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Slate Coasters

Tips for creating natural slate coasters

Brian Leffler

6/1/20261 min read

4" natural slate coasters are a great selling product at shows. The images put on them are very decorative and if you make a wide variety of them you will find subjects that appeal to just about everyone!

I never use black paint on them. Some people like to use black paint to make the graphic image pop and not look dull. I have tried this in the past and to me it looks like the coasters are made of plastic. The top and the bottom of the coaster won't match either and just gives them a fake look in my opinion. I use clear coat on them. It does make it shiny but the etching put on it will stand out without making the coaster look fake in any way. You can still tell that it is a natural slate.

I run my coasters on my Xtool F2 at a 40% power and 500 DPI. It does a fantastic job with all of the coasters I do! You may have to play around with your settings on your laser but once you find the magic combination of settings you will be able to create great looking coasters!

Natural slate is absorbent and will keep condensation from dripping on your table and the clear coat will remove that ability except where the coaster is etched. The etched areas will still remain absorbent after processing.