xpaperman

Etched Flask for a Vet

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Nice!

Is the hinge plastic or metal on that flask? I have some plastic ones and don't know if they would hold up to baking the powder coat.

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The hinge is plastic. I did not do the powder coat so I am not sure of that process. The etching itself was done with an air erasure. I cut out the design on a scrap piece of vinyl and used as a stencil. Then just used the air erasure. I think it came out very nice. So simple and easy to do... didn't take hardly any time at all.

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My compressor is a large one on wheels with a tank. I use it for my power tools, nail guns etc. around the house and garage. It has a pressure regulator on it that allows me to adjust the air output. I believe you need about 45 pounds of steady pressure for the air erasure.

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I found them on a website .... ckbproducts.com The powder coated ones are $2.49 each. They have tons of other stuff as well.

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What type and git abrasive did you use and vinyl?

He said he used an air eraser, so it was most likely 200 grit aluminum oxide. Based on the smooth surface, it definitely looks like it was a high number grit. You can pick up an air eraser at Harbor Freight Tools for around $20 and a 2 lb jar of the recommended blasting media runs around $10 at the same store.

Pretty much any vinyl you can cut can be used as a sand etching stencil. I've used the cheap generic stuff and expensive name brand vinyls and they all come out about the same - the vinyl degrades pretty heavily and can be a pain to remove as it pulls apart easily (especially with lower grit sands - I usually use 80/90 silicon carbide). I have yet to have a blow-through where it ends up etching through the vinyl.

If you want to actually carve into stone, you definitely need to upgrade to a thicker stencil material, but for just etching basic designs on glass or metal, 3 mil vinyl should work just fine.

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Yeah I saw the air eraser and went to their site and looked at it. I seen a couple different "sand" grits and materials like walnut,glass etc. I have a Harbor Freight just 15 min from me so might run over and check it out....after this black friday crap is over lol. I dont do crowds anymore

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Stay away from materials like crushed walnut shells, glass beads, etc. Those are used primarily for cleaning metal parts and other surfaces where you are trying avoid leaving any marks.

You need an abrasive that is at least as hard as the material you are trying to etch, and preferably something that has rough edges. Walnut shells have a rough edge, but are not harder than glass or metal, and glass beads are hard, but don't they have a rough edge.

The 200 grit Aluminum Oxide that Harbor Freight sells is about the only material you can use in one of their air erasers - the feed holes are simply too small for anything else.

An air eraser is a great way to get started, and is perfect for doing small engravings. I have one and still use it occassionally. It leaves a very smooth etching that is similar to what you get with a glass etching creme.

If you want to do something bigger, or something with a more serious etch, I use a $20 gun from Tractor Supply Co (http://www.tractorsupply.com/jobsmart-reg-hand-held-abrasive-blaster-3907845) with their 80/90 grit (http://www.tractorsupply.com/marco-aluminum-oxide-abrasive-3907950) which can be found as either Aluminum Oxide or Silicon Carbide - both are about the same, although Aluminum Oxide is slightly safer. The larger grits leave a rougher and deeper etching which makes it more visible.

If you're going to be etching glass with anything, even an air eraser, then you need dust protection and some sort of breathing filter to keep the silica dust out of your lungs - Silicosis can mess up your life pretty bad. Aluminum Oxide doesn't produce silica dust when etching metals or tiles, which makes it the slightly safter alternative, but since most people want to etch glass, it doesn't really matter - just wear a mask.

I eventually ended up with a blasting cabinet from Harbor Freight (got one on clearance that had a bad blaster for 1/2 price) and that helps contain a lot of the dust and abrasive (so you can reuse it) but I still always wear a dust mask while working.

Also, a word of advice - if you have a nice watch or cell phone, leave them well away from your working area. The fine abrasive dust will settle all over you watch band and grind away the finish between the links, and any dust that lands in your pocket will end up on the screen of your phone and lead to tiny little scratches that are extremely annoying and pretty much impossible to remove.

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So you have no problems using the baking soda with the eraser? I'm looking at getting a setup and just wondering what options are available.

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Yeah I already have resiprator I use for painting. But will probably get a 2nd for this if I get one, I believe the filters are different for the different "jobs". Funny my wife and I was just talking about needing a way to confine the dust off. That storage tup is an awesome low cost idea. On the left side by the glove is that a connector for a shop vac or something? Im good with compressor, Have 3 lol, but my big one will run air tools all day with no issues.

Thanks for the info on the different materials to go through the air eraser. This is the type of stuff I like to find out before pulling the trigger on something and getting wrong stuff out of the gate.

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you can also use baking soda or confectioners sugar and a box like this one ;D

I dont suppose you would want to share how you built that?  I can go off the visual, but if you had extra pics or info of the build process, that would be cool :D  When blasting with baking soda, what would you say the grit rating is? 

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He said he used an air eraser, so it was most likely 200 grit aluminum oxide. Based on the smooth surface, it definitely looks like it was a high number grit. You can pick up an air eraser at Harbor Freight Tools for around $20 and a 2 lb jar of the recommended blasting media runs around $10 at the same store.

Pretty much any vinyl you can cut can be used as a sand etching stencil. I've used the cheap generic stuff and expensive name brand vinyls and they all come out about the same - the vinyl degrades pretty heavily and can be a pain to remove as it pulls apart easily (especially with lower grit sands - I usually use 80/90 silicon carbide). I have yet to have a blow-through where it ends up etching through the vinyl.

If you want to actually carve into stone, you definitely need to upgrade to a thicker stencil material, but for just etching basic designs on glass or metal, 3 mil vinyl should work just fine.

 

 

HINT TO FOR EASY VINYL REMOVAL.....If you can submerge the item in warm water it helps immensely.

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