It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I’ve been busy with the 3D printers and producing things for shows. We just did a show in Winston-Salem, NC on the 30th of March, but as usual, I forgot to take pictures. We setup at a charity car show and donated 10% of the proceeds to the charity. Win-Win for everyone. It was a great event and we hope to do more of those in the near future (look for an update soon about May 4th).
It is, however, nearing the end of the semester in my real job (ya know, the one that allows you to do all the fun things), which means it’s time that I start getting together some swag for my peeps who are graduating in May. As such, I always like to try something new each year, while still doing the tried and true standards.
This year, I’m attempting to make each of my peeps a 4×4 inch tile with the logo of the Longwood University. I’ll also 3D print them stands for the single tile rather than doing a set of coasters. Below is the design I’m lasering onto the tiles.
Last year I didn’t make tiles, but I did make pint glasses and coffee mugs for my peeps. If I remember correctly, I used a white Rust-oleum Marking Spray on the mug, and that worked pretty well. I also used black chalkboard paint to get a frosted look on the pint glasses. But honestly, I like the black look better than the white frosted look. I have tried to use a mixture of TiO2–titanium dioxide mixed with alcohol–sprayed through a fine mist spray bottle, but that was a pure mess. The sprayer kept clogging, and even after the mixture would dry, it would flake off if you even looked at it sideways. Thanks, but no thanks.
This time I’m trying TiO2 again, but in a different mixture and a new application method. So first, I’ll save you some time trying to find the ratios:
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- 2 parts TiO2
- 2 parts Elmer’s School Glue
- 1 part Water
- 1 part 91% Alcohol
- Food Coloring
First, mix your alcohol and water together, then add your TiO2 powder, and then your Elmer’s Glue. Close up your jar (I use a mason jar) and shake vigorously. Final, add in enough food coloring to give your mixture a tint. This will help when applying it to your project.
Once your mixture is mixed well, take a GOOD sponge brush and apply 3 coats, letting each coat dry in between. I use a craft hot gun to speed up the drying process. Images below show what I’ve used in this process.
As you can see, I used green food coloring for my mixture. Seemed appropriate with it being spring and all. Although yellow might have been a better choice given the amount of pollen that is layered on everything outside! As mentioned in the title, this is just part 1 of this post. Part 2 will come once I’ve attempted an engrave on all three products. The tile is lasering as I type, but for the other two I’ll have to put the extender legs on the laser and then get the rotary setup and running. So that might take a day or two. So, until next post . . .
