January 8-13 Project

I haven't posted in a few days. My creative everyday activity has been working on these doors, etching these designs onto the glass. I am going to explain the process. It is simple, and the products are available at most craft hobby stores. The resist i use is a commercial grade product, but you can achieve similar result (if really careful) using contact paper. Contact paper is really thin and a person needs to be careful with their xacto knife, as it is really easy to cut and you can easily mis-cut your design. The contact paper is excellent to use for practicing, and simple to find at the hardware store. A commercial grade resist might be available at an art supply store. If you have a stained glass supply store in the area they should have a good selection of decent resist to work with. Resist comes in different mil thickness and each thickness has its useful application. That in itself is a lesson.

Supplies:
glass
xacto knife
resist
acid etch cream (can be found at hobby stores)
masking tape
craft brush
rubber gloves
paper towels
water soft cloth
design (hand drawn or stencil or stamped light resist)
another good source to have a design made these days is to go to the sign painters shop who uses a computer to generate vinyl signs...they can generate a design ready to apply to your glass)
If using your design or a stencil carbon paper is needed to transfer to the resist


I cleaned my glass well, no oils or dirt should come between the resist and the glass. The cleaner the glass the better the bond will be for the resist and the more detail you can achieve in the cutting. I use carbon paper to transfer my design to the resist.

The design is started to be cut out with the exacto knife. The part cut away is what is etched. Typically, the negative portion is cut away. This is determined by how you perceive the final look that you want the "picture" to show.

The design is finished being cut out. Gloves are donned and using the craft brush apply the acid cream...I use a commercial grade, but the hobby paste has a decent formula these days. It is permanent and you just follow the directions. Using the paper towels and the water remove the cream.

Take off the resist..keep cleaning the glass with Windex.

I placed a piece of black paper behind the image to hopefully show you the final results. Etched glass is hard to photograph.

These doors will be picked up, placed into the mans cabinet and enjoyed for years to come.

This etch method is the perfect project for mirrors, glassware, or windows....enjoy creating your own pieces.

If you have questions just email me, I will help you the best I can.

:)