Pre-coating for sublimation transfers onto ceramic

A. Hi T.
I haven't done sublimation myself but have posted hundreds of Q&A's on the subject and it seems that 2-part automotive clearcoat is a fine coating for sublimating onto if you want the glass to remain clear. As Wilfredo Torres tells us, precede it with white primer if you don't need the glass to be clear . Give it a try and get back to us please.
Luck & Regards,


Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Hi Shirley. You would certainly not mix two different paint systems like a primer and a clearcoat. You apply the primer first, then the clearcoat.

But other than that, I'm not sure if I understand the question, and don't want to mislead you. Many paints, including epoxies and automotive clearcoats, are 2K (2-part, 2-component) systems; they don't "dry" -- rather the two components chemically react with each other to cause the hardening. Wilfredo is implying that this advice will work on any surface. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Just a response to this sublimation subject. I tried most of the suggested methods in this thread and a previous one. I found the auto clear coat suggestion a winner for sublimation on tile. I tried bisque tile and store bought ceramic floor tile with high success. I used a 4 to 1 system from an auto paint store. I waited two days after coating, then, after trials, found that 400 °F for 6 minutes with medium pressure was a good recipe. My next clear coat purchase will probably be a 2 to 1 system which I'm told produces a thicker coating.

Hi LaVonna. It seems to me that Wilfredo is implying that the clear coat, rather than the white paint, is what absorbs the sublimated gasses. But whether the clearcoat will reliably stick to your mug without a primer is probably a subject for trial & error. Please share & share alike and let us know what happened.

Regards,

A. Hi Mushtaque. Although in one sense "clear coat" simply means a coating that is transparent, and would include varnish, people here are actually referring to "automotive clear coat", which is a two-component polyurethane coating.

(One of the two components is a polyol; the other is polyisocyanate. The two components 'react' with each other to harden. They can be sprayed simultaneously from a "two-component" gun, but usually they are simply mixed and then sprayed quickly before the reaction between the two components has hardened the mixture.)

Regards,

A. Hi Tania. I know this is confusing to people but there are both single-component and two-component resin coating systems.

An example of a single component coating is typical latex or oil-based house paint or wall paint. The solvent evaporates or dries; everything that is needed is contained in the single-can of paint except possibly a 'thinner' like acetone.

An example of a two-component resin is your typical "epoxy" glue where two tubes of stuff are mixed together. The one tube might be called the base or sometimes "part A", and the other tube might be called hardener, or catalyst, or sometimes "part B". Without the hardener or catalyst the base will remain a syrupy glop that never dries -- because the hardening depends upon a chemical reaction between the two parts, not simple evaporation.

I think the answer to your question is that the "acetone plus polyester" recipe is for a single component resin; it's not suggesting that you can use acetone in place of the catalyst hardener in a two-component claearcoat. I suspect that if you tried that it would remain a syrupy glop whether air-dried or baked.

Regards,

A. Hi Samuel. More words please! I don't know (and don't think anybody else does either) whether you are looking for a coating service who will coat your tiles for you, or a commercial precoat liquid you can buy and apply yourself, or a formula to experiment to try to make your own precoats, or instructions on how to prep the ceramic and do the process, or what. Thanks.

Regards,

A. Hi Sue. I don't know what 'cheat sublimating' is, or if that was a typo for 'cheap' or something else. You can certainly paint wood and boards with high temperature paint -- not necessarily 'radiator paint', but maybe 'engine paint'.

Getting good adhesion onto ceramic tile is not easy because the surface is very deliberately designed to be glass-like with no absorption and no tooth. I'd suggest starting with studying this thread, then maybe googling 'painting ceramic tile' to get some hints on necessary sanding and primers; there are a lot of good instructions and videos.

If you have had 'really good' results sublimating onto tile except for the background color showing through, please take the time to tell Joneth what he's doing wrong. Each previous question left unanswered is one more thing distracting/delaying each reader's focus from helping you with your problem :-)

Luck & Regards,