Hi All,

Well, I am getting close on my wine glasses. I will actually be able to start PRODUCING soon, instead of experimenting.

However there is something that keeps crossing my mind ( it's a short trip though ) as I am working on this. Perhaps the sample that I have been given was not sandblasted but perhaps etched with a cream or an acid based product of some sort.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Is it possible? Is it easy? Will I have to start over again?

My ultimate goal here is two fold. FIRST give the customer the best I can. SECOND increase my knowledge as much and as quickly as I can.

Thanks again to every one

It is possible.

1) apply mask/stencil.
2) apply acid cream.
3) pause/wait
4) wash off, remove mask.

You can also use a "screen" for the mask.
www.etchworld.com under "craft supplies" has a "print gocco" for $140 it'll let you make 6"x4" screens. (difficult for compound, and inside, curves.) - I bought one last year to test out an idea before getting the laser.

Because it's a chemical and not a physical process the mask requirements are a little different.
1) doesn't need to stand up to physical abuse/abrasion.
2) adhesive residue might "mask" the glass from the acid.
3) the mask must make good contact with the item, you don't want acid to get under/behind the mask.

Chuck,

I believe this is how they do serial numbers on automotive windows. It does not get real deep but it is a smooth look. I wonder if you could laser etch with a mask then apply this cream.

Hmmmm something I might want to try.

Chuck,

The non-industrial strength etch creme is much different that the acid's used in industry. The industrial acid is bad news, get a drop on you and it doesn't stop burning until it comes out the other side.

An easy way of telling if it is etched with the cream(or was it clear, lame attempt at baseball humor) is wet your finger and rub it over the etched area, if it disappears it is probably the cream.

Dave

Mike,

Your idea should work. I've used the etching cream and it renders very credible results. Light etch, but looks very much like abrasive etching.

David "The Stunt Engraver" Lavaneri
DGL Engraving
Port Hueneme, CA

Mike,
If you do try it, I'd like to know the results. I'm so close to getting it right on the project I'm working on that I"m not going to start over, but I think that maybe it is something I will need to know about eventually.

Dave,

No offense, but if there WAS baseball humor there, I missed it entirely.
Might just be me. BUT.......

I did wet my finger and rubbed it over the image. It did not dissappear. However, by the same token, the factory original is NOT deep at all.

I am getting close....... ooooh so close......

Chuck,

Had to do with the steroid controversy. A few of the players claimed that they used two liquids from Balco, one that was a cream and the other was clear. They said it was not roids but didn't have a clue what it was.

dave

Oh! LOL
That shows you how much I follow sports.
DUH!

Missed this one on a chemistry exam. The industrial glass enchant is called Aqua Vitae. It is composed of extremely concentrated, (6 to 12 molar), sulphuric and hydrochloric acid and I think one other enchant.

I'll leave it to you to figure out the type of bottle it is stored in.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

Harvey's Sub Page When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

When mixed in the right combination, watch out.

(I hope I remember right that it is hydrochloric and sulphuric, not hydrofluoric and sulphuric. It goes back to nearly the Greek period I believe, and I am not sure if hydrofluoric was available then. It was stored in hardened rubber bottles, something like the old bowling ball material.)

Either of these chemicals in 6 molar solution can eat through almost anything, skin and bone are as tough as air for it to go through.

Together they can get glass also. The cream's formula I do not know, but if it eats through glass it can easily eat through you.

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

Harvey's Sub Page When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

You can always tell when someone has been using the acid to etch. they always complain that the ends and edges of thier fingers are pealing. I will take blasting as a first,always wearing a respirator.

glassman