes such a mess on everything it
touches.
I’m just now starting to get into using a laser so I’m not all that much help. But I’ve heard of some people having varying success with powder coat paint. Unfortunately, more so with a CO2 then a diode. Definitely interested in where this thread goes.
I did some stainless steel travel mugs that I purchased at amazon that were already white powder coated. The design came out really well and no additional Ti02 coating required. It just removed the powder coating which left the design the natural stainless color. The travel mugs were around $6.00 each and i sell these for $13.00 each. You can also get them in colors for around the same price. I don’t know if the color ones would work without coating them, haven’t tried that yet
Your not really laser engraving the stainless steel. The laser reacts with the coating and burns the design in the coating bonding it to the stainless steel. That being said, you should be able to do the same process on silver. If your doing glasses you are in fact etching the glass.
I’m getting some very fine detail. This design on a stainless steel travel mug is approximately 50 x 60 mm. If you expand the picture and compare with the .svg file you will see the fine detail around the design in the middle. Whatever you use it on it washes off with water or wipes off with vinegar.
I have done TiO2 on white ceramic tile with good results. Like you I started with white paint, but hated the use of paint thinner to strip off the paint after doing the laser burn.
I used a small pneumatic paint sprayer (1 cup reservoir) at a fairly low air pressure to spray the TiO2 to get a fairly thin even cover over the tile. I mixed about 1/3 Ti powder with 2/3 alcohol and then strained it through a paint filter into the sprayer reservoir. I had to stir the mixture in the filter to get it to pass thru into the sprayer.
Like you said, it can make a mess as the overspray can drift and settle just about everywhere. That said I still prefer that method to white paint since the cleanup is with water. I don’t do it often, but if I did I would build a small paint booth or buy a small sandblasting booth at Harbor Freight to use for spraying the TiO2.
.
