I started doing some research online recently on how to etch glass. I meet monthly with a small group of wonderful women from Sept.-May each year and experiment with new crafts and etching glass was my subject tonight. I thought they would be great to practice on and no tears shed if ruined.
I used my Cricut Expression and found a free SVG to cut with Sure Cuts a Lot. I cut off a small section of contact paper and pressed it down onto the cutting mat with shiny side up on the contact paper. My mat is slightly used and I did need to supervise since it seemed the contact paper wanted to peel up from the mat. If you don’t have a Cricut, you could use a plastic template or if you are talented, sketching something freehand and cut out with an Exacto Knife over a plastic cutting mat and just peel away the clear layer to go on your project.
I took out the cut outline of the paired hearts and left the margin from around it on the contact paper and saved the inside part of the hearts. This was also transferred to the glass bottles.
Then I took a sponge brush and applied Armour Etch over the design.
I found out the hard way that you want to apply Armour Etch quite generously. The times for letting it sit on the glass varied by sites. I tried 10 minutes.
Then you want to take paper towels and wipe off the excess. Next, run under regular tap water. You can take your template off while rinsing or before.
Since I applied a light coat, there were a few areas that did not etch well. I tried to re-adhere the template, put more Armour Etch on after drying the bottle, and waited another 10 minutes. It helped bring out the design, but I did not get the contact paper pieces on exactly the same as the first time so the lines were not crisp and a little messy.
I tried another bottle tonight that I had been gifted something in years ago. I think it was some bath salts. Sorry the picture is poor. I had rinsed the bottle out before using and it still isn’t dry. This one turned out better. I put “My Shining Star” and etched a small star on it below the wording. The glass may be hand washed or go through the dishwasher after etching.
This project was fun. I hope to experiment with it some more. Depending on how much you value you your own life, it is recommended to wear goggles and gloves with Armour Etch to avoid getting on the skin and in the eyes. If it can etch glass, you do not want to have this kind of chemical accidentally show up on your skin for a horrible injury to follow!
