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Glass Etching 101

I asked on Facebook what type of task everyone wish to see.( Consequently if you do not like this message, and also don’t. follow me on Facebook. you can only blame on your own! * wink * ).

The action to my study. was by far:. Glass Etching so I promptly worked up this task to show the best ways to use the Silhouette for glass etching. (.If you do not have one yet, as well as I consisted of a different to cutting a stencil with your Silhouette! Those directions remain in RED **).

For my example job I wanted a prettier way of keeping my dish soap on the counter, the concept of an identified dish soap bottle entered your mind. Clearly, you could engrave any type of glass surface, yet a clear glass container is a great starter task.
Etched dish soap bottle

For this sample project I used an olive oil pitcher. I selected up in your home Goods for $3.99 (. these ones. on Amazon.com would certainly function wonderful due to the fact that the surfaces are flat) and the Silhouette etching set .

I can not discover the same type I utilized, but. these. are a close secondly:.


Various other supplies you could require:.
Gloves.

(I didn’t wear them, but you need to if you are nervous).


Cotton bud.

(I thought they worked fantastic and also you didn’t take the chance of capturing the pattern, yet you additionally might make use of popsicle sticks).


Newspaper to protect your work surface.

(you don’t desire to engrave your countertops).


Massaging Alcohol.

(to cleanse your etching surface).

Etching supplies

STEP 1: Choose your Design.

The first thing you need to do is decide on how large the design should be. When etching on glass, curved surfaces are difficult because you have to be sure not to get ripples/wrinkles in your stencil. Also, the more complicated the design, the trickier it is. The design I settled on is pretty complex (lots of voids and small cuts.) You may want to start with a simpler design if this is your first experience etching.

This was actually my very first experience etching, and also you can see I really did not do anything as complex. Block lettering is very direct:.


STEP 2: CUT YOUR PATTERN.

To cut this design, this is what my Silhouette Studio screen looked like. The final image size was about 3 x 3.5 inches:
Silhouette studio
Following I packed the pattern plastic (from the set) right into my equipment as well as remove the pattern utilizing the plastic setup. (In the etching kit the vinyl is the clear shiny stuff on WHITE paper, you do not want to get it confused with the transfer tape.).

The stencil vinyl isn’t the same stuff as the decorative Silhouette vinyl. It is clear and VERY sticky. I have tried to etch with regular vinyl (Oracal and Silhouette brand) and it does work, but you have to make sure to stick it down a LOT harder and you need to be really careful not to use too much etching cream. I definitely think it is worth investing in stencil vinyl. The only drawback is that because it is clear It is really hard to see the cut lines:


Cutting etching stencil silhouette

For this style I desired to engrave the words themselves, so I weeded out the positive space and also wound up with this:.


Dish Soap Label Template
** If you don’t have a silhouette, you could instead cut the plastic with an exacto blade * OR * use letter sticker labels as well as painters tape. You will obtain a reverse picture such as this given that you are etching the adverse space:.

STEP 3: TRANSFER YOUR PATTERN

To apply your vinyl you need to first get it onto the transfer tape so that it doesn’t warp or fold. Cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than your design (the transfer tape is the slightly bumpy non-transparent stuff) and remove it from the brown paper backing:


Transfer etching stencil

Place it directly on top of you vinyl stencil like so:

Etching stencil

Then remove the white paper backing from the stencil vinyl (so you are left with the sticky part of the stencil vinyl exposed:


Sticky etching stencil

Apply that to the surface you want to etch trying REALLY HARD to not get any wrinkles or bubbles:

Stencil for etching glass

It was really hard to NOT get wrinkles on this curved surface, but I made sure that there were none that came all the way to the open areas of the stencil. Even the teeniest wrinkle will cause the etching cream to bleed under the stencil and leave a stray mark. Make sure you press down firmly around the edges of the stencil.. sealing it up tight is the key here!

ACTION 4: APPLY YOUR ETCHING CREAM

I am using the Silhouette brand etching cream. I have had great success with it. I know the other popular brand of etching cream is. Armour Etch. If you do not need to acquire the plastic and also transfer tape),( particularly. You could need to experiment with the timing if you utilize another item considering that this tutorial is based on the Shape brand lotion.

I used a cotton swab to apply the cream making sure to not get anywhere close to the edge of stencil. You want to make sure that you smear the cream around a few times and not just let it sit or else you can get bubbles and inconsistent results. You can see I don’t put it on very thick. I know other people really layer it on and then scrape it off in order to save it an use it again. I don’t see the need to do that:
Etching glass
I let the cream rest on for around 4 or 5 minutes, you can leave it longer yet I really did not want the etching to obtain too deep:.
Etching cream on glass
ACTION 5: RINSE ETCHING LOTION
To quit the etching reaction, run water over your etching lotion (you wish to get it off swiftly.) Don’t attempt cleaning it off, because that is bound to finish in calamity. Make certain you have ALL the lotion totally washed before trying to get rid of the pattern.
Rinsing etching cream
ACTION 6: ELIMINATE STENCIL.

Once you are sure you have all the cream off, you can peel off the stencil and get your first look at the final result.
Silhouette etching tutorial

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Had not been that simple?
Etched soap jar
This would certainly be a beloved housewarming or wedding shower existing (perhaps also personalized with a monogram or initials):.
Dish soap etchedIt absolutely looks cuter compared to the container of dish soap on the counter:.Etched soap bottle
So are you prepared to try Etching!? It really is fun and simple!

Article source: http://www.thekimsixfix.com/2014/08/how-to-etch-glass.html#_a5y_p=2327680

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