Let's Try Glass Etching

 

I just tried glass etching for the first time. I thought it would be difficult, but it's so easy that I was baffled that I hadn't tried this earlier. 

For glass etching, the most important ingredient is the chemical used to etch the glass. I'm sure there are several brands to choose from, but I picked up a bottle of Armor Etch at Joann Crafts. I probably could have purchased another type of etching cream online, but I had coupons and was in Joann's shopping, so I was able to get the bottle at a good discount. 

I also purchased some Orcal Oramask 813 Stencil material to use as the stencil for the design. 

For this small design, I used my Cricut Joy to cut the image. The "You are SIMPLY amazing" design is available in Cricut Design Space under Images #M911FAF3. If you want to create your own version, choose a cursive font for the "You are" and "Amazing" words, and a simple sans serif font for "SIMPLY". Add swooshes to embellish it. 

After cutting the design in the Stencil material, weed out the lettering so that what remains is the negative of the design. 

The image above shows what the weeded stencil would look like if the stencil material were dark grey / black and the weeded parts are the white. Once weeded, you will use transfer tape to hold the design so you can remove the stencil backing to expose the stencil's sticky back side. 

Attach the stencil to the wine glass. If the glass is very curvy like my wine glass, you will have to snip into the stencil to allow it to closely mold to the shape of the glass. Burnish the stencil to get it to adhere as well as possible to the glass. If any bits are not stuck to the glass, the Armor etch will seep underneath and make blorbs where you don't want to have etching. You can see on my glass where it wasn't stuck down well enough. I also advise that you tape the edges of the stencil with blue painter's tape to create a wider margin around the etching to prevent etching parts of the glass not meant to be etched. 

Don some rubber gloves and take your glass and Armor Etch outside. The chemical gives off some strong fumes, so working outside is the best way to ensure you don't breathe much of the gasses it produces. Rubber gloves are a good idea to help protect your skin from touching the chemical. I used some packing pillows from an Amazon package to help hold the glass steady while it was being etched. 

The actual process of etching is rather simple: spread some Armor Etch over the stencil and wait about 5 minutes, then remove the etching cream. You can scrape off most of the etching cream and drop it back into the container then rinse it under running water to remove the rest of the etching cream. Finally, pull off the masking tape and the stencil and admire your creation. 

I was impressed by how good this turns out and can't wait to try it again. I just have to decide what I want to etch next.

HAPPY CRAFTING