liquidfusion

Glass etching....

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been asked by a friend who runs a glass and mirror company to start making stencils for their glass etching.... apparently they lay the stencil, apply the paste, let it sit for a spell, wipe, then scrape the stencil after a period... I told him I surmised that the stencil should be low tack but he said the people that had been making them were using a high tack vinyl? So if Im thinking I can stencil out of an economy grade Oracal and use as a stencil?

Anyone point me in the right direction?

Bruce

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I use HI-Cal for all my etching stencils. Now I only sandblast but I have used Hi-Cal when I first started etching with cream. Just about any vinyl will work.

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I have done quite a few etchings using etch creme, every single one i have used either greenstar or oracle vinyl, works just fine. IMO you could use almost anything as a stencil as long as you can keep in in place and tight to the substrate. So using any cheap vinyl would work well.

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I have the Harbor frieght cabinet & like using 30 psi best on mugs etc . I have not done any mirrors yet . Is there any difference ?

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Only difference with mirrors is whether you are blasting the front or the back, the back requires a little more pressure to get through the paint and silver they use to make the mirror.

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Thanks :)

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I used some green star and mine came out great. was not happy with the cream though maybe I need to get a bit more time in using it.

From what i have read & seen in pictures , the cream does not do any where close to as good of a job as sandblasting .

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From what i have read & seen in pictures , the cream does not do any where close to as good of a job as sandblasting .

I'm hoping to get a air eraser soon then it will be fun to do small things. No messy cream or bulky equipment.

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Be carefull with the dust .. NOT healthy . Being able to reuse the blasting media & having a fan ( a vacumn cleaner ) to control the dust makes the $219 Harbor frieght cabinet a better idea IMO . It doesn't take much of an air compressor either way ( new under $100 ) . I have had requests for sandblasting on actual truck door windows & a air eraser would be great for that ... but don't want to get into that situation with people . I could imagine dealing with a " consumer " if everything was not perfect . I plan on getting an eraser for doing my own stuff though :)

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I use Orcal 651 w/cream with no problems.

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Chemical etching instead of sand blasting . Very mild effect compared to sand blasting . I have seen glass carved into by sandblasting 1/2" . Was 3-D .

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Acid etching works just as good as Sandblasting... the trick is not to use the store bought stuff. You have to get it from a professional paint store, that commercial grade stuff will eat right through tempered glass if you leave it on long enough.

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Acid etching works just as good as Sandblasting... the trick is not to use the store bought stuff. You have to get it from a professional paint store, that commercial grade stuff will eat right through tempered glass if you leave it on long enough.

I have had some fun with the professional Acid grade stuff making buckets fly way up in the air :D

I should try acid, there is no problem with the vinyl and acid?

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I think you have to mix the store bought acid real good. I just gave it a quick shake the first time I tried it. It worked but didnt do that good.

The bottom of the bottle is real thick, get in there and stir it up.

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Acid etching works just as good as Sandblasting... the trick is not to use the store bought stuff. You have to get it from a professional paint store, that commercial grade stuff will eat right through tempered glass if you leave it on long enough.

What acid eats thru glass ? I have watched both at several shows . It is still very mild compared to blasting . By the time the acid eats thru a peice of glass .. a sandblaster would have ate thru many times that , even at 30 psi . How are the fumes , geting it on your skin & other unintentional things etc ? How much does the acid cost & can anybody buy it ?

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hydroflouric acid eats glass like a hot knife through butter. VERY nasty stuff............................stay away from it. Google it......fear it.....................!

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Thanks for those links Mark . That stuff is way scary . I worked for my dad as a structual steel construction inspector for years & have seen alot of wild stuff . That rates near the top of the list . I have also seen commercial sand-blasters where the operators told me the discharge would cut a limb off . Watching them break windows & the damage it did to wood , i don't doubt what they said . The fumes from any of this stuff is dangerous even in small amounts , let alone contact with the chemicals . The sand blast etching ( @ 30 psi , my experience ) can be done bare handed .

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we used the hydrochloric (sp) acid in high school to do mirrors. We used contact paper and then cut it out.

Its what dealers use to do the window tags too..

If he is not getting the results he wants...I can help with it with my laser.

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