Harristotle - 2-12-2017 at 21:13
Hi all. Firstly, my apologies to LOPTR - I only just saw his u2u. Some forum stuff like sharing images and getting to u2u on time I am not good at.
My method for making TLC plates from talc:
Use talc from woodworking store, it is used in early phase of some French Polishing, and has no scent or sufactants.
For those of you in the UK, this looked good:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/162390884851?ul_noapp=true
I have found this recipe to work well:
Attachment: Preparing Talc TLC plates.docx (14kB)
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Note the two ways this can be done: use methyl cellulose for plates in water, as the gypsum tend to wash off. Use gypsum if you want vanillin
staining.
Guys, you are going to love vanillin. Totally non toxic. (Maybe substitute vodka for methylated spirits and lower the acid a bit if you want to drink
it as shots, but otherwise safe to use ! 
) Buy it pure as a flavoring agent.
Make up the spray in ethanol/H2SO4 and spray. My recipe here even allows you to use 2M H2SO4, not conc, thereby being easy for school or home use.
Attachment: Recipe for Vanillin stain.docx (15kB)
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To help you get those bizarre solvent recipes to work in the school or amateur environment, i have also prepared this sheet on solvent
characteristics, admittedly mostly thieved from the reference cited within.
Attachment: Relative polarity of solvents.docx (26kB)
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I'll have more to say on TLC later when I get some free time.
Enjoy!
Harristotle