Crazy Technique for Etching White Ceramic Tile PERMANENTLY!

This video shows you step-by-step instructions on using the Nicky Norton White Tile Method to etch white ceramic tile. This method will permanently burn an image into white ceramic tile!
4x4 (10x10 cm) Gloss White Ceramic tiles can be purchased at any home improvement store such as Lowe's or Home Depot. Buy in bulk to save some money.
NEW! Ortur Laser Master 2! Burn tiles as large as 12x12!!
s.click.aliexp...
FREE! Convert your image easy!
www.imag-r.com/
Gimp Image Manipulation Program
www.gimp.org/
Da Big Gimpin' Plug in by Sean Murray
infinitelaser....
Lightburn Laser Software (30 Day Free Trial License)
lightburnsoftw...
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Laser Safety glasses that I use!
amzn.to/2WAVigw
Display stands for Ceramic tile
amzn.to/3fLh3ls
Laquer Thinner
amzn.to/2T6DBmU
Microfiber Cloths
amzn.to/2T6DBmU

[@3DPrintFarm]

ATTENTION FRIENDS! I missed an important step! UGH! After your tile is lasered, you must clean the tile with Lacquer thinner or Acetone. Use a paint scraper and microfiber cloth to clean up the excess paint!

[@oldiron1223]

Have you tried cutting polystyrene (plastic) sheet with that 15w laser? I'm a model railroader and have recently purchased a resin printer and am printing detail parts with it, Working great. Now the club I belong to is working on replicating several buildings specific to the "home town" in the mid to late 1950's. Kits are just not available and scratch building large downtown buildings is very time consuming. I was considering a laser cutter but I need to know if a 15W laser would cut .04-.06 sheet styrene or if I should buy something more powerful. Would make punching out windows a lot easier.

[@epicetches4155]

Cool. I was gonna ask about clean up since I seen him do it. I thought maybe you had a different method.

[@fc3sbob]

lol, that was the only question I had at the end, if the paint stays or not. Thanks for clarifying.

[@mauriciozavaleta1223]

@@oldiron1223 blue laser diodes are not the best laser to cut styrene , visble laser like those are not to good for white surfaces, Co2 is way better for styrene

[@oldiron1223]

@@mauriciozavaleta1223 Might go with a CnC Router at that rate. Should be able to cut holes in .40-.60 styrene with an micro end mill in a router.

[@trevglider3490]

Hi From Australia , as a new laser buyer at 73 years old, your explanation was excellent

[@simonrourke9817]

As a new subscriber I can honestly say that you talked us through that process very well. Many thanks. I am new to the whole laser scene and have learnt so much from this one video. 👍

[@jb573]

Awesome that you give Nicky Norton the credit he is do. I'm in a FB group with him and he is super helpful to everyone.

[@DirkDooms]

Which facebook group might that be, if I may ask?

[@3DPrintFarm]

He's in several FB groups. Search for "Laser Engraving and Cutting" Nicky spends a lot of time there. It's a big group as well. 52K members.

[@nickynorton]

@@DirkDooms I reside in Eleksmaker LED Discussion facebook

[@kobrawclothing2812]

I'm not in the fb group but can you please thank nicky for me

[@mikeslaserstuff4018]

Does Nicky recommend a brand of tile?

[@christinegamache5893]

I just wanted to say I really appreciate this video. I went out and got the materials, and did a bunch of burns today. I finally got my settings dialed in, and the results are incredible! There's a little blurring, but with that much detail, I'm not surprised. I have a Full Spectrum Muse (C02 laser--45w), and my settings were 100 power, 10 speed, 0 blur, 500 dpi. At 90 power and 20 speed, it was still only a gray. At 1000 dpi, the blur was much more pronounced. And then cleaning it with acetone after took away all those impurities in the paint--the bubbles and fingerprints, and left a nice dark burn. I'm so excited for this!

[@Annihilator2011]

Try using a DPI around 300. The blurring is caused by overlapping dots.

[@dennisdohogne4747]

Excellent tutorial!! You ALWAYS provide complete information. I especially like how you showed the steps you took to determine your settings.

[@SCAMATICS777]

i love all the videos this guy makes, explains so well step by step and even offers helpful advise when emailed. thank you sir!

[@cryptocanada4900]

I am going to follow this exactly tomorrow night lol..do you know how happy i was, I brought tiles, i brought light burn, i brought da big gimpn plugin for gimp aaaand i brought a ortur laser master 15w. I stuffed up my first few tiles, then i find this video with you! Using exactly the same gear!! So excited. Thankyou mate!! You have yourself another Kiwi subscriber 🤙😁

[@feridlesait]

Love these vids. Really personable and comprehensive instruction delivery. Nice work man! Keep it up!

[@jocelynmyre1424]

Hello from Canada, just dropping a note to say thanks. I really enjoy your introduction to burning tiles. keep it up!

[@kaos187_x]

Really Informative Tutorial! Thanks for sharing. I would have loved to see the final process, as in your method of cleanup and sealing the tiles if it's necessary, lol!

[@chuckmcbrayer]

Due to your Video on the White and Black paint tile segments I have been able to do some truly amazing tile pieces, much thanks for your training and sharing...

[@timaroo99]

And it works!! I was sceptical about not having the right kind of tile and using regular ennamle spray paint, but wow... It worked.

[@johnrisdall2673]

Great video and instructions took awhile but got it figured out and now can't stop etching tiles. 10 stars and a pat on the back keep up the videos and never learn to must.

[@GabeSt7]

Thank you for the great video! Please make a part 2 with the cleaning up process after lasering and the durability test you mentioned! Thank you!

[@richardphillips92]

I have watched all sorts on HOW TO on this subject. This one sorted it out no problem at all. I have done some great tile engraving after watching this video Thanks

[@wreckeddiehard]

Not only was this extremely informative, but I absolutely loved your sense of humor! Tile, scraper... scraper tile. That made me laugh so so much! Thank you for that and thank you for the amazing tutorial!!!!

[@mikewaskewicz]

Great video Garret! Nice to see all of the steps in one video.

[@Skinnyriver]

Have you tried rustoleum cold galvanized compound instead of paint? Some say it’s quicker (no paint removal) but I’m curious of the quality

[@nickm324]

Little mis-information here, When you set pass-through, the Line Interval and DPI settings are completely ignored - it tells you this right there in the tool tip. It burns at whatever DPI you got out of the Da big Gimpin plugin. All that prior testing at 0.11 line interval made no difference what so ever had no bearing on the final outcome.

[@jdo62]

But one can turn off "Pass Through" to set these parameters if so chosen to do so? Or is it better to let the program (GIMP or Image-R) adjust the outcome? Thanks for the tutorial!!

[@kmsbailey405]

Have you ever used the Rust-Oleum cold galvanized spray paint? It apparently burns darker plus you just wash it off in the single afterwards and its the same effect as this but less chemicals to clean with.

[@CCobraProductions]

Wow! Very impressive. Lovely, educational and informative video

[@TheEdgeofTech]

Great work Garret!! Mine finally shipped yesterday!!

[@3DPrintFarm]

AWESOME! You are gonna love it!

[@alphaeuslamin6445]

Strange and very admirable. What a great idea.

[@3DHP]

Thanks Garret, you videos have been helping me a lot with my K40.I Hope You and Your Family Have a Great Christmas.Also Thank you for coming on my Live Stream. Your Awesome my friend.

[@chuckmcbrayer]

Hey brother just ran across your channel, by far one of the best how to for diode laser on tile i have seen, really enjoying it. Hope you upload more on it. I have a 40 watt k40 and a NEJE 20 watt like your orture. Have a blessed day.

[@JT-Nash]

Thanks for the video. I'm going to give this a try soon. One thing that caught my eye. At around 10:20, shouldn't the numbers, written on the tile be, .08, .09, ...., instead of .8, .9?

[@3DPrintFarm]

Yes sir! That's correct! My bad... I was in a hurry writing the numbers down!

[@kimpeterson6139]

Found volumes of information on this video! Thank you!

[@GonzoRust]

Explained thoroughly and succinct. You are a rarity. One of one. THANKS DAD!

[@IAMCANAD]

Really cool sidestep from the 3D printing! Really easy and explained the process out. Anyone that does hobby work, adding custom engraving of photos or images, this would be a great start and addon to thier skills/business. Any thoughts or ambitions to step into the world of desktop CNC milling? For small projects in wood/plastics/soft metals. (That's where I'm at, trying to move into desktop cnc, just too indecisive on what machine to get lol)

[@3DPrintFarm]

Great question.. I'm really wanting to dip my toe in the "Shapeoko" waters!!

[@jessd3012]

Very cool! My only question is one that might be silly, I'm not sure. How do you line up where the tile is and where the laser is firing? I've never used a laser burner before and that really puzzled me.

[@3DPrintFarm]

What I will do is take a thin piece of plywood, then laser a 4x4 square on the wood, then I will place my graphic within the square so everything is lined up. LightBurn also allows you you draw a virtual beam around your object at low power so you can line things up! Thanks for asking! Great question!

[@jessd3012]

@@3DPrintFarm Thank you so much! I've been wondering that!

[@MattWeber]

@@jessd3012 another option is place your tile anywhere, hit fire in lightburn to show where the dot lands. Move head to corner of the tile and set the start position to "Current Position" and hit start.

[@TOM-yk7bq]

Hold down shift and click the circular frame button on screen, it will fire the laser very low and frame where your creation will be burned.

[@hardkore360]

"zeroing" is what you need to do to calibrate the machine with whatever medium you are working with. Most CNC machines do automatic zeroing for you, however, those machines run in the thousands of dollars.

[@alexreyes6417]

Boss, thank you! I greatly appreciate your time and tutorials. God bless

[@19645pat]

Waited for this, i bought a Eleksmaker A3 after seeing your first video. Great video again, thanks!

[@daw822000]

I have the same how did it go?

[@19645pat]

@@daw822000 , with my initial laser it didn't work so well, i bought a 5W laser and now it's working great!

[@jasonmorley3192]

Focus the Lazer once then what ever you are ingraveing put under each leg and you don't have to adjust the Lazer again if you just put a tile under each leg it's perfect if ingraveing 3/4 plywood put a piece of 3/4 ply under each leg great video waiting on my Lazer to be delivered 👍👍

[@bracketk]

I have found that the tiles are NOT consistent enough in thickness to keep the focus sharp. I focus on each tile. Your suggestion may work well on wood where the focus is not as critical as etching tile.

[@sclark9036]

Can you tell me where you got the eye image please? It has amazing detail. Thank you in advance. Great video.

[@ryanbeharry5636]

thank you for these videos. they are very helpful. I am new to the laser engraving/cutting world. I have the 20w Ortur Master 2. Please keep them coming.

[@raymondturpin3265]

Ordered my first Ortur Laser 15w. Looking forward to making some cool custom art tiles.

[@Robothut]

Wow looks great ! Question if the burn is on the paint why is it so durable ? Your scraper did not bother it so I guess solivent will not bother it once its burned either. Is it that durned paint is super tough ? Or is there something else happening to the tile when the paint burns ? Thanks again. this looks so great I think I will have to give it a go.

[@3DPrintFarm]

Great question! It has something to do with the paint and the focused beam of the laser. It's almost like as the paint burns, the intense heat actually scorches the tile and literally burns the image into it. No amount of solvent, sandpaper, scraper will remove it! It's quite amazing!

[@Robothut]

@@3DPrintFarm I wonder if the heat of the burning paint does something to the glaze on the tile. It must be a change to the glaze.

[@wolfgangblack8035]

Thanks for posting a link to proper blue/violet laser engraver safety glasses. The green ones the chinese give with lasers are WORTHLESS and people MUST be told this.

[@TheDigigram]

I just want to give a shoutout to LaserWeb, I do most of my rasterings into wood by using LaserWeb's own inbuilt raster engine. Can't wait to try it on tiles now too!!

[@kimvaughan2140]

May I ask why the white tile needs to be painted white? Great tutorial, Thankyou.

[@Digimatic007]

That was VERY well explained, thanks!!

[@jamesshelton9126]

Nice tutorial, I have a diode laser and a CO2 and use Seans plugin

[@cutflower36]

Thank you. You ever had to replace the module? Just wondering what's the life span

[@tomfoil5590]

Following...

[@stephengalante2979]

Great video. I am a little confused as to why the white paint is necessary. I know that in normal cases, lasers like any other light doesn't burn into white substances. I remember being a kid and trying to burn white paper with my magnifying glass 😊. I understood the reasoning for the green and black paint in your other video but I would figure if the laser would work on white paint, it would work on a white tile! I do have an idea with using this type of setup to use on laser tape for sandblasting. I'll have to ask the maker of the laser tape about my idea.

[@davidwilcox8801]

Most white paint uses Titanium Dioxide to make it white. The laser burns the titanium dioxide, leaving the "etch". This explained in other Norton White Tile (NWT) resources. This from google >> Is titanium dioxide in white paint? Image result for does white paint have titanium dioxide or titanium oxide TiO2 Nanoparticles In most systems, titanium dioxide in the paint industry is used as a white pigment, giving high white color strength as well as hiding power, called opacity. TiO2 absorbs UV radiation effectively, especially when the pigment particles are small.

[@rosebuddesign635]

I was waiting for that video! ;) Great video. You use the acetone to remove the remaining white paint?

[@3DPrintFarm]

Yes that is correct!! I missed a step!! UGH!! I’

[@mikemason2976]

Question that I've seen a few times in comments.. Why paint a white tile with white, engrave tile, then remove the white paint? Will this process work without painting, and removing paint steps?

[@robertsneed3171]

Have you looked at the Anycubic mega pro I does fdm and it has a laser for it also. The laser does a 8 21/32" X 5 33/64" all on one printer?

[@3DPrintFarm]

I have one in the wings.. doing some testing now! :)

[@paulolopes5611]

Do you think i can do it with a 2.5w laser? Thank you for the video 👌

[@batmanwatchmanwatchman8113]

Hey I was wondering if this method would work on marble as well? Thanks for the help I have tons of marbles and I want to recycle them if I can. I loved your techniques it’s so exciting!

[@josephsterling7848]

After you printed on the painted tile, did you wash the tile off with anything. You went from printing on the painting tile to show the finished product. Was just wondering if there was any steps in between???? Thank you.

[@VerifyVeracity]

I was wondering that also, & why did he need to paint it to begin with.

[@6onizuka6]

Interesting. I would like to try. Can you share us the link to the primer you use? Thanks

[@Creator_Nater]

Wow dude, this is an impressive video

[@adjairgomes1891]

Hey, pal! Great video....would you know if this kind of engraving is also possible using the LaserPecker?

[@holoholokalei3286]

I have the same question.

[@Warbaman]

Another great tutorial. Does anyone have an indication of how long the laser takes to complete a fill picture 4x4 tile?

[@markdillon6373]

Based on line spacing of .110 and a speed of 1200mm/m. I am estimating approx 78 minutes. 4 inch = 101.4mm Total number of lines 101.4/.110= ~922 Total length of burn line 922(# of lines) * 101.4mm ( width) = 93,490.8mm 93,500mm / 1200mm/m = 77.9 minutes. This is burn time. This does not include moving the laser between each line while not burning.

[@WimmDesign]

I tried this method tiles came out great 50 watt laser 10% power 75% speed. The only suggestion I can make to all is to make Garret’s test tile is the key otherwise your flying blind.

[@alexpapoite2420]

Can i use any gloss white paint? No one sells the brand you used, thanks

[@Skillken]

Amazing ! What type of laser do you recommend ? LU2-2 1.6W, LU2-4-SF 5.5W, LU2-4-LF 5.5W, LU2-10A 10W, LU3-20A 20W. What differences would this make, so that I understand correctly.

[@CatherineSummerfield]

Y O U R O C K !!! OK so I am getting a laser printer and I have watched your green/black tile and your white tile videos ( awesome ) I have never done anything like this and I have a dumb question as I am not a genius ( yet ) at this stuff, OK so how do I know where to place my on the laser grid or under the laser in order to have it laser the tile squarely ? ( I told you that is was a dumb question ) Do you have a beginner beginner video ? Love and peace... Catherine

[@fierceflyer5]

Thanks for the detail instructions 👍🏻

[@CryptoJitsu]

Hey 3DPrintFarm... the Laser Master 2 20w is currently nearly identically priced as the Laser Master 1 ... is this a no brainer to buy the 2 or how do you feel about the machines compared side by side?

[@3DPrintFarm]

I'd go for the LM 2 hands down. The gantry is more stable and you can etch much larger items than the LM 1

[@CryptoJitsu]

@@3DPrintFarm thanks! Its on its way

[@consciousnessinabody]

Wow this was honestly amazing.

[@andyandersen4445]

I have been watching your videos for the past couple of weeks has caught my interest and I would like to get started would you be willing to help a newbie I would like to get the pro I'm not sure exactly how to going about doing that thank you for your time

[@zaneschiffner]

How do i change the file back to .jpg after the Da Big Gimpin plug in? it is only letting me save in xcf

[@drinaceballos8888]

I had the same question. That step seemed to be missed at the 20:06 point.

[@fabiogiehl2627]

Please, make a tutorial to make mosaic of mores ceramic tiles of one image

[@LithosAndLasers]

What is the purpose of the white paint on white tile? I have a glowforge and get awesome results on white tile, but the engrave is clear. I then run black ink into the tile and wipe it off. Then clear coat. I have also done the white tile painted blacks method a few times. Also, Still perfecting my standard white tile settings for use on a black tile engraving the black away. Still dialing in the power settings to get through the black layer better.

[@bracketk]

There is a chemical reaction of the paint from the heat of the laser that removes the glase and color from the tile. The tile substrate is then etched by the laser. Only paint the the same compounds as the one he used will produce the reaction. If you turn the tile over and laser the back you will see that it will laser very good at LOW power and no paint. I do this to sign each tile that I do.

[@belleskyemonuments6221]

do you think that the air assist when purchasing. I do plan on only working with tile but I am sure I will have other requests. This will be my very first laser purchase :) pretty excited

[@scottn9492]

Can you please tell me why you chose 600 dpi for your resolution? If i understand, you have a line spacing of 0.11 mm. If I am calculating this correctly this would be a DPI of approximately 230 DPI. If you divide an inch (25.4 mm) by the width of your dots 0.11 mm, then you should get a pixel perfect 230 DPI. At 600 DPI your laser program will read approximately every 2.6 lines and average the laser firing. Could you please re-run this exercise with the 230 DPI to see if it will increase the overall quality of the picture? This is the method I use when using my fiber laser on gloss black tile. My laser outputs a laser spot of 0.042 mm on most gloss black tile so I use 600 DPI and it comes out pixel perfect. Also, does your burning program allow for the input of bitmap images? Using a 1-bit bitmap image instead of a JPEG will give your laser exact on/off timing for each pixel when firing. The plugin you are using appears to create a black and white dithered image which would be what you need to create a 1-bit bitmap for this application. You would just export a bitmap instead of a jpeg. Sorry I am not saying that what you are doing looks bad, I am just wondering if the technique can be improved by calculating the actual DPI and using an image that represents exactly where you want each pixel to be fired.

[@Make3DTV]

I got my laser but it’s still in the box! I gotta put it together and try this!

[@455elise]

If using this as a coaster, what do you recommend putting on the back so it doesn't scratch wood tables etc. And what type of glue (if necessary) to adhere that material to the back of the tile? Thanks so much love the videos

[@drn1023]

Thin cork sheets are available in hobby shops, use contact cement. Felt is also an alternative, but can be slippery ...

[@JoGuev7177]

Could you do multiple layers of paint and burn longer on upper layers to reveal paint underneath?

[@kevinretelle446]

You made a very understandable tutorial but will the smaller and portable laser burn just as well?

[@timfrench483]

Hi Garrett, well, I did my first engraving job on cork. Is there a way I and send you 2 pictures of what it should look like versus how it turned out? I'm at a loss as to where to go from here. thanks

[@larrybair3742]

Thank you for a great tutorial. I have watched it several times and have learned a great deal. Having followed your instructions carefully, I get some different results. I am using a laser just like yours. My engravings have improved as I followed your instructions on focusing the laser, but I never get the dark burns that your video shows. I have changed power, dithering and speed settings and only get grey results. Any suggestions you might have would be much appreciated.

[@Ferncraft.Pembrokeshire]

I am likewise having same issues. Just light grey not dark.

[@alanestes6784]

Have watched this many times but when I try to do it myself, with the exact set-up, except with a newer sw version I get a 9DPI with the .11 line interval. Yes you read that right DPI= 9. Hope you can tell me what I might be doing wrong.

[@mikeschreiber9352]

How often are you performing the focus procedure? Every piece of tile? I am looking at the Ortur 15w for photo laser engraving on tile and wood. I am also looking at the ACRO DYI with a JTech 4.2 watt output laser engraver. That comes with a focus height plate to lower the head to. It is quite a bit more in regards to price versus the Ortur. I am curious how much focus adjusting the Ortur requires in general? It is worth noting either one will require dialing in software parameters to get the focus dialed in. I am inquiring about the mechanical side of focusing the laser. Great video

[@johndietrich4907]

Great process. Any suggestion why the final product comes out more silver/grey than black?? Image quality is great, just wondering about final color.

[@davidwhitt3299]

Hi just like know do I have put clear Coat on it what done and can do a video on Engraving a Mirror so light go thorw

[@scottprouse9606]

I've had issues with the paint flaking during the burning process. How long do you let the paint dry before burning? Love your channel. Lots of great content. 👍

[@rb3046]

About how long does it take to etch the tile once the laser starts?

[@MrGetBad4u]

1-2 hours

[@frankie653]

Really enjoy your videos, very informative! I have a laser diode coming soon. Was wondering if this technique can be done with a 1.6W laser diode?

[@johnrisdall2673]

Thanks for the advice and videos. 10 stars and thumbs up.

[@Sub_Divisions]

Can you tell me where you got the file for the Eye tile......looks amazing

[@MrRenoman2011]

Watched it again and thanks so much for the great video! Love the bloopers lol

[@peteryoas]

Is the imagine countersunk on the tile after it's been etched?

[@apollocabinsllc5017]

Why exactly do you have to apply white paint to a tile that is already white? Is the laser actually melting the white paint and turning it black and melting it into the tile?

[@K40Keller]

Good question. I would like to know. Why white paint on a white tile?

[@ericbrown9251]

What are the steps if you do not have Da Big Gimpin Plug-in? I would like to try some tiles on my Neje 20w.

[@thatdudewithalazer9703]

Awesome Video! Thanks for the mention 👍

[@caroleeroche7343]

Great video and extremely helpful for my small business! I ordered the Ortur Laser and got the 7W, but now I am wondering if I should have ordered the 15W to cut wood as well. Let me know what you think....thank you! :)

[@Olivsam]

Thank you! I believe the latest Ortur laser master 2 has a fixed focus so you wouldn't need to focus the laser correct?

[@MrGediminas1]

Will this work using a 7W diode?

[@surfbuf1]

I have a 3018 CBC, so my end print is grey. I assume that is due to the limitations of the laser? Also, I’ve been using different colors under both black and white paint, so paint over paint. The result is amazing, BUT you must protect it at that point since you need to preserve the upper paint level. Try it. Wild and pretty results.

[@Budkeywest]

Awesome! Do you put a clear coat on after the laser burn? Thanks!

[@3DPrintFarm]

Nope. You could if you wanted but the image is not going anywhere! :)

[@yanickch]

Hey great video. Thanks. One little question. How much time is needed to do a 4x4 tile? The print process only.

[@3DPrintFarm]

Great question. Depending on the surface area of the image. So.. suppose the image covered the entire tile.. that would take approximately 1 hour based on 1200mm/min speed

[@yanickch]

Thanks... great answer 🙂

[@seanjohnson310]

ive just bought a 20w laser engraver this morning after watching your videos. never , ever ever done laser etching before. sofor the most part i understand your videos, the only part i dont understand is, how does the laser know where the tile is to cut it ? i dont want to set off the cutter and it starts cutting the table underneath? thanks for the inspiration.

[@FreeManSaysAll]

Hi 3DPrintFarm, question here: so my local Lowe’s doesn’t carry the home accent series of rust-oleum can I substitute that for the rust-oleum advanced formula white gloss and expect to get the same results?

[@iliketowatch.]

Are there any consumer-quality laser cutters available that can actually CUT ceramic tile? If not, is there another technology that can be used to do this? Thanks!

[@mariom5307]

Hey there! Thank you so much for the video! Have you tried it with a CO2-Laser? Do you think it should work for burning ceramics as well?

[@nikgabriel3012]

Awesome! Did you try to cut thin metal with it? BTW, what music is in the background?

[@bobby3tim3s]

After you are done burning, what's the process from there? Will the image wipe off like it will the black paint on a white tile? Are you sealing the tile after to protect the work?

[@DonnyHooterHoot]

Great video! can't wait to try it.